Tibiletti: “Affordable Student Housing in Parma Gives New Impetus to the Local Area”

Tibiletti: “Affordable Student Housing in Parma Gives New Impetus to the Local Area”

After thirty years of neglect and an extensive, carefully planned architectural restoration, a major new facility has been brought back into use for the city. Chiostro26 was inaugurated today in Parma, offering 3,000 square metres of space and 138 beds across student accommodation and a city hotel.

The initiative is promoted and financed through an investment of approximately €10 million by the iGeneration Fund, managed by Investire SGR (Banca Finnat Group). Its main investors are CDP Real Asset SGR (CDP Group) and the European Investment F  und (EIF), part of the European Investment Bank Group (EIB Group). The Fund also has investments from some of Italy's leading banking foundations and pension funds, including Fondazione Cariparma.

“Chiostro26 delivers benefits on several fronts: it expands the supply of accommodation for university students, returns a historic property in the heart of the city centre to the community and helps ease pressure on the housing market,” said Veronica Tibiletti, Board Member of CDP Real Asset SGR.
 
The complex is the result of the redevelopment of the former 18th-century Franciscan convent, built around an internal cloister that forms the architectural centrepiece of the project. The conservation and restoration project, designed by Studio Cazzulani Architetti and carried out by Seraco S.r.l., aimed to preserve and enhance the building's historic heritage while converting it into a modern student residence, complete with communal spaces, green areas and facilities for socialising and studying.

The complex also includes temporary accommodation intended primarily for visiting professors, researchers and other short-term guests connected to the local university and business community. Management of the facility will be entrusted to Colser, a Parma-based cooperative and one of Italy's leading facility management operators.

“Chiostro26 fully embodies the CDP Group's mission in social and affordable housing: supporting initiatives that improve people's quality of life and contribute to local development. This commitment also means supporting young people and cities, both essential drivers of Italy's growth, innovation and competitiveness,” Tibiletti concluded.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Michele Guerra, Mayor of Parma; Paolo Martelli, Rector of the University of Parma; and representatives of the iGeneration Fund's partners: Elena Saccenti, Vice President of Fondazione Cariparma; Veronica Tibiletti, Board Member of CDP Real Asset SGR; John McIlwaine, EIF Representative for Italy; Paolo Boleso, Head of Residential & Social Infrastructure at Investire SGR (Banca Finnat Group); and Cristina Bazzini, President of Colser.

The Parma initiative adds to projects already developed in Naples, Brescia, Padua and Forlì (University of Bologna campus), as well as projects under construction in Florence, Piacenza, Reggio Emilia and Venice Mestre. The iGeneration Fund has already invested more than €200 million and aims to deliver approximately 3,000 student beds across Italy.

The housing affordability crisis was the driving force behind the establishment of CDP Real Asset 15 years ago. The asset management company operates across the entire social and affordable housing sector, encompassing Social, Student, Senior and Service Housing. By the end of 2026, 8,300 student accommodation beds will have been completed, rising to 12,600 by 2029.

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