It's a busy time at Yarra, the purpose-built student housing platform of Elysium Investments Inc.

Plans have been unveiled for its first development in Guelph, Ont. and the firm is about to close on another development site in Toronto. Both projects are being done in partnership with 1 Asset Management, a Lithuanian investment management company with more than $740 million in assets under management.

Yarra's management did extensive research to come up with a list of cities with universities where the need for housing was large and the provision rate was low, and Guelph stood out. 

“It's got enrolment nudging 30,000 and it goes up a certain percentage every year, and I’ve previously developed in Guelph for my previous company,” Elysium chief executive officer Sayf Hassan told RENX.

Students renting apartments and houses is also cutting into the housing stock for non-students, he added. 

Development in Guelph

Toronto-based Elysium enlisted Trolleybus Urban Development to help it assemble three properties for Yarra’s first Guelph project. It’s also hoping to acquire a larger assembled site a 10-minute walk away where it’s anticipating a development with about 800 beds.

“People hadn't really assembled in Guelph before,” Hassan said. “One of the reasons Guelph hasn’t been developed is because the municipality is a little bit challenging to deal with and the land ownership is quite fractured, so we went and assembled.” 

Yarra is proposing a 10-storey student residence located across from the University of Guelph at 210-222 College Ave. E. that would replace three underutilized low-rise properties with a 153-unit building composed of two-, three- and four-bedroom units with approximately 550 beds.

The 5468796 Architecture-designed building would be organized around a central landscaped courtyard fronted by indoor amenity areas designed for student living, including study lounges, fitness and wellness areas, meeting rooms and social spaces.

A first application to kick off the development process has been submitted for the site and Yarra is waiting for a response from the City of Guelph. Hassan anticipates close to a 12-month wait to receive zoning approval and then another eight to 12 months after that to receive site-plan approval.

Construction should take 24 to 28 months, according to Hassan.

New Toronto acquisition

Yarra is also acquiring a site at the intersection of King Street East and George Street in downtown Toronto currently occupied by a private art gallery and office space. It’s proposing to develop a 5468796 Architecture-designed 25-storey building with 60 three- and four-bedroom units, yielding approximately 200 beds, and the redevelopment of a heritage asset.

The King Street component, formerly the Little York Hotel, will be retained in its entirety and operate separately from the student housing use. The George Street component will be the site of the micro tower, with its heritage facade retained at grade. 

The project addresses Toronto's well-documented shortage of purpose-built student residences (PBSR) and the site is adjacent to George Brown College’s St. George campus. It’s also an approximately 10- to 20-minute bicycle ride to Toronto Metropolitan University, OCAD University and the University of Toronto.

"The site already benefits from zoning permissions," said Hassan. "We will be seeking a minor variance to accommodate the proposed student housing unit mix and a modest increase in height."

That application is targeted for submission by the end of the second quarter, to be followed by a site plan application. Hassan anticipates shovels getting into the ground in 12 to 14 months, followed by a 24- to 26-month construction period.

Yarra is anticipating the development will take 20 months to receive entitlements and 2.5 years to build.

Elysium and Toronto-based IPG/Oikoi Living have partnered on a downtown Toronto project at 164-168 Isabella St. encompassing a 69-storey, Studio JCI-designed rental tower with 660 units. There’s a chance it could become a PBSR or a hybrid combining PBSR with more traditional rental units, but nothing has been decided yet.

Yarra’s development model

Hassan would like to see 10,000 PBSR beds in buildings developed under the Yarra banner within five to seven years.

“We have eight other sites in some stage of due diligence or that are deep in negotiations,” he said.

Yarra’s model emphasizes functional layouts, natural light, acoustic comfort and durable materials intended to support focus and well-being. Rather than marketing luxury, the platform prioritizes reliability and usability.

“The majority of students can’t afford $2,200, $2,000 or $1,900 for a one-bedroom micro-condo,” Hassan said. “It's just not feasible.”

Its residences will also offer curated programming designed to activate common spaces. This may include academic talks, small performances, mentorship sessions and student-led events to foster a sense of community and intellectual engagement.

Utilizing a consistent approach

Yarra plans to replicate a consistent design and operational approach in university-adjacent areas.

“Our general philosophy with this platform is speed to market,” Hassan explained. “In a lot of cases we’re seeking sites that are shovel-ready or almost shovel-ready or, in some cases, being built as a condo or some other asset class and we would take it over and finish it.”

The federal government has cut back on the number of foreign students allowed into Canada, partly because of a lack of housing for them, but this won’t impact Yarra’s plans.

“Our target market only has institutions where the international student cohort was relatively minor,” Hassan said.

Other proposed Elysium developments

Elysium has also proposed the development of a number of non-student, purpose-built rental apartments in Toronto, including:

• a partnership involving Estonian residential and commercial real estate developer Hepsor and IPG/Oikoi Living at 21-29 Oakmount Rd. and 26-36 Mountview Ave. that envisions towers of 41 and 39 storeys rising from a shared podium and offering 873 units;
• a high-rise project on a half-acre site at 17-29 Glenavy Ave. in partnership with Terracap and Trolleybus;
• a mixed-use multifamily development on 1.78 acres at 3406-3434 Weston Rd. in partnership with Pinemount Developments, with investment from Hepsor, where municipal approvals have been received for 832 units in 39- and 35-storey buildings;
• two towers and a podium offering 851 units on a one-acre site assembled from 17 properties at 70-104 Brownville Ave.;
• and a half-acre site assembled from four properties at 41-47 Talara Dr. where there are plans to develop approximately 350 units in a high-rise.