Esplanade Apartments in London. (Image courtesy JLL)

A joint venture between Starlight Investments and Homestead Land Holdings has purchased two multi-residential apartment complexes, in Toronto and London, Ont., for $241 million.

Together, Parkvue Apartments in the East Toronto district of Scarborough, and Esplanade Apartments in London comprise 962 units. The transaction was handled by JLL Capital Markets, Multifamily Ontario, which issued a release announcing the purchase Monday morning.

The identity of the vendor was not released, but Parkvue Apartments has been managed by Metcap Living and is located at 1340, 1350 and 1360 Danforth Rd., near Eglinton. The site consists of three tri-winged towers with 175, 173 and 225 units, plus a variety of amenities spread throughout the three buildings.

JLL said this property “afforded the unique opportunity to acquire substantial residential rental scale and quality situated on a contiguous site located within a node that is both established and developing.”

The 7.3-acre site backs onto Knob Creek Park and presides over 777 feet of frontage on Danforth Rd.

“Starlight is pleased to continue its urban growth with the acquisition of three desirable high-rise towers in Toronto,” said Starlight Investments president and CEO Daniel Drimmer in the release. “These acquisitions create further synergies with our existing Toronto portfolio and will benefit from our scalable asset management program.”

JLL calls Esplanade Apartments “the pinnacle of rental housing in London,” located at 1 and 9 Grosvenor St., and 291-295 George St. The property is just minutes from downtown London and Western University. The site overlooks the banks of the Thames River in one of the city’s top neighbourhoods.

Consisting of four buildings ranging from three to 14 storeys on a 6.3-acre lot, Esplanade Apartments includes 392 rental units.

“The Esplanade is an institutional quality asset, adjacent to Gibbons Park, and located on the banks of the Thames River in London,” said Homestead CEO Alfred G. Hendry in the release. “We are very proud to add this spectacular property to our London portfolio.”

About Starlight and Homestead

Starlight is a Toronto-based privately held, full service, real estate investment and asset management company with more than 150 employees.

It owns and operates about $9 billion in multi-family and commercial properties for joint venture partnerships with institutional investors, Northview Apartment REIT, True North Commercial REIT, Starlight U.S. MultiFamily (No. 5) Core Fund and Starlight U.S. Multi-Family (No.1) Value-Add Fund and for private investors.

As of  mid-2018, Starlight’s portfolio consisted of approximately 36,000 multi-family units across Canada and the U.S. and more than 5.3 million square feet of commercial properties.

Founded in Kingston, Ont., in 1954, Homestead Land Holdings Limited has grown to become one of Canada’s largest landlords. It owns and operates more than 25,000 apartments in major and secondary markets across Ontario, as well as in Calgary.

Homestead has also been an active developer, most recently 1000 Mount Pleasant Road in Toronto, four locations in Kingston and its newest project at 99 Range Road in Ottawa.