Student Housing Portfolio Sale One of Waterloo Region’s Largest Commercial Sales

Last night I spoke with Brent Davis from The Record about WLU’s recent acquisition of the student housing portfolio on Bricker, Ezra and Hickory.  The entire article can be found at this link.  Below are some excerpts of my comments:

“They ask for a development freeze on what is essentially direct competition to the assets they just bought,” said Benjamin Bach, a commercial real estate agent with Keller Williams Golden Triangle Realty.

The deal — which Bach said will represent one of the largest commercial real estate transactions in the region this year — was facilitated by Coldwell Banker Peter Benninger Realty. Bach said the parcel — all from a single owner — had been on the market for at least six months, and that Laurier paid very close to the asking price.

Bach and others want to know if Laurier disclosed the purchase negotiations, assuming they were ongoing when the university advocated for the development freeze.

…

The study aims to create a new vision for Northdale, away from the student housing developments that Laurier president Max Blouw warned earlier this month were turning the neighbourhood into a “student ghetto.”

But Bach argued Laurier’s new acquisitions south of campus fit the description of precisely the types of buildings Blouw and his University of Waterloo counterpart Feridun Hamdullahpur were campaigning against.

More on this investment transaction can be found here: WLU drops $58.9 mil on Student Housing Investment Portfolio in Waterloo

Benjamin Bach Talks to the Waterloo Record – Laurier Buys Up $59M Buildings