Blackstone opens Toronto office for Canada real estate push

Blackstone is expanding its presence in Canadian real estate and opening a Toronto office to further drive investment in one of the world’s hottest property markets. 

Janice Lin will lead the effort as head of its real estate business in the country, New York-based Blackstone said in a statement Monday. She’s joining from senior housing operator Revera, where she was chief investment officer.

Blackstone, with C$14 billion (S$14.9 billion) of Canadian real estate assets, is moving aggressively to become a bigger player in all sectors of the property market. In the past four years, it has spent more than C$4 billion to buy warehouses and industrial real estate. It has also begun buying some office buildings in close proximity to residential real estate in Toronto and Montreal.

The pandemic-fuelled boom in e-commerce has plunged the country into a nationwide warehouse shortage, spurring industrial rents to skyrocket. Soaring housing costs, whether to buy or rent, have also made apartment buildings some of the most stable types of property investments. A shortage of land adjacent to major cities and the slow process of rezoning real estate for other uses has most experts predicting neither Canada’s warehouse or housing shortages will ease soon.

Lin “will help drive Blackstone Real Estate’s Canadian footprint as it continues to invest across all asset classes, with a focus on its long-term presence in the country,” the firm said in the statement. 

The Globe and Mail reported on the plans earlier Monday. BLOOMBERG

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