Alignvest Student Housing – Q1 2022 Management Report

by on May 2, 2022 with No Comments

We are pleased to send you the March 31, 2022 Management Report of Alignvest Student Housing Real Estate Investment Trust (“ASH REIT”).

We are currently experiencing high inflation in Canada, with the inflation rate rising to 6.7% in March 2022. We are seeing that student housing provides very effective protection against inflation due to the natural, high turnover of student leases. While we are still in the midst of our pre-leasing season, we are executing leases at higher than budget rates and expect to achieve strong year-over-year growth in rents. Further, we continue to experience strong demand for our beds, with our pre-leasing  for September 2022 currently 16% ahead of last year at this time. We expect to have another year of strong occupancy next year, consistent with our current occupancy of 98%.

In response to high inflation, the Bank of Canada increased its benchmark interest rate by 50bps on April 13, 2022 and has indicated that further rate hikes should be expected. This, combined with the uncertainty from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has created a volatile financing environment, with base rates and lender spreads increasing. We are pleased to have stable and attractive financing in place, with no material near-term financing requirements. With respect to potential acquisitions, we have been building up a robust cash reserve on our balance sheet to capitalize on the expected opportunities that may arise over the next few months.

Even in an inflationary and volatile financing environment, there continues to be strong interest in the student housing sector both nationally and globally. On April 19, 2022, Blackstone announced the acquisition of American Campus Communities, the largest owner/operator of student housing in the United States, for ~USD$13 billion, demonstrating the continuing confidence in the sector.

Below is the link to our Management Report.

Management Report

Travel Insurance – MFG

by on February 16, 2022 with No Comments

 

Stress-free travel insurance plans

Travel with peace of mind. When you choose travel insurance from Saskatchewan Blue Cross and MFG, you can rest assured that your needs will be taken care of in a medical emergency.

Contact us today for your quote 306-933-9993 or insurance@mfgltd.com

 

 

Plan Options:

Annual Plan

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VIP

 

Covid Details

Alignvest Student Housing – Q4 2021 Management Report

by on January 28, 2022 with No Comments
DECEMBER 31, 2021 – MANAGEMENT REPORT

We are pleased to send you the December 31, 2021 Management Report of Alignvest Student Housing Real Estate Investment Trust (“ASH REIT”).

We are proud of ASH REIT’s achievements in 2021. We finished the year with three transformative acquisitions, which increased the REIT’s asset base by 1,323 beds and over $215 million in asset value; we maintained near-full occupancy and very attractive collection rates across the portfolio through another year under COVID-19; and we have experienced positive leasing and operational results which have set the foundation for a successful 2022/23 academic year. With these achievements, we were able to deliver a net return of 12.1% in 2021, and an annualized return since inception of 11.1% (applicable to Class F unitholders, assuming DRIP participation).

While we are currently persevering through another wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, we remain optimistic that the impacts on the economy and student demographic will not hinder our operations, similar to the prior two years. We are at 98% occupancy and we expect our buildings to have near-full physical occupancy as students return to campus over the next several weeks.

Student housing continues to prove itself to be a resilient asset class and we remain excited about the outlook for the sector. Following a successful fundraising period in Q4 2021, we are now focused on acquiring additional properties in 2022 to continue to build on our track record of delivering attractive risk-adjusted returns to our investors.

Below is the link to our Management Report. Please contact us if you have any questions or need additional information.

Management Report

Henri Bourassa LP – Q3 Update

by on November 25, 2021 with No Comments

 

 

 

 

Operational Update

Acquired by StoreWest & Bluebird in August 2020 located in Saint-Laurent, Montreal.

  • 97,119 SF net rentable with 794 storage units

Bluebird Storage Management continues to focus on increasing revenues and the overall economic occupancy for Henri Bourassa. The Montreal market has proven to be very strong with current occupancy levels still over 90% despite aggressive rate increases at the facility.

Financial Update

Management is currently working on a refinance package with BMO on the facility which is expected to drop our overall cost of borrowing. It is expected that such a refinance should free up significant capital to enable a distribution . As part of this refinance, management is seeking an updated appraisal on the property. Additionally, we are seeking an opinion on the value of the property with residential zoning in place to determine which exit option could provide the best value for investors. We expect to announce a distribution once the financing is finalized.

Rezoning Update

Management has been working with our consultant, BC2 to advance the zoning for a multi-family development. Council has given feedback on our current plan and indicated it would be accepted. We are currently waiting until municipal elections are completed in Montreal to determine if any further densification can be negotiated. This process is likely 6-8 months out.

Wright-Parkway LP – Q3 2021 Update

by on November 9, 2021 with No Comments

Operational Update

In February 2021, Wright-Parkway Self-Storage LP was formed by StoreWest & Bluebird to acquire two facilities, one in Truro, Nova Scotia and the other in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The Parkway facility in Truro is 21,786 SF net rentable with 259 units. While, the Wright facility in Dartmouth is 68,957 SF net rentable with 607 units.

