Press Releases

TORONTO, Aug. 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Greyspring Apartments has acquired a rental community located on de Choisy Street in Montreal, Québec. The acquisition consists of 10 low-rise wood and brick buildings containing 412 rental units. Greyspring Apartments will oversee the execution of a comprehensive value-add program, which will include common area and suite improvements and building efficiency enhancements.

Located in the Saint-Léonard neighborhood, the property is within walking distance to established transit, retail, academic institutions and hospitals. It is conveniently located at the intersection of Bélanger Street and Lacordaire Boulevard, two main streets that contain a number of essential services and amenities, also providing easy access to major highways and thoroughfares.

The property has a mix of studio, one, two and three-bedroom units with both above and underground parking spread over 257,523 square feet of GFA.

“We are very pleased to add this acquisition to our growing Canadian portfolio, particularly in Montreal which has recently seen substantial economic growth,” said Karl Brady, President, Greyspring Apartments. “This central location of the property provides residents with convenient transit options and numerous amenities. We are excited to implement our value-add program to enhance the resident experience.”

Read the full release on the Global Newswire site.

TORONTO, Dec. 14, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Greybrook Realty Partners and Marlin Spring are pleased to announce the new branding of their jointly owned investment and asset management firm, Greyspring Apartments. With a portfolio of more than 2,000 units and CAD$375 million in assets under management, Greyspring Apartments is focused on the acquisition and repositioning of multi-family assets throughout Canada.

The new name and branding is an important step in Greyspring’s evolution as an independent operating business. Formed in 2018 by long standing-partners Marlin Spring and Greybrook Realty Partners, Greyspring Apartments was established with the goal of building a leading asset management firm with a robust portfolio of residential rental real estate assets in primary and secondary markets across Canada.

Greyspring’s talented team of real estate, asset management and finance professionals is overseen and guided by the Management Board, whose members include Benjamin Bakst, CEO, Marlin Spring; Elliot Kazarnovksy, CFO, Marlin Spring; Sasha Cucuz, CEO, Greybrook Securities Inc.; Peter Politis, CEO, Greybrook Realty Partners; Chris Salapoutis, President & COO, Greybrook Realty Partners; Ashi Mathur, President, Marlin Spring; and Karl Brady. In addition to his role on the Management Board, Karl Brady leads Greyspring Apartments as its President.

“We are pleased to announce the official name and branding of a business we formed with our partners at Marlin Spring a few years ago,” said Peter Politis, CEO, Greybrook Realty Partners. “Greyspring has been diligently focused on the execution of strategic value-add programs across its portfolio that are improving the quality of housing for tenants and overall asset values. For Greybrook investors, expanding from our core business in real estate development to the value-add space through Greyspring, has allowed us to provide our clients with investment opportunities that diversify their real estate investment portfolios.”

“Marlin Spring and Greybrook have partnered on many residential real estate projects in recent years,” said Benjamin Bakst, CEO and Cofounder, Marlin Spring. “To a great extent, Greyspring illustrates our approach to partnerships. We believe in, and strive for, responsible growth through deepening our relationships with our trusted partners. With Greyspring, we’ve formalized our focus on providing better and more affordable living experiences for Canadians. This vision aligns with our mission to deliver exceptional real estate value to all our stakeholders with an uncompromising adherence to our core values.”

Read the full release on the Global Newswire site.

TORONTO, Dec. 15, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Greyspring Apartments announced today the acquisition of a 13-storey, 105-unit rental apartment building located at 1951 Maisonneuve Boulevard East in Montreal, Québec. Greyspring Apartments will oversee the execution of a comprehensive value-add program, which will include common area and suite improvements, the creation of a rooftop amenity space, and building efficiency enhancements.

Located in Ville-Marie, just east of Montreal’s downtown core, the property features unobstructed views of the downtown and benefits from an exceptional transit-oriented location. The building is conveniently located across from the Papineau metro station and adjacent to the Jacques-Cartier Bridge, providing residents with easy access to the Société de transport de Montréal transit. The area is highly walkable, a short distance from the St. Lawrence River, Parc des Faubourgs, Parc des Royaux and La Fontaine Park, and is poised for significant growth with a number of transformative mixed-use developments planned nearby.

