Toronto-based Starlight Investments has partnered with two Canadian institutions on a venture to acquire $1.3 billion worth of recently constructed, garden-style, Class A communities in the U.S.
Starlight announced the partnership with the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) and Alberta Investment Management Corp. (AIMCo) on Oct. 10 along with the venture’s first purchase: a 465-unit, garden-style property constructed in 2017 and located in Denver.
“We are extremely pleased to acquire the first in a number of multifamily properties with two prominent global institutions and continue the expansion of the Starlight U.S. multifamily platform,” said Daniel Drimmer, CEO and president of Starlight Investments, in a statement. “We look forward to building a premium multifamily portfolio in conjunction with PSP Investments and AIMCo.”
The partnership will target properties in the suburban markets of Atlanta; Austin and Dallas, Texas; Denver; Orlando and Tampa, Fla.; and Phoenix. Moreover, it will seek properties in submarkets that demonstrate superior rental-income growth potential due to positive multifamily dynamics including population, economic conditions, and employment growth.
To that end, Denver is one of the fastest-growing U.S. metros, with the lowest unemployment rate. It’s also a city with solid job growth where millennials, a key renter demographic, are the largest and fastest-growing population group, Starlight notes.
Parkhouse, the partnership’s first property, is located in Denver’s northern corridor and comprises 20 three-story garden-style apartment buildings. The community offers amenities that include two clubhouses with fitness and business centers, a game room, and a bike and ski repair shop. Outdoor amenities include two resort-style swimming pools, outdoor kitchens, neighborhood parks, and walking trails.
Micheal Dal Bello, senior vice president, real estate, at AIMCo, said the partnership “capitalizes on the synergies of our respective investment programs and creates a long-term platform to generate the returns required of our clients and stakeholders.”
Neil Cunningham, senior vice president, global head of real estate and natural resources, at PSP Investments, added, “We are looking forward to working closely with Starlight and AIMCo to assemble a large, professionally managed, institutional-quality portfolio of multifamily properties in select U.S. markets.”
Starlight currently manages $7.5 billion worth of multifamily and commercial properties through funds, joint ventures, and club deals. Its portfolio consists of approximately 35,000 multifamily units, including 11,000 in the U.S.
