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Toronto real estate investment fund purchases four student housing properties in Ottawa

October 16, 2024

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Forum Asset Management announced Wednesday that its Real Estate Income and Impact Fund is acquiring Alignvest Student Housing Real Estate Investment Trust’s portfolio for $1.68 billion. Once the transaction is finalized, the Toronto-based company, which specializes in purpose-built student accommodations, will own and manage nearly 10,500 beds across the country, with close to 2,200 in Ottawa. This acquisition means Forum will acquire Alignvest’s current Ottawa portfolio, consisting of the 1Eleven building (111 Cooper St.), The Annex (265 Laurier Ave. E.), Théo building (305 Rideau St.) and 417Nelson (417 Nelson St.) in Ottawa. These properties are located close to the city’s main post-secondary institutions: Carleton University, the University of Ottawa and Algonquin College. Sydney MacDougall, associate director of marketing and communications at Forum, said that the company’s acquisition of Alignvest will add about 1,500 beds to its portfolio in Ottawa. “Alongside Forum’s current assets and plans for further expansion, this initiative aims to continue to provide high-quality, student-focused accommodations, addressing the existing shortfall and meeting the growing demand for student housing in the area,” MacDougall said in an email to OBJ. Benefits of the acquisition to investors include increased portfolio scale, diversification, and expansion into complementary university markets, the company said in the news release. Forum is an investor, developer and asset manager that has operated across North America for more than 28 years. Its investment focus includes real estate, private equity and infrastructure. The enterprise value of its assets under management exceeds $1.7 billion, according to the company. The Forum Real Estate Income and Impact Fund invests principally in institutional-quality, multi-family rental apartments, purpose-built student accommodations and furnished rentals located in supply-constrained markets in Canada. Toronto-based Alignvest Student Housing REIT was launched in 2018 and built a portfolio of 17 properties with 7,159 beds across seven major Canadian cities, including Ottawa. The transaction is slated to be finalized by the end of 2024, according to the press release.