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Affordable Student Housing: “Chiostro26” with 138 beds inaugurated in Parma

  • The project, representing an investment of approximately €10 million, is promoted by the iGeneration fund, managed by Investire SGR and backed by CDP Real Asset SGR, the European Investment Fund (EIF, part of the EIB Group), and some of Italy’s leading pension funds and banking foundations, including Fondazione Cariparma;
  • The new student residence, managed by Colser, was developed through the conservation restoration of the former “Convent of the Friars Minor”, which had been disused for more than 30 years.

 

Parma, 7 October 2026 – Chiostro26, the new student residence in Parma, was inaugurated today. Covering approximately 3,000 sqm, it provides 138 beds across student accommodation and a city hotel. The new facility is managed by Colser, one of Italy’s leading operators in the facility management sector and a cooperative company headquartered in Parma.

The initiative is promoted by the iGeneration fund, managed by Investire SGR (Banca Finnat Group), whose main investors include CDP Real Asset SGR (CDP Group) and the European Investment Fund (EIF) – part of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group – and which is also backed by some of Italy’s leading banking foundations and pension funds, including Fondazione Cariparma. The project, involving an investment of approximately €10 million, does not benefit from public funding under the PNRR.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Michele Guerra, Mayor of Parma, Paolo Martelli, Rector of the University of Parma, as well as representatives of the iGeneration Fund’s partners: Elena Saccenti, Vice President of Fondazione Cariparma; Veronica Tibiletti, Member of the Board of Directors 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 project provides a total of 138 beds for university students, with part of the accommodation also intended for temporary stays by visiting professors and researchers.

The complex includes single and double rooms, common areas dedicated to study and community-building activities, as well as two historic courtyards, which have undergone careful restoration and conservation works and will be reopened and made accessible to the local community.

The new student residence and its ancillary spaces were created, under the supervision of the Superintendency for Architectural and Landscape Heritage, through a comprehensive programme of restoration, conservation, and seismic strengthening of the complex known as the “Former Convent of the Friars Minor”, located in Borgo Padre Onorio and disused for more than 30 years. The architectural project was designed by Studio Cazzulani Architetti, while construction works were carried out by Seraco S.r.l.

The Parma initiative adds to the projects already developed in Naples, Brescia, Padua and Forlì, as well as the projects currently under construction in Florence, Piacenza, Reggio Emilia and Venice Mestre.

The iGeneration Fund has already invested more than €200 million, with the objective of developing approximately 3,000 beds across Italy. A new fundraising period is currently underway to raise additional subscriptions aimed at expanding the portfolio of projects.