Avison Young completes office sale, slated for office-to-residential conversion

Office on Montreal’s iconic Sainte-Catherine West to transform into student housing

Montréal, Québec – Global commercial real estate advisor Avison Young announces the sale of 1434 Sainte-Catherine Street West, an office building that will be transformed into student housing.

Sold to 5AM Capital, Avison Young’s Mark Sinnett, Sebastian Gatti, Guillaume Monast, and MC Laflamme-Sanders were the exclusive advisors and agents for the vendor, Gestion SIDEV.

The five-storey, 44,511 square-foot building is situated on one of Canada’s iconic, primary retail arteries, known for its unique shopping environment that combines high-street, entertainment, and daily-needs retail. Also key to its location is its proximity to Concordia and McGill Universities, providing a reliable pool of student tenants.

“We are proud to have worked with our client, Gestion SIDEV, to identify a buyer who demonstrates an incredible vision for this property, given its ideal location in the heart of downtown Montréal, so close to some of the best post-secondary institutions in the country,” said Mark Sinnett, Principal and Head, Capital Markets, Québec. “Repurposing this property into a home for students will give it a new life and contribute to the continued revitalization of our downtown.”

Features of the building that make it desirable for conversion include its mixed-use and residential zoning, the optimal, smaller size of the floor plates, as well as the building’s low occupancy rate. Other features include natural light, high ceilings, and U-shaped floor plans, as well as accessibility – in this case, near the metro, the REM, and various highways. These are among the criteria considered when converting buildings for highest and best use.

Avison Young is closely following the evolution of underutilized office buildings that meet the basic criteria for increasing asset value through adaptive reuse. Thus far, the firm has identified at least 20 potential projects in downtown Montreal.