Students
125,000+ post-secondary students across Ottawa institutions deepen the renter pool and support long-term occupancy.
Purpose-built rental development on Ottawa's most sought-after street.
An 83-unit, nine-storey rental building built to stabilize, refinance through CMHC, and return investor capital.
The Project
Class A. Already owned.
Henry Properties is building a nine-storey, 83-unit Class A rental building at 190 Beechwood Avenue. The site is already owned. The brick-clad mid-rise replaces a former auto shop, designed for efficient construction: standardized layouts, ground-floor retail, and direct access to Ottawa's core. Construction begins Q1 2027.
- 83rental units
- 9storeys
- Ground-floorretail
- 8 minto downtown
Why Ottawa
A rental market built on stable demand.
Federal employment
130,000+ federal government workers provide a recession-resilient rental demand base that persists through economic cycles.
Infrastructure and growth
An expanded LRT network and a Council-approved urban boundary increase of 1,650 hectares signal long-term commitment to transit-oriented density.
Quality of life
Ottawa ranked first in North America for quality of life in 2026, with parks, waterways, trails, and a bike-friendly core.
Ottawa Market
Supply is falling. Renters aren't.
Rent reality
Average purpose-built rents sit at $1,594 for a one-bedroom and $1,926 for a two-bedroom, supporting Forto's stabilization and refinance assumptions.
Tight vacancy
Ottawa's purpose-built vacancy rate is about 3.0%, and under 1% for lower-rent units, among the tightest in Canada.
The ownership gap
Owning costs roughly $650 more a month than renting in Ottawa, pushing demand toward rental.
Decreased supply
New rental starts hit an 11-quarter low in Q4 2024. The projects that do deliver enter a market with limited competition.
~$650/mo
more expensive to own than rent in Ottawa (2BR average)
52%
mortgage-payment-to-income ratio for first-time buyers
+23K
renter households added in the last five years
Location
The neighbourhood everyone wants to live in.
Beechwood has been Ottawa's address of choice for professionals, embassy staff, and federal workers for forty years. The corridor is physically built out, almost no vacant lots, very little assembly opportunity, few new mid-rise rental coming. What's there is scarce. That scarcity is the opportunity in this investment.
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OC Transpo
1mMain bus line on Beechwood, between St. Laurent and Rideau stations.
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Optimiste Park
100mImmediate green space.
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Ashbury College
250mPlus 10+ embassies and consulates nearby.
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Rideau River
950mMulti-use pathway access.
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ByWard Market
1.9kmOttawa's primary dining and retail district.
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Downtown core
2km8 minutes to employment and government nodes.
Investment Thesis
Build for the gap.
Ottawa's purpose-built rental pipeline is contracting while population growth accelerates. Replacement costs now exceed market values, which makes new supply unviable for most developers. The projects that deliver will enter a market with limited competition, strong pricing power, and a tenant base that stays.
- Land cost (site already owned)
- $4.55M
- Total project cost
- $41M
- Stabilized asset value at a 4.25% cap rate
- $45.4M
- Target equity multiple over a 4-year term
- 1.64×
The Opportunity
Structured for capital-first returns.
1.64×
investor equity multiple
22.3%
gross target IRR
28.6%
Class A average annual return
100%
return of capital at exit
$50K
minimum investment
8% preferred return to limited partners. CMHC-insured financing. Direct construction oversight by Henry Properties.
Strategy
A four-year path from raise to return.
-
01
Raise capital
Accredited investors commit through a private placement. Limited partners receive an 8% preferred return before any GP distributions.
-
02
Develop
Henry Properties manages construction directly and delivers an 83-unit mid-rise with CMHC-insured financing to reduce rate risk.
-
03
Lease and stabilize
Lease-up begins in 2028 across a unit mix designed for Ottawa's renter base, in a market with about 3% vacancy.
-
04
Refinance and distribute
On stabilization, the fund accesses CMHC long-term financing to return investor capital. Final exit is by sale or continued hold.
Timeline
Development timeline.
- 2026 Q2
First-release closing
- 2026 Q3
Building permit application
- 2026 Q4
Second property closing
- 2027 Q1
Second-release closing, permit issuance, construction start
- 2028 Q1
Construction halfway
- 2029 Q1
End of construction
- 2029 Q3
Lease-up and stabilization
- 2030 Q1
Exit and distribution
Portfolio
Built by developers with an active Ottawa infill pipeline.
Seven urban infill sites in primary markets near transit and amenities, across leasing, construction, and pre-development. Led by Dean and David Michaud, combining 15+ years of Ottawa development with legal and finance expertise.
7
Projects
538
Potential housing units
$188M
Estimated development budget
$45M
Estimated Henry equity
1,262
Potential people housed
Dean Michaud — Partner
15+ years developing Ottawa infill, hands-on from acquisition to delivery. Law degree, University of Ottawa.
David Michaud — Partner
Legal and finance background — former Legal Director at Fiera Capital, senior legal roles at National Bank. JD and LL.M.
The Opportunity
Get in early on Beechwood
Forto's first release is open to a limited group of accredited investors. It's a real, CMHC-insured development on a site Henry already owns, structured to return investor capital first and share the upside through the hold. The best next step is a short conversation.
