[Editor's Note: This article has been updated to correct an error. The forward purchase agreement is between the REIIF and Forum Asset Management, who acquired the property from Choo Communities last year.]
Earlier this week, Toronto-based Forum Asset Management published the Q4 2024 results for its Real Estate Income & Impact Fund (REIIF), simultaneously revealing that a student housing building Forum acquired last year is set to be repositioned under the REIIF.
The student housing building is the 28-storey Envie Rideau at 256 Rideau Street, a few blocks east of the ByWard Market. The project was developed by Choo Communities, the real estate company founded by David Choo that also houses the Ashcroft Homes brand, and was completed a few years ago.
Forum said the REIIF has a forward purchase agreement scheduled for Q3 2025. The building is now under Forum's ALMA brand of housing for students and young professionals, and has been renamed ALMA @ ByWard Market Ottawa.
While the purchase price was not disclosed, STOREYS has learned that the price was $183,000,000. With 579 units (housing 742 beds), the purchase price translates to approximately $316,062 per unit.
A unit within ALMA @ ByWard Market Ottawa. / Forum Asset Management
According to Forum, the acquisition will grow the REIIF's holdings in Ottawa to over 2,759 beds, in a market that is estimated to have 48,000 students. The ALMA @ ByWard Market Ottawa is located near the University of Ottawa, Saint Paul University, Carleton University, and Algonquin College, among other educational institutions.
According to the property website, the building includes a fitness centre, arcade, study lounge, bar, spa lounge, and outdoor patio, among other amenities. A one-bedroom unit is currently listed with an asking rent of $1,999.
Forum REIIF
Forum Asset Management, formerly known as Forum Equity Partners, was founded by Richard Abboud in 1996 as a real estate brokerage and has since evolved into a diverse investment firm with over $3.1 billion in assets under management in North America, across real estate, private equity, and infrastructure.
The Forum Real Estate Income & Impact Fund was then launched in December 2021 with $125 million in initial funding, which was used to acquire a $240 million portfolio across Canada.
The gross asset value of the REIIF recently surpassed $2.4 billion following its acquisition of Alignvest Student Housing REIT, also known as ASH REIT, for $1.686 billion. The acquisition included 7,159 beds across 17 properties in seven markets:
- myRez on Lester - Waterloo, ON
- King Street Towers I - Waterloo, ON
- King Street Towers II - Waterloo, ON
- Preston House - Waterloo, ON
- Bridgeport House - Waterloo, ON
- 308 King - Waterloo, ON
- Hespeler House - Waterloo, ON
- Fergus House - Waterloo, ON
- 1Eleven - Ottawa, ON
- The Annex - Ottawa, ON
- THEO - Ottawa, ON
- 417Nelson - Ottawa, ON
- West Village Suites - Hamilton, ON
- 17Hundred - Oshawa, ON
- The Link - Montreal, QC
- See-More - Halifax, NS
- 1Ten on Whyte - Edmonton, AB
The transaction was announced on October 16, approved by Alignvest shareholders on November 20, and closed on December 18, with a portion of the purchase price funded by BMO, TD Asset Management, and KingSett Capital. Following the acquisition, the REIIF's portfolio now consists of approximately 10,500 beds across 31 properties.
Separately, Forum Asset Management also acquired a majority interest in Campus Assets Inc. — a student housing developer — from Alignvest.
Last month, Forum then announced that Brookfield Asset Management had agreed to invest up to $100 million in the REIIF, which Forum Founder & CEO Richard Abboud said would "enhance REIIF's financial flexibility, support portfolio growth, and strengthen our ability to deliver critically needed, professionally managed student housing across Canada."
In its Q4 results report this week, Forum said the REIIF's net debt-to-asset ratio was approximately 55% as of December 31, 2024. Around 86% of that debt is fixed-rate debt with an average term of 4.9 years and Forum says a priority for 2025 is to "integrate REIIF's historically proven long-term, fixed-rate debt strategy into the recently acquired Alignvest portfolio," including replacing the variable-rate acquisition financing on the Alignvest portfolio with long-term and fixed-rate CMHC mortgages.
