The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is making headlines for its interest in two projects: a building in New York City and a piece of a proposed railway through Quebec’s north.
The New York City building being eyed by Ivanhoe Cambridge—the real estate investment arm of the Caisse—is currently owned by Blackstone Group LP, reports The Wall Street Journal.
According to the report, the Caisse is close to buying half of Blackstone’s share in the building, located at 1411 Broadway, in a deal that values the building at roughly US$735 million. The Caisse currently owns three properties in New York City.
Meanwhile, the Caisse is also partnering up with the Canadian National Railway on a project estimated at C$5 billion, reports Reuters.
The project is a proposed 800-kilometre railway line, intended to ship iron ore from the Labrador Mining Trough to Sept-Îles on the St. Lawrence River. It’s part of Quebec’s ambitious Plan Nord, a 25-year plan to develop the province’s resource-rich northern region, and includes plans for mining, renewable energy and infrastructure projects.
The Caisse’s involvement in the project would see it own one-third of the proposed railway.
“We’re a long-term investor, and infrastructure [projects] are the type of projects where we like to invest,” Caisse spokesperson Maxime Chagnon told Reuters. “We always want to have a partnership with businesses that are leaders in their sector.”
However, it looks as if it will be several years before the proposed railway becomes a reality. It’s currently planned for a 2017 start-up, but numerous issues—including pushback from miners concerned about transport costs, and from Quebec’s aboriginal Innu community—could delay progress.