Greyspring Apartments has been continuing to expand its presence in the Greater Montreal market, acquiring two properties with 553 apartments during the past couple of months.

The Toronto-based company has closed on the acquisition of two 14-storey concrete buildings at 135, and 145-155 Deguire Blvd. in the Montreal borough of Saint-Laurent. The property includes 393 residential units and 5,361 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.

The Joie de Vivre apartments are of 1970s-era construction and had previously been operated by a Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (CAPREIT) limited partnership. Occupancy was at 98 per cent as of June.

"This acquisition enhances Greyspring’s Montreal portfolio and provides a strategic expansion into the established borough of Saint Laurent,” reads a message on the website of Marlin Spring, one of the two partners in Greyspring.

The transaction was brokered by RBC Capital Markets Real Estate Group on behalf of CAPREIT.

2000 Rue Saint Marc acquisition

Greyspring also acquired 2000 Rue Saint Marc, a 21-storey apartment building which contains 160 units in the downtown area of Montreal.

This property is located in the Shaughnessy Village, in proximity to several other Greyspring assets in the neighbourhood, a strategic expansion which allows it to benefit from the economies of scale.

Financial details for the transactions were not released.

“Greyspring Apartments will oversee the execution of a comprehensive value-add program, which will include common areas and suite improvements and building efficiency enhancements,” the company said in announcing the Rue Saint Marc acquisition.

A Greyspring spokesperson declined to comment on the acquisitions.

Greyspring was formed as a joint venture between partners Greybrook Realty Partners and Marlin Spring in 2020.

The two firms had bought several properties as partners prior to creating Greyspring, which acquired its first property under the new branding in January 2021.

It was created with a seed portfolio of about 2,000 apartments valued, at the time, at $395 million.

Montreal was identified at that time by CEO Karl Brady in an interview with RENX as a key market for the company, and that has continued with several additional properties being added to the portfolio.