Investment Management Corp. of Ontario, Toronto, which manages C$70.3 billion ($52.5 billion) for Canadian public pension funds and other entities, committed a total of C$261 million to two real estate strategies.
IMCO committed C$201 million to a joint venture with WPT Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust from its C$11.6 billion real estate portfolio.
The open-end REIT invests in strategic industrial properties in the U.S. with a focus on warehouse and distribution properties, an IMCO news release said Monday.
"Our joint venture with the REIT is well aligned to IMCO's real estate strategy to invest in logistics networks that help meet consumer demands and diversify our portfolio. ... WPT Industrial REIT has a strong track record and is a leader in the logistics space," said IMCO's Brian Whibbs, managing director-real estate, in the news release.
Scott T. Frederiksen, CEO of the WPT REIT, welcomed IMCO as a "private capital partner … we look forward to investing alongside IMCO," he said in the release. The REIT will manage the properties acquired by the joint venture.
IMCO also announced a commitment of C$60 million to KingSett Affordable Housing Fund.
The fund, which is managed by KingSett Capital, will build and own high-quality apartment properties in Toronto and Vancouver "at a time of severe affordable housing shortages," a separate IMCO news release said.
Mr. Whibbs said in that release "there is a housing unaffordability problem in Canada that has been driven by many factors, most notably a lack of supply of purpose-built rental properties" because most multiresidential development projects in Canada build condominiums for sale.
"Our commitment to the KingSett Affordable Housing Fund will deliver value to our clients while creating sustained long-term growth and improving communities we live and work in," Mr. Whibbs added.