Financial Update

Parkway (Truro)

  • Revenues of $340K YTD with 89% occupancy, Profitable

Wright facility (Dartmouth)

  • Revenues of $1.2M YTD with 90.5% occupancy, Profitable (below)

Revenue management has continued to be Bluebird’s focus with these stabilized assets. It has instituted a two-pronged revenue management program targeting both new & existing clients.

StoreWest Dufferin LP – Q3 2021 Update

by on November 9, 2021 with No Comments

 

Car and Truck Wash Update

• Retrofit of the Automatic Truck bay is complete. New foam cannons and brushes are a big hit. Significant amount of maintenance fixes completed year-to-date.

• Memberships continue to grow with over 1300 members currently. This is up from ~700 members at start of year. We now have over 165 fleet clients as well.

• Sales in the overall car/truck wash are up 33% YoY. We have also dropped our labour by close 20% this year, while getting our chemical cost down as well.

Self-Storage Update

Dufferin Storage celebrated its first anniversary at the end of August. The facility achieved 35% occupancy in its first year – well ahead of projections (20% is considered normal).

At its current level of occupancy the storage facility is essentially at operational breakeven (an impressive feat in one year).

Storage is now entering the quieter period (Nov. – March), but management will continue to focus on financial occupancy while looking forward to the 2022 lease up season.

*Please note our pricing vs our competitors below

 

 

Financial Update

 

Management is currently working with our lender on terming out the construction loan for Dufferin Storage. As part of this process, updated appraisals were obtained on both the storage and wash from Colliers.

Colliers appraised the wash at $15.1M and storage at $28.3M (as is). This provides a total project appraisal of $43.4M with a total project cost of ~$29M (~$14.4M gain on $11M equity). While this is no guarantee of exit value it is encouraging.

Chestermere Self-Storage LP – Q3 2021 Update

by on November 9, 2021 with No Comments

Operational Update

In late 2020, StoreWest replaced our existing facility Manager with Bluebird. In addition to leasing up the facility, Bluebird’s main focus has been on bringing up our revenues and financial occupancy. This has been achieved through systematic rent increases as noted below. The net result has been a dramatic increase in monthly revenue.

Financial Update

 

  • As of the end of September, storage is at ~75% occupancy and our RV lots are at 95%+ with waiting lists.
  • Chestermere is fully profitable and phase 1 is nearing full stabilization (85% occupancy)
Summer 2021 appraisal (after expansion) – Colliers $20,140,00 with roughly $7.6M in debt on property
  • Management is currently focused on securing permits, financing, and a reasonable quote for the proposed phase 2 expansion.
  • Phase 2 is expected to add ~28,000 SqFt net rentable and over $700,000 in gross annual revenue potential.

Essential service – no payments deferred or missed during Covid

Aviation Car Wash LP Update

by on November 1, 2021 with No Comments

 

Construction Update

  • Currently finalizing building envelope construction, and anticipate fully insulated envelope by mid November
  • Vehicle conveyance system install complete
  • Majority of car wash equipment has been received/secured on-site and installation initiated
  • Bulk of equipment installation will continue with full envelope enclosure in November

Opening January 2022

  • Enmax transformer has been energized with power and gas to site which will aid in keeping our costs down with alleviating any need for internal propane heating
  • Internal framing and drywall is substantially complete
  • Project construction is over 70% complete to-date

  • Currently tracking for construction completion late December 2021, with operational opening date anticipated to be in January 2022
  • The project is still tracking to construction budget

Alignvest Student Housing – Q3 Management Report

by on October 19, 2021 with No Comments

We are pleased to send you the September 30, 2021 Management Report of Alignvest Student Housing Real Estate Investment Trust (“ASH REIT”).

Q3 2021 included the long-anticipated resumption of in-person classes at Canadian universities, making this arguably the most important period in our short history. We are extremely pleased to see students return to campus and confirm that online classes have not disrupted the traditional in-person teaching model.

In Q3 2021, we experienced robust leasing activity. We have returned to pre-pandemic occupancy with 96% of our beds leased for the 2021/2022 school year, and we are continuing to see additional interest from students who are still making plans to return for January 2022. Importantly, we have achieved this occupancy while also growing our gross and net rent on a year-over-year basis.

We also successfully closed our previously announced acquisition of THEO, a 507-bed property with ~18,000 square feet of retail space, on July 30, 2021. Since closing, renovations were completed to increase the bed count to 528 beds. We were successful in securing attractive financing for this deal and are proud to add this high quality property to our portfolio.

 

Below is the link to our Management Report. Please contact us if you have any questions or need additional information.
Management Report

 

 

THEO, OTTAWA

On July 30, 2021, we closed the acquisition of THEO, a recently renovated, multi-unit student housing building located at 305 Rideau Street in Ottawa, Ontario. The 12-storey building is comprised of 193 units and 528 beds. THEO offers top of the market interior finishes including a premium modern furniture package, stainless steel appliances, quartz countertops and in suite laundry. In addition to the residential space, there is approximately 18,000 square feet of street level retail space with tenants such as Bank of Montreal, PiCo and Dollarama.
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