Crestpoint Real Estate Investments has created a new opportunistic fund and partnered with Anthem Properties to acquire a Vancouver development site –  1318 Thurlow St. –  on which they plan to build a 32-storey purpose-built rental tower.

The Crestpoint Opportunistic Real Estate Strategy, its first closed-end fund, has completed its initial funding and will hold a 77 per cent interest in the property, with Anthem holding the remaining 23 per cent.

Financial details have not been disclosed.

"Since Crestpoint's inception in 2010, some of our best investments have been in periods characterized by the market volatility and dislocation we see today," Kevin Leon, CEO of Crestpoint, said in the firm’s announcement Wednesday afternoon. "We believe it's a compelling investment environment. 

“We expect to use multiple strategies to create and capture value, including repositioning undermanaged assets, recapitalizing properties with weak balance sheets and renovating existing buildings to higher standards."

The 1318 Thurlow development site

1318 Thurlow St. is a 0.4-acre development site at the southwest corner of Thurlow and Burnaby streets in downtown Vancouver’s popular West End neighbourhood. It had previously been owned by Strand and IntraCorp, which had originally proposed a condo tower for the property but then revised that to a 34-storey rental earlier this year.

Crestpoint and Anthem have submitted a site redevelopment plan to the city for a 32-storey tower on the 17,283-square-foot property.

It is to contain 300 apartments – 242 market rental units and 58 below-market rental units. They will comprise a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units with both indoor and outdoor amenity spaces.

The location has a Walk Score of 96, being located in a transit-oriented community in close proximity to restaurants, shopping, Sunset Beach, the downtown business district, hospitals and universities. 

“This project allows us to both expand our relationship with a great existing partner, Crestpoint, and continue building a purpose-built rental portfolio, with the community benefiting from the addition of critically needed rental housing in the constrained Vancouver market,” Anthem CEO and founder Eric Carlson said in his company’s release. “Despite challenging capital markets, and a difficult regulatory environment, Anthem continues to doggedly pursue its real estate strategy to the benefit of all.”

The site redevelopment plan has been submitted to the city, with first and second reading expected in the fall of this year, then a public hearing/third reading will follow, according to the Anthem release. 

Construction is anticipated to begin in the fall of 2025.

Crestpoint's new Opportunistic fund

Crestpoint’s new fund, focusing on capital appreciation, is designed for institutional clients seeking access to a higher potential return portfolio than available in core real estate, providing additional choice and an opportunity for diversification. The strategy adds onto Crestpoint's existing flagship, $5.3-billion open-end Core Plus Real Estate Strategy, which was created in 2011. 

In 2022, Crestpoint also launched the Crestpoint Real Estate Debt Strategy, an open-ended mortgage fund.

"This new strategy leverages our management expertise and deep relationships within Canada's real estate investment community, strengths that have enabled us to successfully complete over $3 billion in value-add and opportunistic investments over the last 13 years,” Max Rosenfeld, EVP and head of asset management at Crestpoint, said in the announcement.

Following the success of the initial capital raise, the fund plans subsequent closings to allow additional investors to participate, with the next close expected to be in Q4.  

About Crestpoint and Anthem

Crestpoint Real Estate Investments Ltd. is a Toronto-based commercial real estate investment manager providing investors access to a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate equity and debt investments. 

With over $10 billion under management, Crestpoint is an affiliate of the Connor, Clark & Lunn Financial Group, one of Canada's largest private, independently held multi-boutique asset management firms, with offices throughout the country and in the U.S., the U.K. and India. 

CC&L Financial Group and its affiliates collectively manage over $133 billion in assets across a broad range of traditional and alternative investment products and solutions for institutional, high-net-worth and retail clients. 

Founded in 1991, Vancouver-based Anthem is a real estate development, investment and management company. It is invested in, has developed or managed – alone or in partnership – over 385 residential, commercial and retail projects across North America.

Anthem’s growing residential portfolio includes 31,500 homes that are complete, in design or under construction, from master-planned mixed-use residential and multifamily, to townhome, rental and single-family communities. 

The firm owns, co-owns, manages or has previously owned over 10 million square feet of retail, industrial and office space and has developed over 60 communities across 9,000 acres of land in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and California.