Centurion Apartment REIT is poised to acquire the first phase of the NOX multiresidential apartment development in Gatineau, Que., a project which when built-out will deliver 534 new housing units to the National Capital Region.

NOX comprises seven mid-rise, multiresidential apartment buildings that are being constructed in three phases. Phase 1, at 350-380 Boulevard de l'Amérique-Française and made up of four buildings with 277 rental units, was completed in October. 

Phase 2, at 40-60 Marguerite Maille and comprising two properties with 158 rental units, is to be completed in January 2023. Phase 3, at 615 Boulevard Du Plateau and consisting of one building with 99 rental units, is to be completed in April 2023.

No financial terms were disclosed.

“We are thrilled to further expand Centurion’s presence in Gatineau,” said Centurion president and CEO Greg Romundt in a statement. “The Gatineau-Ottawa region is Canada’s fourth-largest cosmopolitan area and this development will help fulfill the city’s growing rental needs.”

Gatineau sits directly adjacent to Ottawa, on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River. The region has been a focus for Centurion during 2022, with three significant acquisitions in the cities.

The REIT is managed by Toronto-based Centurion Asset Management Inc.

Founded in 2003, it has over $6 billion in assets under management as of the end of September. Centurion Apartment REIT owns more than 19,000 multiresidential apartment units, medical offices and student housing beds across 47 cities in Canada and the U.S.

The NOX development

Each building at NOX is seven storeys high and includes a variety of units including studio, one-bedroom, one-bedroom-with-a-den, one-bedroom-with-a-den-plus-mezzanine, two-bedrooms and two-bedrooms-plus-mezzanine.

All the units feature a private outdoor terrace, in-suite laundry, five appliances and window coverings. 

Amenities include shared rooftop terraces with BBQs, a gym, swimming pool, hot tub, lounge and pet wash facilities. There is also indoor and outdoor parking.

The portfolio is located in the Le Plateau region of Gatineau, a 10-minute drive from Ottawa.

The location, coupled with the opportunity to build on Centurion’s existing Gatineau footprint will “enable Centurion to achieve immediate scale opportunities in a market benefiting from both extremely high rental demand and little supply of purpose-built rentals,” the company notes in the announcement.

Centurion’s National Capital Region acquisitions

Earlier this year, Centurion acquired NOX’s sister and neighbouring development Project Le Central from the same developer, Junic Real Estate Corp. which is based in Gatineau.

The 345-unit apartment development was built in three phases between 2018 and 2020 in Gatineau’s Plateau submarket by Junic. It is comprised of seven four-storey, institutional-quality buildings.

When NOX is fully built-out, Centurion's Gatineau portfolio will comprise 879 apartments.

In September, Centurion also acquired the 276-unit luxury Les Terrasses Francesca at 1425 Vanier Parkway in Ottawa, just outside the downtown core.

The Terrasse Francesca property comprises a 15-storey tower and two adjoined, three- and six-storey buildings.

“We’ve been trying for a very long time to get into the Ottawa market,” Romundt told RENX in an interview at that time. “The Ottawa market is a pretty tightly held market and we weren’t able to get anything of scale and size for a long time. In the last couple of years, we’ve managed to turn that.”