- What A 28,000 sq ft office on Sainte-Catherine Street West property has sold
- Why Buyer Alternative Capital Group paid $475/sq ft
- What Next The City of Montréal has approved a proposal from the new owner to convert the building’s office space into student housing
A Class-C office property on Sainte-Catherine Street West in Montréal, has sold for $13.3m, Green Street News can reveal.
Odette Basmaji and her daughter, Cristelle Basmaji, sold the eight-storey Édifice Willis, at 1220-1224 Sainte-Catherine Street West, to Alternative Capital Group on Nov. 25. CBRE brokered the deal. The price for the 32,000 sq ft property works out to $416/sq ft.
Built in 1910, Édifice Willis has 24,000 sq ft of office space and 8,000 sq ft of street-level retail space.
In October, the Montréal city council approved a proposal from Alternative Capital seeking to redevelop the office space as 42 luxury student-housing units on the second to eighth floors. The suites are slated to comprise 28 bachelor apartments, 13 three-bedroom units and one two-bedroom unit. There will also be a 1,200 sq ft rooftop terrace.
The Basmaji family owned the clothing chain Boutique Jacob, which at its peak had around 200 stores across the country, including a location on the ground floor of Édifice Willis. Founder Joey Basmaji, Odette’s husband and Criselle’s father, died in December 2022. Odette and Cristelle took possession of the property in March 2023.
Article amended at 9:47 a.m. ET on Dec. 2, 2024, to reflect the correct unit count of the proposed redevelopment. Article further amended at 10:24 a.m. ET on Dec. 3, 2024, to correct the square footage and per-sq ft price.
