BGO, the real estate subsidiary of Sun Life Financial (SLF-T), has acquired a new-build, two-tower residential complex in the Garneau neighbourhood of Edmonton that was completed by Edmonton-based Maclab Development Group, according to an announcement on Monday.

Designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects, the residential complex consists of two towers connected by a shared podium with over 5,800 sq. ft of commercial space. It is located along 86 Avenue NW between 112 Street NW and 11 Street NW, immediately east of the University of Alberta Hospital.

The west tower is the 20-storey Laurent, a purpose-built student housing residence located at 8621 112 Street NW that was completed in 2023 and is home to 493 beds. BGO says this is its first investment in purpose-built student housing in North America and that the building will continue to be managed by UniLodge.

The east tower is the 30-storey Eleanor at 11130 86 Avenue NW that was completed in 2024 and is home to 272 rental units, including 68 affordable rental units made possible by the CMHC MLI Select Program. Through BGO Living, BGO was already serving as the property manager and will continue in that role.

Cushman & Wakefield served as the advisor for Maclab while McCarthy Tétrault LLP acted as legal counsel for BGO. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

"Strategic milestone" for BGO

“This acquisition represents a strategic milestone for BGO as we expand into purpose-built student housing in Canada,” BGO managing partner and Canadian chief investment officer Simon Holmes said in the announcement.

“Eleanor and Laurent combine best-in-class design with a desirable location adjacent to one of Canada’s leading universities,” he added. “With Eleanor professionally managed by BGO Living and Laurent supported by UniLodge’s student-housing expertise, we believe the portfolio is positioned to deliver long-term value for our investors while contributing positively to the broader community.”

The acquisition of Laurent and Eleanor is also the latest in a string of acquisitions for BGO in recent months. Last month, BGO announced the aquisition of The Camby, a two-building 284-unit residential complex in Cambridge, Ont.; as well as the Blueprint Residences, a 336-unit complex in View Royal, B.C.

This summer, BGO also announced its new $247 million BentallGreenOak Canadian Value-Add LP fund, which launched with four acquisitions spread out across the country.

Edmonton Multi-Family Market

Data for the full year is not yet available, but the Edmonton multifamily market has continued to be hot in 2025 after a record-setting 2024. According to a fall 2025 report published by Avison Young, multifamily transaction sales volume totalled around $1.8 billion in 2024 and was already at around $1.15 billion in 2025 after Q2.

Edmonton, and Alberta at large, continues to see significant amounts of migration from other provinces as a result of affordability and employment opportunities. With the population having grown by three per cent or more every quarter since Q1 2023, people need places to live and that has allowed the multifamily market in Edmonton to remain strong while markets like British Columbia and Ontario have slowed down.

The weighted average monthly rental rate for an apartment in a building constructed prior to 2010 has grown from $1,100 in Q2 2020 to over $1,300 as of Q2 2025. For units in buildings constructed after 2010, the weighted average rent has grown from over $1,500 to just under $1,750 in that same time span.

Despite that growth, however, the average rent in Edmonton remains below that of Winnipeg, Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Halifax, Toronto and Vancouver.

“The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Mortgage Loan Insurance (MLI) Select program has been an important catalyst for Edmonton’s multifamily market,” Avison Young noted. “With high loan-to-value (LTV) potential and extended amortization, it has supported project feasibility and helped expand purpose-built rental supply.”

The CMHC updated some of its underwriting standards in July 2025 in a way that increased borrowing costs and made financing more challenging. The jury, however, is still out on how big of an impact those changes will have on Edmonton’s multifamily market, as the advantages of the program may still outweigh the increased costs.