Oktodev's acquisition of a large parking facility adjacent to the Place Laval office complex in the Greater Montreal city is part of an emerging new focus for the firm: the creation of multi-phased developments.  

Oktodev acquired the 465,000-square-foot lot in Laval from developer Luc Poirier for $17.9 million a few weeks ago. It intends to build approximately 1,700 residential units and integrated commercial space on it.

“What attracted us to this was the sheer size and scale in such a strategic location,” Oktodev’s Nathaniel Devine said in an interview with RENX that also included co-founder Francois Jean.

“We knew there would be a big push from the municipal side of the equation to do something interesting here, so we felt it was a really unique opportunity.” 

Poirier had acquired Place Laval, a mixed-use office complex with more than 853,000 square feet of gross leasable space across five office buildings, from Cominar for $72 million in June. 

Site purchased from Luc Poirier

The site on Saint-Martin Boulevard East near Des Laurentides Boulevard in the Montreal suburb also included the excess land subsequently acquired by Oktodev.

Montreal-based Oktodev had considered acquiring the entire complex when the property was marketed by Avison Young, even though it was primarily interested in the land. So, coming to an agreement with Poirier worked well for both parties.

The site has a wide range of essential services and retail options nearby and is close to downtown Laval. Montreal and greater North Shore markets are easily accessible by highway. The land is already zoned for residential development, which should speed up the approvals process.

“I don't want to put a timeline out there because we never know, but I'm confident it's going to be in the short term, as opposed to the long term, when we get shovels in the ground,” Devine said. 

“If we want more density we’ll need to work with the city, but for now we need to work on our master plan,” Jean added.

Jean contemplates a five- or six-phase development featuring buildings of less than 10 storeys, with 200 to 250 residential units in each.

“We're purpose-built rental guys and that's really been our core competency but, that said, there's probably some other uses that could fit there,” Devine said. “We have to think about cannibalization of our own product and all of that, so we're currently strategizing how we go phase by phase and make sure we have some differences among the product.”

Oktodev explores larger, multi-phased builds

Oktodev was launched in September 2018 and has approximately $1.2 billion of assets under management, primarily in Quebec. Its portfolio includes industrial, commercial and self-storage in addition to multifamily.

Investment had primarily come from family offices, but more institutions are now coming on board.

“We're strong believers in purpose-built rental and we feel, Canada-wide, there's going to be continued need for this,” Devine said. “We're not typically land-banking guys. 

“We're more active in the sense that usually we're looking to acquire and go quickly. This is a bit of a unique opportunity in Laval, just because of the size. 

“We're starting to now focus a bit more on multi-phase projects where we feel we can bring value from phase to phase. In the past, what we've done is coupled one-offs in similar geographic locations, which is great, but then you have to keep feeding from that. 

“You're able to feed from one project to the next, but then you have to keep finding the next site. We figured it made more sense to use the geography and build the goodwill in Phase I that we can then bring to Phase II, III and beyond.”

Focus on multifamily

Oktodev owns 1,600 stabilized residential units, has 860 under construction in Quebec City, Dorval and Hull/Gatineau, and has another 2,290 in pre-development.

The 15-storey, 242-unit Eleonore was delivered last year in downtown Hull in partnership with Endevco.

Walt is a 298-unit multi-residential project featuring three commercial spaces on the ground floor on the corner of Dorval and Dawson avenues in Dorval. It was developed in partnership with Endevco and Pur Immobilia.

Alexandra is a 314-unit apartment building with one commercial space in the heart of Hull. It is being developed with Endevco and is scheduled to complete in Q2 2026.

Construction has begun on Arboria, a 105-unit apartment building in Quebec City.

Oktodev is partnering with Endevco on 720 MTL-To., a 216-unit apartment building in pre-development along Montréal-Toronto Boulevard, one of Dorval's main gateways.

H605, another multi-family partnership with Endevco, is in pre-development in Quebec City.

Bluebird partnership and expansion beyond Quebec

Oktodev has partnered with Bluebird Self Storage on a 140,000-square-foot facility in Laval, a 120,000-square-foot facility in Beauport, Que. and a 128,000-square-foot facility in Quebec City — all operated by Bluebird.

“They needed boots on the ground for development because finding sites for self-storage and dealing with the municipalities and all the entitlements is pretty tough to do," Jean explained.

Oktodev is under contract for a couple of development sites in Alberta as it looks to expand into other parts of Canada. 

Oktodev and MPI own an 18-acre property, situated 750 metres from Highway 417 and a 10-minute drive to downtown Ottawa, characterized as a build-to-suit opportunity. It has zoning approval for up to 300,000 square feet of construction for heavy industrial, logistics, transport operations and outdoor storage.

“We tend to be opportunistic and fairly agnostic if something pops up and excites us,” Devine said.

He noted Oktodev would like to acquire and develop more properties in Ontario but projects are often difficult to pencil out in the competitive market.

Oktodev is also looking at investing in income-producing properties to balance its portfolio.