- What Skyline Real Estate Holdings obtained a $38.2m construction loan for an apartment project in southwestern Ontario
- Why KingSett Capital provided the funding through CMHC’s MLI Select program
- What next Construction is underway, with occupancy expected later this year
Skyline Real Estate Holdings, part of the Skyline Group of Cos., obtained a $38.2m loan for the construction of a 118-unit rental apartment complex in Sarnia, Ont.
KingSett Capital provided the loan on June 19 via Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s MLI Select program, which Skyline qualified for through a combination of energy-efficiency and accessibility plans for the new build.
Construction of the development, Aura Apartments, is underway on the former site of Sarnia General Hospital at 220 Mitton Street North.
The hospital opened in 1896 and closed in 2011. It sat vacant with no clear fate as demolition costs were prohibitively high. But in 2017, five local businessmen dubbed the GFive — Charles Dally, Alex Jongsma, Mark Lumley, Kenn Poore and the late Marty Raaymakers — purchased the land for $1,000 and were provided with $5.4m from the city to help with demolition.
Skyline purchased a large portion of the property in 2022 from the GFive for $2.98m. The company is building two four-storey apartment buildings and a single-storey amenities complex.
Demolition credits worth roughly $1m were issued in 2018 in exchange for the 124,000 sq ft of hospital demolition. They were transferred with the sale to Skyline and were deducted from the total development charges for the project.
Aura Apartments will have one- and two-bedroom units with rents ranging from $1,695 to $2,120. Amenities will include a gym, a billiards room and a lounge.
Skyline, based in Guelph, has invested heavily in Sarnia, a small city at the Ontario-Michigan border with a population of roughly 72,000. The company owns 19 other apartment buildings in the area, including Riverside Towers at 176 Vidal Street South and High Park Place at 985 Maxwell Street. Skyline purchased those properties in 2022 for a total of $21m, or $175,000/unit.
