The world renowned investment platform BentallGreenOak has added the Montreal Appartements-Boutique to its growing portfolio from Prevel for an undisclosed price. This latest acquisition on behalf of Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada has made this real estate giant to penetrate more cities and countries in the world. According to Michael Fraidakis, BentallGreenOak co-head of Canadian investments in an interview with RENX that the purpose-built rental apartment complex is a new construction replete with high-end amenities and design that are typical in a boutique hotel. Its prime location at 681-733 William Street is an advantage with its proximity to mass transit, and a walking distance to Old Montreal and Griffintown, retail shops, bars, cafes, restaurants and residential buildings. The complex has 243 residential units that span two buildings with a width of 10,714 square feet of retail on the ground floor and 10,964 square feet of ground and 2nd floor office space consisting of business tenants and local food service. The amenities in the complex include the following:
- Conference rooms
- Fitness areas
- Rooftop patios
- Pools
Its developer Le Groupe Prevel started the construction of its first phase in 2016 and the second phase in 2018.
Fastest Growing Economy in Montreal
Fraidakis revealed that the economy in Montreal continues to grow rapidly while the real estate market benefitted from the institutional capital. He said that the city’s economy is one of the fastest-growing in Canada with its 3.6 % gross domestic product growth in 2018, which posted a growth above 3% for the second consecutive year. He expects to see that the core of the economy stays strong alongside with the continued growth of immigration and technology. BentallGreenOak is known for its interest in acquiring high-standard buildings giving extensive full-service leasing and property management.
BentallGreenOak’s Numerous Property Management Portfolio
Aside from the Montreal apartment complex, BentallGreenOak takes pride of its numerous property management capabilities. Take a look at some of them:
- Acquisition of 1250 René-Lévesque, a 47-storey, class-AAA office tower with 1,036,193 square feet of space, from the Oxford Properties Group and PSP Investments in May. It was the largest single-asset transaction that BentallGreenOak has made in Canada so far.
- Office leasing momentum in Montreal.
- Ninety-Three Percent Occupancy of 1250 René-Lévesque.
- Completion of the Kohn Pedersen Fox-designed and LEED Gold-certified structure in 1992, formerly named as the IBM-Marathon Tower with 900 underground parking stalls.
- Acquisition of eight story certified LEED Silver office building at 7250 Mile End, which is about 318,211 square feet and built in 1973 on behalf of Sun Life Financial from Mile-End Investments Inc. in 2018.
- Acquisition of a two-story, 80,000 square foot office building at 7450 Mile End on behalf of Sun Life Financial from Mile-End Investments Inc. in 2018
- Completion of a 216,000-square-foot industrial spec development at 4305 Griffith in Montreal’s Cote-de-Liesse industrial node in 2018 and it is now completely leased.
Fraidakis is optimistic on their outlook in Montreal and evaluating their acquisition will be on a case-to-case basis. BentallGreenOak is a global real estate investment platform, giving advice, consultation, and a provider of various real estate services with offices scattered in 22 cities across 12 countries. It has over 750 institutional clients and estimated $48 billion assets under management as of March 31, 2020. It is a part of SLC Management, a global institutional asset management of its parent company Sun Life.
