Great Untapped Market

Most people who have gone through the university or college experience have either horror or comedic stories revolving around off-campus housing. (Burst water pipes, fiery curtains, or furniture nailed to the ceiling all come to mind.) “Right now many kids are living in illegal apartments or run-down housing,” CHC Realty Capital Corp CEO Mark Hansen tells Bisnow. CHC, a capital pool company based in Toronto, announced it has entered into an agreement to buy the Liberty Terrace student housing property in Kingston for $2.5M. The property has 18 beds and just over 1,100 SF of ground-floor commercial space (100% leased to two tenants) and is just over one kilometre from Queen’s University. Snapped is Liberty Terrace.

For CHC, the student housing market is relatively new ground, having made its first acquisition in April 2012. The company owns four other properties--Hamilton, Oshawa, and two in Waterloo--through limited partnerships, making them one of the largest owners of student off-campus housing properties in Canada (2,000 beds). The Liberty deal serves as a case study in CHC’s growth strategy as they target both existing product for acquisition and new-build opportunities in partnership with other developers in close proximity to major universities in proven markets across Canada. “Student housing in Canada has been non-existent as a market,” Mark says. “It’s a proven market everywhere else in the world. There is a critical mass of kids here and not enough supply.” Snapped is West Village Suites in Hamilton.