Chartwell purchases 6 retirement and seniors’ communities for $432 million

Vlad Volodarski, CEO of Chartwell., joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss the company's sucessful expansion and latest acquisition.

Several senior and retirement communities will be purchased by a major housing provider as it expand its footprint across Ontario for nearly half a billion dollars.

Chartwell Retirement Residences says it will purchase six senior and retirement communities, with a total of 1,024 suites, for $432 million across London, Waterloo, Dorchester and Mississauga, according to a news release.

“This was a great addition, certainly to our portfolio, we are very happy to expand in the very strong southwestern Ontario market,” Vlad Volodarski, chief executive officer of Chartwell told BNN Bloomberg in a Wednesday interview. “We did not have a lot of presence in the London market in particular, and this portfolio gave us the opportunity to expand there.”

Statistics Canada states there were about 7.6 million seniors (residents aged 65 and older) in Canada, representing 18.9 per cent of the total population in 2023. The agency estimates by 2030, seniors could represent from 21.4 per cent to 23.4 per cent of the total population.

The purchased properties are Riverstone, Richmond Woods and Longworth in London, Dorchester Terrace in Dorchester, Westhill in Waterloo and Erinview in Mississauga. Chartwell will pay $416.2 million for the properties while Dorchester Terrace townhomes will be paid on completion of construction for $15.8 million. Construction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2026.

“We’ve announced over the last probably 18 months, over $2 billion worth of acquisitions, and we continue to look for opportunities to add high quality properties to our portfolio going forward, to take advantage and to serve more seniors across the country, because the demand continues to grow,” said Volodarski.

Chartwell’s revenue was $661 million with a net income of $49.5 million, according to an annual report. The company owns 200 properties, serves over 25,000 seniors and employs 16,000 people across Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia, according to its website.

The acquisition includes additional land at the Erinview site, with the potential to develop an additional 140 suites. The purchase price will be settled by assuming in-place debt of $232.7 million, a majority CMHC-insured, and in part from proceeds of already planned CMHC financings this year of $240 million.