The property has a mix of studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units with two ground floor commercial units and four levels of underground parking. The asset will form part of Greyspring’s growing apartment portfolio and expand Greyspring’s Canadian portfolio to over 1,600 units across Quebec and Ontario.

“We are very pleased to have closed on this acquisition in Montreal – a core market for Greyspring that strengthens our presence in the city,” said Karl Brady, President, Greyspring Apartments. “This property presents another great opportunity for us to execute our value-add program, improve the overall quality of the asset, and create additional economies of scale across our portfolio in Montreal.”

Read the full release on the Global Newswire site.

Greybrook Realty Partners and Marlin Spring announced today the acquisition of a portfolio of rental properties in Montréal, Québec. Entities controlled by Greybrook and Marlin Spring have purchased a portfolio consisting of seven apartment buildings with a total of 324 rental units. Greybrook and Marlin Spring will oversee the execution of a value-add program which will involve in-suite renovations and common area improvements across all seven properties.

The properties are located in the well-established Côte-Des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-De-Grâce neighbourhood of Montréal. The buildings are located within walking distance of two metro stations, convenient access to shops, grocery stores, restaurants, the Université de Montréal and hospitals, including the Jewish General Hospital.

“The close of this acquisition brings the total number of units within our Montréal value-add portfolio to 774. With asking rents currently below comparable products in the area, we believe an opportunity exists to improve both the product offering and revenue through execution of a value-add program,” said Jared Berlin, Executive Director, Asset Management, Greybrook Realty Partners.

“With the success of our existing Montreal portfolio, supported by the City of Montréal’s strong rental market fundamentals, we believe these assets are a natural fit in our growing Québec Multi-family Portfolio” said Elliot Kazarnovsky, CFO, Marlin Spring.

Read the full release on the Global Newswire site.

Greybrook Realty Partners and Marlin Spring announced today the acquisition of a portfolio of rental properties in Ottawa, Ontario, and Gatineau, Québec. Entities jointly owned and controlled by Greybrook and Marlin Spring have purchased a portfolio consisting of 200 rental units in Ottawa and 320 rental units in Gatineau. Greybrook and Marlin Spring will oversee the execution of a value-add program which will involve in-suite renovations and common area improvements across both properties.

The Ottawa property is located close to the downtown core, Ottawa’s two major universities, with excellent transit and highway access, and will benefit from the continued gentrification of the surrounding neighbourhood. The Gatineau property is also well placed in close proximity to downtown Hull (Gatineau’s core business district) and downtown Ottawa, with access to schools, the Hull hospital campus and Gatineau Park.

“The Ottawa-Gatineau region is benefiting from accelerating population and labour market growth while the strong demand for rental has driven down the region’s vacancy rate over the past few years. This acquisition, at a price below replacement value, is in line with our principled acquisition protocol and accretive to our growing, diversified portfolio,” said Ben Bakst, CEO, Marlin Spring.

“Greybrook is very pleased to add these two properties to our growing multi-family investment portfolio, and we look forward to executing on a value-add program that will improve the quality of the apartments and facilities for the tenants,” said Sasha Cucuz, CEO, Greybrook Securities Inc.

See full release on Globe Newswire

Greybrook Realty Partners and Marlin Spring Investments announced today the acquisition of a portfolio of rental properties in the Province of Québec. Entities jointly owned and controlled by Greybrook and Marlin Spring have purchased eight apartment buildings in Montréal, and two apartment buildings and a townhouse complex in Québec City, for an aggregate purchase price of $117,500,000. The portfolio consists of 450 rental units in Montréal and 217 rental units in Québec City. Greybrook and Marlin Spring Investments will oversee the execution of a value-add program which involves renovating rental suites, improving common areas and increasing building efficiencies throughout all of the portfolio properties.

