A new era of student living is coming to Berkeley, California. Canyon Partners Real Estate LLC, The Martin Group, and Valiance Capital have announced a joint venture to develop The Valiant, a Class-A student housing community located just steps from the University of California at Berkeley campus. Construction is already underway, with the project expected to be completed before the start of the 2026-2027 academic year.
The Valiant will stand as an eight-story, purpose-built student housing community, offering 83 apartment units with a total of 262 beds. It also includes 1,461 square feet of retail space, designed to seamlessly integrate into the vibrant Berkeley community. The development is strategically located on Durant Avenue, between Telegraph Avenue and Bowditch Street, just one block away from the main entrance of the UC Berkeley campus.
Students at The Valiant will enjoy a range of curated amenities designed to enhance their living experience. These include a spacious common area study lobby, a fully equipped fitness center, a rooftop deck lounge boasting panoramic views, various gathering spaces for social interaction, private study lounges for focused work, high-speed Wi-Fi throughout, and secure bike stations for convenient transportation.
“With its prime location, sustainable design, and experienced development team, we’re pleased to announce this exciting project in partnership with Valiance Capital and look forward to partnering with Canyon and the team at Kennedy Wilson on another student housing project,” said Stephen Siri of The Martin Group. “The Valiant will provide UC Berkeley students with much-needed housing in time for the 2026 school year, and it is well-positioned to contribute to the economic growth of local retail and dining businesses alike.”
The Valiant’s location in the heart of Berkeley’s sought-after Southside neighborhood places students within walking distance of a plethora of restaurants, bars, and local amenities popular among the UC Berkeley student population. Additionally, the project is conveniently situated within a 15-minute walk from the Downtown Berkeley BART station, offering easy access to other key locations throughout the Bay Area.
“With 15 years of local market expertise as one of the largest owner operators in the Berkeley student submarket, we are excited to build The Valiant to be the ideal student housing option in a highly specialized and high-barriers-to-entry market,” said Nhan Nguyen Le of Valiance Capital. “In partnering with a best-in-class institutional team between The Martin Group, Canyon, and Kennedy Wilson, we look forward to delivering a premier private student housing development to serve the UC Berkeley community.”
Canyon Partners Real Estate LLC has a long history of investing in California real estate projects, spanning both primary and secondary markets across the United States. Since its inception, Canyon has invested a total of $2.9 billion in debt and equity, contributing to the development of projects valued at $6.9 billion in the state of California alone.
The Martin Group, headquartered in Oakland, California, has a proven track record of developing ground-up and value-add residential and mixed-use properties in supply-constrained markets. They have successfully acquired and developed over 24 million square feet and over 20,000 residential units since their founding.
Valiance Capital, a Berkeley-based real estate investment firm specializing in student housing and multifamily properties, brings over 1,000 beds under management in Berkeley. With a portfolio exceeding $300 million in Berkeley, accumulated through 26 acquisitions since 2010, Valiance is a prominent player in the local market. Their in-house property management arm, The Berkeley Group, is a leading specialized student housing management firm, consistently achieving near-perfect 100% occupancy year-over-year for the past decade.
Kennedy Wilson, a leading real estate investment company with over $27 billion in assets under management, has a presence in high-growth markets across the United States, the UK, and Ireland. Their experienced team excels at identifying opportunities and building value across market cycles, having closed over $50 billion in total transactions since going public in 2009. They own, operate, and build real estate within their high-quality, core real estate portfolio and through their investment management platform, where they actively pursue opportunistic equity and debt investments alongside their partners.
