| Canadian pension fund giant Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and the Bronfman family's private equity firm Claridge are partnering in a new real estate development effort in the Montreal region.
Caisse property subsidiary Ivanhoé Cambridge and Claridge said Wednesday they're setting up a business alliance with the goal of investing together with private property developers in mid-sized real estate projects in and around Quebec's biggest city.
The partners are aiming to invest about $100-million and will target residential, mixed-used, light industry or low-density office building projects. A typical investment will range between $5-million and $15-million per project, the partners said. Wayne Heuff of Claridge will manage the partnership, they said.
The capital deployment comes as Ivanhoé pushes ahead with a much larger $1-billion plan to redevelop Montreal's downtown core - an effort that includes a $140-million renovation of the city's Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel and the construction of a new 27-storey tower to house Manulife Financial Corp.'s Quebec employees.
Claridge and Ivanhoé are also partners on a separate project to revamp the top four floors of the Place Ville Marie office tower to use as an observatory and entertainment area. The 47-storey tower, designed by architect I.M. Pei, is one of the city's most distinctive buildings.
Representing the interests of the Stephen Bronfman family, Claridge is invested in a number of businesses including Cirque du Soleil and villa rental company Luxury Retreats. Ivanhoé had assets worth a stated $55-billion at the end of 2015, including stakes in some of the world's premier properties.
NICOLAS VAN PRAET - The Globe and Mail
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