Seven of the eight Montréal properties are located in the suburb of Hampstead and the eighth Montréal property is located downtown, minutes from McGill University and Concordia University. The two Québec City apartment buildings are located in the Limoilou District, and the third property, Gingras townhomes, is located west of downtown Québec City.

The Province of Québec represents approximately 20% of Canada’s GDP and it has the second largest provincial economy in the country. According to RBC’s Provincial Outlook Report, Québec is expected to lead all provinces in GDP growth in 2018 with a growth rate of 2.6%. The province’s population has grown by approximately 9.1% between 2007 to 2017 and unemployment in Québec is at its lowest recorded level since 1976.  These economic factors have contributed to strong demand for housing and a drop in vacancy rates in both Montréal and Québec City. As reported by the CMHC, between 2015 to 2017 Montréal’s vacancy rate fell from 4.0% to 2.8% and Quebec City’s vacancy rate fell from 3.5% to 3.0%.

“With the acquisition of this portfolio and our recent acquisition of two garden-style apartment properties in Houston, Texas, we have acquired over 1,200 units as part of our multi-family value-add portfolio in the past three weeks,” said Peter Politis, CEO, Greybrook Realty Partners.  “Strong economic drivers, robust population growth and rising homeownership costs have supported tightening rental markets across Montréal and Québec City in recent years. With consistent rental demand and rent growth expected to persist, we will continue to explore attractive opportunities in these submarkets.”

“Marlin Spring and Greybrook have a strong history of successful partnerships and we are delighted to partner on this acquisition, a great addition to our Canadian portfolio of value-add assets,” said Ben Bakst, CEO of Marlin Spring Investments. “With current rents for each property sitting at below market value relative to comparable units in the vicinity, we believe an opportunity exists to meaningfully increase the properties’ Net Operating Income by executing a value-add program to upgrade the assets.”

Read the full release on Globe Newswire.

Greybrook Realty Partners and Marlin Spring Investments announced today the acquisition of two townhome apartment complexes in Houston, Texas, for a purchase price of US$68,000,000. Entities jointly owned and controlled by Greybrook and Marlin Spring Investments will oversee the execution of a value-add program to renovate rental suites, improve common areas, and increase building efficiencies across both properties.

Built between 1992 and 1999, the adjacent properties are located near Houston’s Romano Woods neighbourhood, and collectively consist of 566 garden-style residential townhomes on 39-acres. Located within a short drive from downtown Houston, the amenity-rich properties offer tenants two clubhouses, fitness centres and resort style pools, as well as convenient access to surrounding educational institutions, retail hubs, and the Houston Northwest Medical Center.

Supported by superior access to ground, air and rail transportation, Houston has established itself as a major economic hub. The largest city in Texas and the fourth largest city in the United States, Houston’s population growth has exceeded both state and national levels since 2011, and job growth in the metro Houston Metroplex area is forecast to remain double the national average through 2022. A global leader in the oil and energy industry, the city is also home to the internationally renowned Texas Medical Center, and ranks fourth in the U.S. for number of Fortune 500 headquarters.

“We are thrilled to expand our real estate investment portfolio into Houston along with our trusted partner Marlin Spring Investments,” stated Sasha Cucuz, CEO of Greybrook Securities Inc. “With current sitting rents for each property below market for comparable units in the vicinity, we believe an opportunity exists to meaningfully increase the properties’ net operating income through the roll-out of a well-executed value-add program to reposition the asset.”

“Houston has demonstrated strong market fundamentals, and with increasing rents and decreasing vacancies, the city checked a lot of boxes for Marlin Spring and Greybrook’s value-add investment strategy,” explained Ben Bakst, CEO of Marlin Spring Investments. “This is our eighth value-add multi-family property acquisition in North America and it is an exceptional opportunity for our organizations to leverage our collective experience and expertise in real estate to significantly increase the value of this asset.”

Read the full release on Globe Newswire.