Harrison Street’s Canada Alternative Real Estate Fund has acquired Le Mildoré, a new, 279-bed purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) in Montreal as part of a joint venture with developer Werkliv.

Le Mildoré at 2025 Peel St. was completed in August and is 99 per cent occupied.

The acquisition is the first for Harrison Street in Montreal’s student housing market.

It is the 13th Canadian investment for the fund, which has closed on over $925 million of properties since launching in 2021.

“We are delighted to announce Harrison Street’s first PBSA investment in Montreal, in partnership with WerkLiv, an experienced developer in Canada’s student housing market,” said Jonathan Turnbull, Harrison Street’s head of transactions and business development, Canada in this morning’s announcement.

“Le Mildoré will help fill a significant void for purpose-built student housing in Montreal, which has an estimated student population of 139,000 and among the largest shortage of student accommodations in Canada. 

“The current shortfall in units designed for student occupancy in downtown Montreal is approximately 47,000 – representing a large, unfilled market opportunity.” 

Features of Le Mildoré

No financial details were released, though Werkliv founder Daniel Goodfellow said the building represented a $48.5 million investment for his firm in a 2021 interview with RENX. A spokesperson for Harrison Street told RENX Werkliv is retaining a minority interest in the property.

The 19-storey Le Mildoré contains 70 units and spans about 85,000 square feet of floor space. Individual units range from about 800 to 850 square feet.

“The property not only reflects Harrison Street’s strategy of investing in unique, high-quality assets that serve significant market needs, but also our commitment to integrating ESG throughout our business,” Turnbull said in the release.

“Le Mildoré was developed with materials and methods designed to produce lower GHG emissions, which will advance our goals to lower carbon emissions by improving the energy efficiency of the building.”

Le Mildoré is also one of the few PBSAs in Montreal with three- and four-bedroom apartment configurations, and offers what Harrison Street considers one of the strongest amenities packages amongst existing PBSA assets in Montreal.

Downtown Montreal location

Downtown Montreal has seen 4.4 per cent population growth over the past five years, the second-fastest pace for all primary downtown areas in Canada over that period.

Centrally located downtown, Le Mildoré is close to both of Montreal’s most prominent universities – McGill University and Concordia University - which together encompass over 80,000 full-time students. 

It also benefits from being located in downtown Montreal near its wide range of restaurants, nightlife, attractions and events. 

Werkliv is a Montreal-based developer which is focused on building and renovating affordable student accommodations.

Goodfellow, a McGill graduate, founded the firm in 2012 and has been involved in several developments in Greater Montreal, Halifax and St. John’s.

In his 2021 interview with RENX, Goodfellow said Werkliv’s philosophy is to development the projects, stabilize them and then sell.

About Harrison Street 

Harrison Street is an investment management firm exclusively focused on alternative real assets. 

Since inception in 2005, it has invested across senior housing, student housing, health care, life sciences and storage real estate as well as social and utility infrastructure. 

Headquartered in Chicago with offices in London, New York, Tokyo, Toronto, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., the firm has more than 240 employees and approximately $53 billion in assets under management. 

Clients include a global institutional investor base domiciled in North America, Europe, Middle East, Asia and Latin America.

The Harrison Street Canada Alternative Real Estate Fund targets investments in senior living, student housing, medical office, life sciences, storage and digital assets throughout Canada.