BGO has acquired two purpose-built rental multifamily properties — The Camby in Cambridge, Ont. and Blueprint Residences in Greater Victoria, B.C. — in recent weeks as it selectively expands its portfolios.

“We are looking to add multifamily assets to our portfolio and are very focused on assets like The Camby,” BGO principal of portfolio management Adam Hagedorn told RENX.

Hagedorn conceded the multifamily market is challenged — largely due to the large shadow condominium inventory that unit owners have put on the rental market. But there will be little new supply being delivered in the next few years and that, combined with population growth in major markets, will be beneficial to purpose-built rental apartment owners, developers and purchasers. 

“The developers’ play is to make land acquisitions and start building the product and have the core institutional groups purchase those assets in five years,” Hagedorn explained. “For us today, it's challenging to make that development economics pencil. 

“If there’s shovel-ready land that we could access and start building on immediately, we could see a possibility for development of those projects. But if there's a development timeline and horizon attached to it, it's very challenging to make the development economics work.”

The Camby acquisition

BGO purchased The Camby with one of its core account funds for $147 million from Belmont Equity Partners, an Oakville, Ont.-based boutique real estate investment and development company that has developed and repositioned more than 1.3 million square feet of buildings and managed the servicing, zoning and master-planning of more than 175 acres of development lands.

Cushman & Wakefield acted as the vendor’s advisor for the transaction and McCarthy Tétrault LLP acted as the legal counsel for BGO.

Hagedorn said there was interest in The Camby from other institutional investors, so there was a two-round bid process to acquire the property.

“The brand-new construction was very attractive to us,” Hagedorn said. “It will minimize long-term capital planning requirements and we should be able to just generate a very attractive, stable cash yield.”

What The Camby offers

The Camby was built in 2023 and 2024 at 140 and 150 Hollywood Ct. in Cambridge and has 284 units with an average suite size of 762 square feet. About half of the units have one bedroom plus a den while the remainder have two bedrooms or two bedrooms plus a den.

The Camby is comprised of twinned eight-storey buildings linked by a three-storey amenities pavilion. It has a fitness centre, smart parcel lockers, a pet spa, a rooftop terrace with fire pits, an entertainment lounge, a games room, multiple co-working spaces and 338 parking stalls. 

“This is one of the highest quality rental projects that we've seen completed in the GTA,” Hagedorn said. “It has an amazing amenity package attached to it, it’s well-built, and the mid-rise nature really lends itself to a real community feel.”

The Camby’s sustainability benefits include hybrid heat pumps in all units, motion-censored lighting in common areas and enhanced energy use monitoring for water, hydro and thermal energy.

The Camby is in close proximity to public transit and Highway 401, which provides access to employment hubs in both Waterloo Region and places like Milton and Mississauga.

The Camby is property managed by BGO Living and in-place occupancy is approaching stabilization at around 92 per cent.

The Blueprint Residences acquisition

Blueprint Residences was developed by Campbell River, B.C.-base WestUrban Developments Ltd., a builder with a track record of more than 25 multifamily projects since 2017. 

BGO acquired the property in partnership with separately managed account client The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada.

A Western Investor article reported an industry source that said the price for Blueprint Residences was approximately $160 million. That would make it the largest single-title multifamily transaction in Vancouver Island’s history.

“Our conviction in the Victoria market is rooted in strong population growth, high-quality employment driven by healthcare and government sectors and long-term housing undersupply,” BGO managing partner and Canadian chief investment officer Simon Holmes said in a media release announcing the acquisition.

What Blueprint Residences offers

Blueprint Residences is a newly constructed multifamily residential community at 15-23 Erskine Lane in View Royal, a town in Greater Victoria. It’s comprised of four, five-storey buildings totalling over 218,000 square feet and providing 336 housing units and 356 parking stalls. 

BGO Living will oversee leasing, operations and resident engagement initiatives. It will also implement a marketing plan and targeted capital program for amenity upgrades.

Blueprint Residences’ 5.2-acre site is adjacent to Victoria General Hospital, with access to public transit and downtown Victoria via the Trans-Canada Highway.

BGO and its Canadian multifamily activity

BGO and RioCan REIT’s RioCan Living each own a 50 per cent share in Pivot, a 36-storey, 361-unit apartment building near Yonge Street and Sheppard Avenue East in Toronto.

RioCan has announced it is selling its non-managing interest in the property, but Hagedorn said he couldn’t comment on whether BGO is interested in acquiring it.

BGO is a global real estate investment management advisor and provider of real estate services with involvement in office, industrial, multiresidential, retail and hospitality properties.

BGO has offices in 25 cities across 12 countries and serves over 750 institutional clients. It had approximately US$89 billion of assets under management as of Sept. 30. It manages more than 12,000 multifamily units in Canada.

BGO owns multifamily properties in Ontario markets including Toronto, Mississauga, Pickering, Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge. It also owns apartments in and around Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary and Edmonton in Western Canada.