A century-old downtown office structure originally built as home for a piano company will be playing a new tune, as its purchaser has launched a project to convert the eight-floor property into student apartments.
New owner Alternative Capital Group plans to transform the vacated building at 1220-1224 Sainte Catherine Street W. into 41 studio-sized units and 14 two-bedroom units, with a total of 69 beds, in a process to be completed by mid-2025. There are no plans to change the ground floor retail space.
Alternative Capital paid $13.1 million for the 28,000-square-foot property, similar to its $13.3 million assessed value. Previous owner Basjo Real Estate departed the three floors it occupied, leaving only one floor filled. That final tenant has since moved out and the building is now ready for renovation.
The conversion is the latest in a series of similar transformations in Montreal, a city that hosts a large number of university students from overseas and other regions of Quebec. Real estate developers have often favoured the student housing projects, as they can increase the revenue per unit.
“Student housing allows the owner to rent by the bed as opposed to rent by the room, which can help make these conversions work. For example, rather than rent one unit out to one renter for say, $2,200 you can maybe have three beds in that unit and rent each bed for $1,200,” said Mitch Strohminger, CoStar Group director of market analytics, in an email.
Nicolas Beauchamp, who together with Claude Delage founded and leads the 12-employee Alternative Capital Group, says the new project will follow the rough template of his company’s Chelsea House operation on nearby Lincoln Street, where students pay $1,295 a month per room, with many sharing apartments.
The units come fully-furnished, including towels, bed sheets and other everyday needs. Beauchamp says his company aims to provide a dorm-like community atmosphere to help acclimatize newcomers to the city.
“These students are coming to Montreal to study but also to meet people. Part of the experience of being a student at the university level is creating relationships that will last many years, so that’s what we try to create,” Beauchamp said in an interview with CoStar News.
Beauchamp said the students often stay as little as one year, with many moving on to more conventional spaces or returning back to their homes: "They will want to spend their first year at our place, as they can come with just their clothing and briefcase, everything is set up for them. It’s fully furnished and it is like a hotel experience."