Acquisition of Holiday Inn
Campus Crest Communities, Inc. (“Campus Crest”) (NYSE:CCG) and Beaumont Partners SA (“Beaumont”) announced that its joint venture partnership acquired the 488-room, 22-story Holiday Inn Midtown in Montréal, Québec on January 15, 2014 with plans to convert it into an upscale evo student housing tower near McGill University. The partnership paid approximately CAD $65 million for the property.
Campus Crest owns a 35% interest in the joint venture that holds the newest evo and the previously announced evo à Square Victoria, while Beaumont and its partners own a 65% interest. In conjunction with Holiday Inn acquisition, the partnership closed a new loan to help fund the conversion of both hotels into upscale student housing towers. The financing was provided by Royal Bank of Canada (lead), Bank of America and Raymond James. The partnership expects both evo properties to be completed for the fall of 2014, with leasing to begin in the first quarter of 2014.
“We are pleased to expand our relationship with Beaumont with the acquisition of the Holiday Inn and to bring more of our unique evo student housing brand to Montréal. With its proximity to McGill University, we once again believe we have acquired an asset in an irreplaceable location at a discount to replacement cost,” said Ted W. Rollins, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Campus Crest. “We will be able to leverage the platform we put-in-place with our July 2013 acquisition of the Delta Centre-Ville Hotel and remain enthusiastic about the market. Our teams look forward to opening both Montréal assets for the 2014 – 2015 academic year.”
“We are pleased to increase our investment in Montréal and, together with our partner Campus Crest, we are committed to delivering the highest quality of student housing”, said Alex Vahabzadeh, principal of Beaumont Partners. “We anticipate that our new properties will complement the numerous advantages and positive qualities of Québec’s universities for local and international students.”
Situated directly on Sherbrooke Street approximately 200 yards from McGill University, the newest evo is conveniently located in the heart of the urban university community surrounding the campus. Once completed, the property will include a broad array of high-end appointments and expects to attract undergraduate and graduate students by offering an upscale housing alternative with modern, attractively furnished rooms and a range of amenities. The property will also offer residents an engaging lifestyle program with an array of fun, diverse activities and events. Residents will be served by a highly trained, professional staff that includes a general manager, leasing manager, community assistants and a courtesy officer for security purposes. As part of the joint venture agreement, Campus Crest will serve as property manager.
