The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has made an equity commitment of US$355 million to develop and acquire several U.S. apartment complexes.
“U.S. multifamily investments remain an attractive sector for CPPIB,” said Peter Ballon, CPPIB’s vice-president and head of real estate investments for the Americas.
“Our strategy is focused on acquiring or developing high quality, long-term multifamily assets in core, high barrier to entry markets alongside experienced and best-in-class partners with aligned interests.”
The investment includes the following:
- a 45% interest in two San Francisco Bay area developments alongside joint venture partner Essex Property Trust;
- a 44% interest in a Chicago development—a joint venture with Multi-Employer Property Trust and the Habitat Company; and
- a 45% interest in four properties with joint venture partner AMLI residential, in Frisco, Texas, and Chicago and Vernon Hills, Illinois.
CPPIB’s real estate portfolio now comprises interests in more than 6,000 apartment units in seven U.S. markets, which have been acquired since it began investing in the residential sector in mid-2011.
To date, CPPIB’s equity commitments in this sector total US$912 million.
“We believe that the limited supply of high quality rental properties and other broad demographic trends such as forecast population growth, declining home ownership and the echo-boom generation reaching peak rental propensity all support continued growth in the U.S. multifamily sector,” said Ballon.