This apartment building at 74 Curlew Dr., in Toronto is among 13 assets being sold by Akelius. (Courtesy JLL)

Akelius Canada has put 13 apartment buildings, with a combined 664 units, up for sale in the Greater Toronto Area.

“Many of these assets are peripheral to their core portfolio and were acquired in conjunction with other properties,” said JLL Capital Markets multi-family investment executive vice-president and national team lead Michael Betsalel, who’s responsible for the sale. “They’re selling some of the stuff in their portfolio that doesn’t necessarily fit their long-term strategy.”

Betsalel stressed Akelius is still committed to owning, managing and acquiring rental properties in Toronto.

Akelius declined to comment on the properties until after any transactions occur.

The apartment buildings range in size from 20 to 122 units and average 713 square feet. The portfolio is comprised of 16 per cent bachelor, 47 per cent one-bedroom, 30 per cent two-bedroom and seven per cent three-bedroom suites.

To date, 307 of the suites have been renovated with spa-grade bathrooms, European kitchens, in-suite laundry, engineered wood flooring, and modern aesthetic trim and doors.

$12.5 million in structural and mechanical work

The portfolio has received approximately $12.5 million in recent structural and mechanical upgrades by Akelius.

“The portfolio itself is very well-capitalized,” said Betsalel. “There’s been a tremendous amount of work done on the buildings.

“There’s no deferred maintenance. They’ve done leading-edge suite turns to a standard that you haven’t ever seen before in this country.”

Betsalel sees the apartment buildings as cash-flowing investment properties more than redevelopment opportunities, at least in the short term.

The Akelius portfolio provides further opportunities to increase income, as early-cycle renovated suites are enjoying rent increases above their already full-market rates. The overall gap between average rents and current asking rents is approaching 46 per cent.

Akelius is willing to sell the buildings as an entire portfolio, in groups or individually.

“You have townhomes and high-rise concrete and low-rise walk-ups,” said Betsalel. “It goes from Mississauga to Kingston Road and up to Victoria Park, and then you have a building in Forest Hill Village.

“It’s all types of assets, so it doesn’t necessarily lend itself to a national portfolio. On the other hand, maybe that’s good for someone who wants diversity to create immediate scale.”

While a bid deadline hasn’t been announced, Betsalel expects it will be in early- to mid-June.

What Akelius is selling

Here are the apartments that Akelius is selling:

* 580 The East Mall: 122 units with an average size of 1,001 square feet. Thirty-seven per cent of the suites have been renovated and the building has received capital expenditures of $3.8 million;

* 2701 Eglinton Avenue West: 49 units averaging 610 square feet. Sixty-one per cent of the suites have been renovated and the building has received capital expenditures of $927,000;

* 2040 Eglinton Avenue West: 37 units averaging 690 square feet. Forty-nine per cent of the suites have been renovated and the building has received capital expenditures of $600,000;

* 310-312 Lonsdale Avenue: 35 units averaging 665 square feet. Eighty-six per cent of the suites have been renovated and the building has received capital expenditures of $1.1 million;

* 778 Broadview Avenue: 39 units averaging 370 square feet. Sixty-seven per cent of the suites have been renovated and the building has received capital expenditures of $453,000;

* 260 Gamble Ave.: 26 units averaging 554 square feet. Seventy-three per cent of the suites have been renovated and the building has received capital expenditures of $445,000;

* 338-342 Donlands Avenue: 36 units averaging 401 square feet. Forty-seven per cent of the suites have been renovated and the building has received capital expenditures of $359,000;

* 5-9 Stag Hill Drive: 67 units averaging 747 square feet. Sixty per cent of the suites have been renovated and the building has received capital expenditures of $900,000;

* 327 Chisholm Avenue: 20 units averaging 588 square feet. Forty per cent of the suites have been renovated and the building has received capital expenditures of $183,000;

* 2367 Queen Street East: 24 units averaging 300 square feet. Fifty-eight per cent of the suites have been renovated and the building has received capital expenditures of $705,000;

* 1420 Kingston Road: 37 units averaging 500 square feet. Thirty-five per cent of the suites have been renovated and the building has received capital expenditures of $286,000;

* 74 Curlew Drive: 112 units averaging 720 square feet. Twenty-four per cent of the suites have been renovated and the building has received capital expenditures of $1.5 million;

* 2029-2055 Victoria Park Avenue: 60 units averaging 1,020 square feet. Thirty-three per cent of the suites have been renovated and the building has received capital expenditures of $1.2 million.

Akelius’ Canadian and international operations

Akelius Canada employs more than 100 people out of its Toronto and Montreal offices. It entered those markets in 2011 and 2014, respectively.

While the company is evaluating new Canadian markets, its focus remains on properties in those two cities, where it owns more than 4,000 apartment units.

All of Akelius Canada’s properties are managed in-house.

Akelius Canada is a subsidiary of Akelius Residential Property AB, the largest listed real estate company in Sweden. It was founded in 1994, employs more than 1,200 and owns 49,000 apartment units in Sweden, Canada, Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom and Denmark.

Akelius Residential Property AB says its total asset value is around $18 billion.