Sina will invest $100 million to build its first multiresidential project, a 196-unit development called Eden in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata. 

Montreal-based Sina chose Kanata for the project because of its extremely low multiresidential vacancy rate and high demand for rentals, says Sina partner Mahmoud El-Koury. 

It’s “an asset that’s going to stand the test of time,” El-Koury said of the development at 788 March Road near Klondike Road. The project will consist of two six-storey buildings.

The location’s proximity to the largest research and technology hub in Canada, the Kanata North business park with more than 500 companies, is also a major plus he told RENX.

“We’re looking at a lot of young professionals, young couples, along with people seeking to get out of single-family homes into a unit they don’t have to maintain.”

Excavation is under way, with shoring almost complete at the property. Occupancy is planned for Q4 of 2026.

Sina's history and move into development

Sina was launched in 2019 as a general contracting firm by three partners with design-build backgrounds: El-Koury, his brother Mohamed El-Koury and Charles Lemire.

“Before we started the company, we had built and developed five to six million square feet of different assets from multi-residential to retirement homes to dry storage,” El-Koury said.

The timing was right to launch Sina, as there was an industrial boom happening in the Greater Montreal area during the COVID years. 

The company quickly began working with major industrial developers in the Montreal area such as Rosefellow, for which Sina built a 325,000-square-foot facility at 151 Reverchon Ave. in Pointe-Claire. The site has become a distribution centre for coffeemaker Nespresso.

Its also built two buildings for furniture retailer JC Perrault, including its head office.

Sina’s first development on its own was a 230,000-square-foot warehouse facility for metal processor CR Slitters in Valleyfield, about 51 kilometres southwest of Montreal. 

Remcorp a partner at Eden

For the Kanata development, Sina has teamed up with investment firm Remcorp, which will have a 25 per cent stake in the project.

The Eden project ticked the boxes in terms of its location, economic potential and developer and “is a springboard to do other projects with Sina,” Tony Fionda, senior vice-president and chief investment officer of Montreal-based Remcorp, told RENX.

“This is going to be a great project for the young professionals to have access to housing. This was something that also ticked the box for Sina and ourselves,” Fionda said.

Remcorp also likes multifamily residential because it “clearly stands the test of time in terms of economic cycles.”

Fionda says Remcorp, which invests in real estate and several other sectors, watched Sina for three or four years before deciding to partner with the firm. “We see this as a great kickoff to a new relationship with Sina.” 

“They bring a lot of expertise to the table, experience and a lot of integrity,” he said. “The first thing we invest in is people, partners that have the same type of DNA as ourselves . . ."

Fionada said Remcorp is open for business in residential, commercial and industrial real estate, three asset classes in which it already operates.

Details about Eden

El-Koury said another developer had acquired the Kanata site from the city but decided not to go ahead with the project. “We took it on and changed the development. It was initially planned to be a four-story building. We added two storeys to it.”

Eden, which has obtained financing from the CMHC and Equitable Bank, will have 95 one-bedroom units, 79 two-bedroom units and 22 three-bedroom units. There will be two levels of underground parking. 

Amenities will include an indoor pool, gym, bike racks and bicycle repair area, lounge, and conference rooms for coworking. In addition, “we have a nice promenade in the back where we have a bike path that’s going to be given back to the city.”

Sina is planning to hold on to Eden for the long term and hire a third-party manager for the development. However, “even though we’re looking to outsource the property management, we’re very hands on with all of our assets.” 

Sina is looking at other residential projects in Ontario area and Greater Montreal, El-Koury said.

Meanwhile, Sina continues to act as a general contractor and continues to quote on several projects. 

“Because we are a fully integrated GC, we help a lot of clients go through their budgeting and scheduling the very early stages when they have growth ideas,” he said.

El-Koury is seeing an uptick in the industrial and commercial markets after a slowdown in the last year or so. Many projects were uncertain “but they’re coming back to the fold.”