InterRent REIT and Crestpoint Real Estate Investments Ltd. have acquired Alba, a 248-unit apartment building at 170 Rene-Levesque Blvd. E. in downtown Montreal, for $107 million from developer Mondev and Hillpark Capital.

“This is one of the most significant single-asset, multires sales in many years in Montreal,” Scott Speirs, vice-chairman and practice lead for CBRE Montreal’s national investment team, told RENX.

CBRE represented the vendors in the deal for the newly constructed 20-storey apartment building, which was completed last year.

Speirs said there was a lot of interest in Alba, primarily from institutions and high-net-worth investors, since marketing began on May 14. There was a two-round bidding process for the property.

InterRent and Crestpoint partnership

InterRent and Crestpoint previously created a joint venture to enter the Vancouver multifamily market with the acquisition of 15 rental apartment properties, with a combined 614 units, in January 2021.

Crestpoint, Vestcor and InterRent also partnered on the $185.5-million acquisition of a two-tower, 605-unit apartment property on Hanover Road in the Toronto-area city of Brampton two years later.

“InterRent was our first partner in the multires space when we made the determination to go into that space about three years ago,” Crestpoint executive vice-president and head of asset management Max Rosenfeld said in an interview with RENX.

“We're really happy to own it. The location’s great, the product’s great and it will be a good one for us.”

The vendors opted to sell Alba in order to recycle capital to invest in other projects, according to Speirs.

Alba had only recently become available for occupancy when CBRE first started marketing it, and its occupancy rate was about 83 per cent at that point. That number has increased over the summer and through the autumn.

What Alba offers

Available units in Alba range in size from 391-square-foot studios to 1,015-square-foot three-bedroom apartments, with rents ranging from $1,549 to $4,025 per month, according to Apartments.com.

Units include a fridge, stove, dishwasher, washer and dryer, and all utilities are included in the rent. 

Alba’s amenities include a rooftop pool and terrace with barbecue areas, a lounge, a gym and storage lockers.

The building is located between Montreal’s downtown, the Quartier des spectacles and the Old Port. It’s close to universities and a hospital and is within easy walking distance of Metro stations.

“Because the property is brand new, it has five years exempt from rent controls,” said Speirs, who noted Alba is “leased primarily to an affluent clientele of international students, young professionals and empty nesters who lack alternatives in the area.”

Mondev’s 1200 Mackay is also for sale

There aren’t a lot of apartment buildings for sale in downtown Montreal, but CBRE started marketing another Mondev-developed property at 1200 Mackay St. in the last month.

The location, in the Golden Square Mile neighbourhood, is in close proximity to public transit, post-secondary educational institutions, shopping, dining and entertainment options.

The 11-storey, 125-unit, Chevalier Morales-designed and Cogir-managed building was completed this year. It has 34 studios averaging 499 square feet, 79 one-bedroom units averaging 600 square feet and 12 two-bedroom units averaging 891 square feet.

The apartment building includes underground parking, a fitness centre and a rooftop terrace. 

It’s 90 per cent occupied and, like Alba, has a five-year exemption from rent controls.

Bids are due on Nov. 14.

Apartment construction is primarily taking place in Montreal’s suburbs as pro formas are still difficult to make work for new developments downtown, though Speirs said some large condominium projects have integrated a rental component.

“Investor demand is increasing, and particularly institutional investor demand is increasing, and it's very focused around new-build, purpose-built rental,” Speirs said of Montreal’s multi-family market, which he noted has more merchant developers than other major Canadian cities.