AUBURN, Ala.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 4, 2026--
Morrison Avenue Capital Partners, a real estate investment firm focused on multifamily, student housing, and industrial opportunities across high-growth markets in the Southeast, today announced the grand opening of Hilltop Auburn, a newly developed student housing community in Auburn, Alabama.
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The opening of Hilltop Auburn represents a significant milestone in Morrison Avenue’s continued expansion of its student housing investments and commitment to delivering high-quality residential communities in high-growth markets. The 128-bed community was developed to meet increasing demand for modern, purpose-built student housing while providing residents with a premium living experience designed around academic success, wellness, and walkability to campus.
“Hilltop Auburn reflects our strategy of investing in well-located, high-quality housing assets in markets with strong underlying demand drivers,” said Hansen Babington, partner at Morrison Avenue. “We believe this community will provide students with an exceptional place to live while creating long-term value for our investment partners.”
Hilltop Auburn was fully preleased for the 2026-2027 academic year by October 2025, less than three months after breaking ground. Enrollment at Auburn University has increased 25% since 2015, and the university was recently ranked the highest in Alabama by U.S. News & World Report in its 2026 Best Colleges rankings.
The community was designed by Lauderdale Architecture + Development out of Charleston, South Carolina, constructed by Reed Construction of Bay Minette, Alabama, and is managed by Auburn-based 360 Property Management.
With the opening of Hilltop Auburn, Morrison Avenue continues to grow its portfolio of multifamily and student housing investments across the Southeast. The firm remains focused on acquiring, developing, and operating high-quality assets that serve communities and deliver value for its investment partners.
About Morrison Avenue Capital Partners
Morrison Avenue Capital Partners (Morrison Avenue) is a real estate investment firm focused on multifamily, student housing, and industrial opportunities across high-growth markets in the Southeastern United States. Through disciplined execution, active asset management, and deep market expertise, Morrison Avenue seeks to create enduring value for investors, partners, and the communities in which it invests. For more information, visit www.morrisonavenuecapital.com.
Hilltop Auburn officially opens to Auburn University students for the 2026-2027 academic year.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche cleared a critical hurdle Tuesday in his bid to be confirmed to the post after swaying Republican holdouts on a Senate committee to advance his nomination for a floor vote.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 along party lines in support of the nomination of President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, who has aggressively pushed the Republican administration’s priorities since taking over from Pam Bondi in April.
The vote followed a deal struck late Sunday between Blanche and two Republican senators who had been threatening to block his confirmation over the settlement of Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service regarding the president’s leaked tax returns.
Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina had said they were withholding their support unless the Justice Department confirmed in writing that it was not moving forward with a $1.8 billion fund to compensate Trump allies who believe they were prosecuted for political purposes, which the administration had announced as part of the settlement.
After days of negotiations, Blanche issued an order Sunday evening confirming “beyond any doubt, that there is no Fund.”
Since the settlement of Trump's lawsuit against the IRS was announced, “No Members were appointed; no funds were transferred; no process for receiving claims was established; no claims were paid,” the order said.
Cornyn and Tillis had also pressed for clarification on a separate part of the settlement that would grant Trump and members of his family immunity from tax audits.
Under the deal, the Justice Department clarified in writing that the tax audit immunity agreement applies only to claims open at the time of the settlement and does not protect Trump from examination of future tax filings. It also makes clear that only the parties that brought the lawsuit — Trump, two of his sons, and the Trump Organization — are covered by the tax agreement.
Democrats say Blanche’s order doesn’t go far enough to prevent the Trump administration from reviving the fund after the acting attorney general’s confirmation and have called for legislation to permanently bar it. The order also doesn’t stop the administration from compensating Trump allies — including people who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — through a previously established process that allows people to file claims for damages if they believed they were wronged by the government.
The fund “can easily be revived with a new order from the Department of Justice 15 minutes after Mr. Blanche is confirmed as attorney general," said Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the committee.
Blanche has faced intense scrutiny regarding his ability to maintain independence from the White House, the Justice Department’s pursuit of the president’s political foes and the agency’s handling of files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking investigation.
But it was the settlement of Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS that threatened to derail Blanche's nomination, forcing a delay in the committee vote last week amid pressure from the two Republican senators, who are not returning to Capitol Hill after their terms end in January.
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, who chairs the committee, said Tillis and Cornyn’s demands were “common sense.” Grassley said the senators’ concerns about the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” and the IRS settlement were shared by many other lawmakers, including himself.
“I’m grateful that they as well as Mr. Blanche and the White House worked in good faith to solve them, formally rescinding the fund, clarifying the scope of the release of claims has put this issue to bed once and for all," Grassley said.
Trump’s lawsuit has been sharply criticized because of the highly unusual way it was handled, with the president challenging an agency overseen by the executive branch he leads. A judge last month slammed the case as an improper exercise in self-dealing and referred one of Trump’s attorneys who filed it for potential disciplinary action.
Blanche, a former federal prosecutor and key member of Trump’s defense team as the Republican battled four indictments, arrived at the Justice Department last year as deputy attorney general. He was elevated to acting attorney general following Attorney General Pam Bondi’s failure to meet Trump’s demands to successfully prosecute his perceived political opponents.
While Blanche insisted he wasn’t auditioning for the permanent post, he moved swiftly to accelerate investigations into Trump foes and advance other White House priorities, drawing condemnation from critics who say he has not shed his title as Trump’s personal lawyer.
Shortly after Blanche took the top post, the Justice Department moved to indict longtime Trump adversary James Comey, the former FBI director, on charges of threatening the 47th president by posting a social media photograph of seashells in the numerical arrangement of “86 47.”
Comey’s lawyers have accused the Justice Department of misleading judges, submitting documents containing false statements and withholding key facts to bring what the defense described as a politically motivated prosecution.
Blanche separately appointed Joseph diGenova, an 81-year-old former Justice Department prosecutor from the Reagan administration, to oversee a Florida-based investigation into whether former law enforcement and intelligence officials conspired over the last decade to undermine Trump.
FILE - President Donald Trump speaks in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House after a shooting incident outside the ballroom at at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, April 25, 2026, as acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, left, and FBI director Kash Patel listen. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., arrives for a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee on Capitol Hill, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, arrives for a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee on Capitol Hill, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
FILE - Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks during a news conference on unaccompanied children at the Justice Department, June 11, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
FILE - Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is sworn in as he appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
