TheRecord - Laurier buys up $59M buildings

http://www.therecord.com/print/article/692124

Brent Davis, Record staff

March 22, 2012 WATERLOO Wilfrid Laurier University has become a student landlord with a $58.9-million purchase of 12 apartment buildings adjacent to its main campus. Its an important piece of property, and its a significant size, said Jim Butler, vice-president of finance and administration. The deal, which closed on Thursday, includes 10 properties on Ezra Street and one on Bricker Avenue, south of Lauriers Waterloo campus. It also includes one on Hickory Street West in the Northdale area, north of the campus and beside the former Northdale Public School, which the university already owns. Were landlocked, and theres a lot of development taking place and prices are increasing rapidly in our environs, Butler said. Sometimes we have no choice . . . but to acquire some properties. Nine of the properties are recently built and three are renovated multi-tenant houses. In total, the buildings can house about 785 people, the university said, and the vast majority of the tenants are students. There are presently no vacancies. Butler said the university plans to maintain the buildings as rental housing for the foreseeable future, barring any unforeseen contingencies. He wouldnt speculate on what the university might use the properties for down the road. Weve borrowed money to acquire them and were kind of relying on that rate of return, he said. He said he expects the rental income to cover the cost of borrowing while generating a small surplus. It pays for itself and gives us a long-term interest in the property. But some are questioning the timing of the deal, given that Laurier and the University of Waterloo both successfully encouraged the city to impose a temporary freeze on development in the Northdale area earlier this month. 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. Its an incredible conflict of interest, said student landlord Paul Ellingham. Were they looking for a monopoly? he asked. Or at least they want no competition.

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TheRecord - Laurier buys up $59M buildings

http://www.therecord.com/print/article/692124

Butler disagreed. I dont see the connection, he said. Were not blocking competition. Butler said Lauriers purchase represents only a small percentage of rental units in the area. The development freeze, which could last at least one year, was put in place while a land use and community improvement study for Northdale is being undertaken. The bylaw exempts 17 developments already in the planning stages in the area. 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 Lauriers 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. Butler said the purchase was part of Lauriers long-term land banking approach. He said the university plans to invest in upgrades for some of the properties. A private property manager has already been enlisted to manage the buildings. Were going to provide high-quality housing, Butler said. bdavis@therecord.com
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