Minto Apartment REIT enters B.C. market, acquires 50% stake in North Vancouver property

David Sali

December 16, 2024

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Minto Apartment REIT has planted its flag on the West Coast after acquiring a stake in a mixed-use project in the Greater Vancouver Area. The Ottawa-based real estate investment trust said Monday it paid $53 million to purchase a 50 per cent managing interest in Lonsdale Square, a 113-unit apartment building with ground-floor retail in North Vancouver. The REIT said the total purchase price of $111.5 million is below $114.3-million average from two independent appraisals of the building. Minto said a Canadian life insurance company has agreed to purchase the remaining 50 per cent non-managing interest in the property. It’s the first transaction in British Columbia for Minto Apartment REIT, which currently owns and operates 28 multi-residential rental properties in Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. The organization said the new six-storey building in North Vancouver’s Lonsdale neighbourhood offers “premium amenities,” including a rooftop terrace and penthouse social lounge as well as a “state-of-the-art smart building operating system” that features a package and food delivery platform. The building’s suites are 93 per cent occupied. Minto said the complex also includes 8,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space that is fully leased to an “upscale” brew pub, a pharmacy and a retailer of vitamins and nutritional supplements. Minto Apartment REIT president and CEO Jonathan Li said the transaction is being financed by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. at “a significantly lower interest rate compared to our revolving credit facility.” Once the deal closes, the REIT will also receive a full repayment of a $14-million convertible development loan associated with the property, which will be used to repay a portion of Minto’s revolving credit facility. The transaction is expected to be finalized next month. “We believe the REIT has demonstrated prudence and discipline over time and we will continue to be disciplined when considering future acquisition opportunities, which will be evaluated in the context of cost of capital, pro forma leverage and prevailing market conditions,” Li said in a statement. Minto’s move into the country’s third-largest urban area comes a month after the REIT announced it was selling an apartment complex in Ottawa’s southeast end as part of its plan to shed aging properties in the nation’s capital and in Edmonton.