- What Alignvest Student Housing REIT has a binding agreement to purchase 308 King St. N in Waterloo
- Why The REIT is expanding its portfolio of in-demand student housing
- What’s next The deal is slated to close on May 22
Alignvest Student Housing REIT’s recent agreement to buy a new student housing high-rise in Waterloo is its latest move in its strategy to build a portfolio spanning the country.
The 340-unit building, at 308 King Street North, is close to both Wilfred Laurier University and the University of Waterloo. Construction was completed in 2023, and the property is 100% occupied, providing housing for 659 students.
The transaction is expected to close on May 22. The agreement was reached privately between ASH REIT and the seller, developer Prica Global Enterprises, without the use of brokers. The purchase price has not been disclosed.
An April 2022 report from the Region of Waterloo valued the development’s 2021 building permit at $79m – the most expensive residential permit issued by the municipality that year.
The 25-storey property offers furnished units, and amenities include lounges, rooftop terraces and laundry facilities. The ground floor houses 8,000 sq ft of commercial space, tenanted by Edo Japan, Egg Club, GC Burger, Oakberry Acai Bowls, Rollz Ice Cream and a vape shop.
“As this higher-quality, professionally managed student housing has become available, there’s been a push towards moving into those kinds of accommodations because of the safety and security, the hygiene, the cleanliness. The students, but more particularly the parents, appreciate that,” ASH REIT managing partner Sanjil Shah told Green Street News.
Earlier this year, it bought a 53-unit (94 bed) property at 417 Nelson Street in Ottawa close to the University of Ottawa.
Not counting the new acquisition, ASH REIT owns 13 student residences appraised at $985.8 million combined. Those properties, with 5,302 beds, are in six markets: Waterloo, Ottawa, Hamilton, Oshawa, Halifax and Edmonton.
And the company is aiming to grow.
“Anywhere in Canada where there’s a good-quality, post-secondary educational institution is a target market for us,” Shah said. The challenge, he noted, is finding opportunities where the company can quickly achieve scale.
“It doesn’t make financial sense for us to go to a market where there’s a 10-plex and the operating infrastructure would just overwhelm us and it wouldn’t be worth our while,” he explained. “So, for us to enter a market, we look for an entry position where we can acquire a property with over 300 beds and we see a path to get to 500 beds or more in the near term.”
That said, with universities in every province desperately needing more student housing, Shah said “it’s just a matter of time until we get that cross-Canada coverage.”