As published by the Real Estate News Exchange:

Construction is underway on a Quebec project that has attracted interest from China and will be the tallest seniors housing tower in Canada.

The Reseau Selection Panorama, at 30 storeys, will be the tallest seniors housing tower in Canada when it is completed.

The 30-storey Sélection Panorama is being built at a cost of $94 million by Réseau Selection in the Sainte-Dorothée neighbourhood of Laval. It is slated for completion in October 2018.

 It will have 286 units – 48 condos priced from $275,000 to about $650,000 for the penthouse, 206 rental apartments from $1,245 to $4,000 monthly and 32 care units. These are designed for couples in which one partner has health problems and needs up to three hours of care per day.

The building, which will also be the tallest in Laval, is located on parkland on the banks of the Rivière des Prairies. It will afford views of the riverfront, downtown Montreal and Mount Royal.

The idea was to have a seniors housing concept with vertical density “that we can export outside Quebec to high-density zones in big cities,” such as Shanghai and Beijing, China, where land is very expensive, says Herbert Nunes, senior director, real estate development at Réseau Selection.

Strong interest in China

The company has been “in very advanced discussion with a lot of people in China” for a year and its vice-president recently returned from a trip there. “Our discussions with the Chinese are going very, very, well,” says Nunes. “We believe that something will be started (there) in 2018.”

Founded 25 years ago, Réseau Selection has 35 residences in operation or under construction and nearly 10,000 residents.

According to a December 2016 report by CBRE, Réseau Selection is the third-largest operator of seniors housing in Canada by number of units, behind only Chartwell Retirement Residences (CSH.UN-T) and Revera, with 8,747 units. It is the largest private operator of seniors housing in Canada, Nunes says. 

 “(The Chinese) are very interested about our knowledge of the senior housing product,” he says. “They believe that we can bring a lot of knowledge to the big developments they have to do.” 

China is confronting the problem of a growing senior population. The country has about 128 million people over 60 and that number could reach 400 million by 2050.

Seniors residences will most likely be the biggest growing industry in Quebec. This construction in Laval is just the start. If you are purchasing a Seniors Residence often a bank will be slow to give you financing.

This is where a private mortgage can be your solution.

Maybe you are a foreign investor. The bank won’t lend you money because you are not a Canadian citizen. They will want to see you are capable of making mortgage payments before they will give you a loan.  A private Lender is open to this type of file. Show you have the means to make the payments (pay slips or investments for example) and have the down payment (25%+) and you could qualify for a private mortgage. Then after one year of making payments you will probably qualify for a conventional bank loan.

However not all private Lenders are equal. Some have large exit fees. Some are inexperienced in various types of properties. Others can take long periods for approval.

TempBridge Inc is one of the leading private lenders in the Laval-Montreal area.  Our terms are fair and loans can be repaid in as little as six months. We have been known to disburse in as little as one week in certain situations. Our approval process is easy to understand and quick.  Contact us for more information.