The Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System’s real estate arm is jointly acquiring a hotel in Banff National Park, Alta., alongside Accor, a French hospitality business.
Oxford Properties Group and its partner will acquire the Rimrock Resort Hotel, a 333-room hotel in the Bow Valley. It’s the first hotel the real estate investor has acquired since 2014. Its portfolio also includes the Fairmont hotel locations in Banff, Jasper and Lake Louise in Alberta, as well as in Whistler, B.C.
“We are very excited to acquire this extremely unique resort within the vibrant, high barrier to entry Banff market,” said Tyler MacDonald, head of hotels and alternatives at Oxford Properties, in a press release. “Our acquisition of the Rimrock speaks to our long-term conviction in Canada’s luxury resort hotel market, where we have meaningful scale.”
Read: OMERS real estate arm investing $1B in British real estate
Following the purchase, the Rimrock will undergo a comprehensive renovation to improve its environmental sustainability, according to the release, which noted construction is expected to begin in 2024 with the hotel remaining open throughout the renovations.
In other news, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the OMERS are funding the acquisition of four Indian road developments by IndInfravit Trust, an infrastructure fund.
Indinfravit finalized the acquisition of four road developments in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh from Brookfield Asset Management for about US$1 billion. The funds used in the transaction were secured through a term loan financed through the issue of debentures to the CPPIB and the OMERS.
Following the acquisition, IndInfravit’s portfolio will include 17 operational road concessions with 5,000 kilometres of lanes. The investment trust, which targets concession road projects in India, is backed by both investment organizations. The CPPIB has been its lead investor since its launch in 2018.
Read: CPPIB investing in Indian roads, French real estate credit