Bluevale Capital Group announced it has acquired the former Queensway Hotel in St. Catharines, Ontario, for $8.2 million, and intends to revitilize the property as affordable housing for the region.
According the press release issued February 10th, Bluevale plans to invest $2.6 million to upgrade the existing interior, the facade, and to add an additional seven units in the basement. The former hotel was first converted into low-income housing in the late 1990s, and has been in a steady state of decline ever since. The upcoming renovations aim to improve and expand low-incoming housing in St. Catharines.
Located at 8 Queenston Street, the 52-unit building is Bluevale’s largest, most ambitious investment in Ontario to date, and marks its first acquisition of 2022.
“We see a lot of opportunity for transit-oriented development in St. Catharines, especially in this area given its proximity to Brock University and the Go Transit Station,” says Co-Founder and Managing Director Samuel Karamanis. “It is also well situated for students and employees of the area with various direct bus routes. Additionally, we are looking forward to the Go Train service expansion to the Niagara region from St. Catharines that should be operational by 2023, creating better routes for employment in the region.”
As Niagara Regional Housing amassed a 7,700-long waitlist for affordable housing, the Bluevale team plans to work with the City of St. Catharines to expand the much-needed supply.
“We’ve taken this project on as we felt that the building was underutilized,” adds Co-Founder and Managing Director of Bluevale, Jefferson Huang. “This improvement and conversion project will not only invigorate the building, but it will also provide more affordable housing opportunities for the community, which is something our team is passionate about,”
Huang is known for his contributions to the affordable housing market in Ontario and has received a 2021 Emerging Leader award from Chartered Public Accountants (CPA) Ontario for his work in this space. The Bluevale team says it believes in a community-forward vision and aims to bring growth to the St. Catharines region.
This acquisition is the fourth major multi-residential complex in Bluevale’s portfolio. The team, based in Toronto, is working actively in its expansion plans throughout Ontario and has plans to enter other provinces and new markets with affordable housing and transit-oriented development throughout 2022.
For more info, visit: Bluevale Capital
