New homes | HD Immobilier is there

Housing prices are soaring because there is a lack of housing for all kinds of reasons. Never mind, a brand new real estate company is preparing to build 1,000 residential units on the island of Montreal in the near future.

Andre Dubuc
The Press

Founded at the end of 2020, in the midst of a pandemic, Groupe HD Immobilier is the union of two “ex”: Thomas Dufour, 34, former Cogir and Devimco, and Jean-Philippe Hébert, 41, ex of Ivanhoé Cambridge and Cogir.

Devimco and Cogir are among the major developers in the metropolitan region. Ivanhoé Cambridge is the real estate arm of the Caisse de depot et placement.

“We have 1,000 residential units in development at various stages and 3,000 others in the pipeline on the island of Montreal,” said Mr. Dufour during an interview given at his offices located at Nordelec, in the Pointe-Saint- Charles.

Despite its young age, Groupe HD says it has collected $60 million since its founding from wealthy private investors in Quebec and has entered into partnerships with Claridge, Omnia and Kastello, among others. He would also have obtained 275 million through bank financing.

By “development” units, Mr. Dufour refers to units awaiting zoning authorization or in presale. By units “in the pipeline”, the young promoter speaks of projects for which the land is under option or is subject to verifications prior to the purchase (due diligence).

Entrepreneur

A blueberry, Thomas Dufour studied at HEC Montreal. Both a chartered accountant (CPA) and a financial analyst (CFA), he met his partner when the two were vice-presidents at Cogir. Mr. Hébert was in charge of development and he worked on finance and investment.

“I wanted to go on my own for a long time, he says. I saw great promoters like Serge Goulet and Mathieu Duguay go. They are models. With Jean-Philippe, we said to ourselves: we are starting, ”confides the one whose spouse is expecting their third child.

MM. Dufour and Hébert want to assemble a team of 12 people by the end of 2023, such as engineers and accountants. The first hirings will take place in the coming months.

HD Immobilier’s business plan is to build collective housing (rental or condominium) in height, in concrete and steel, mainly on the island of Montreal.

A surprising choice when you hear promoters complaining about their inability to get cities to authorize their projects showing a certain density. For example, the City of Pointe-Claire recently refused to accept residential towers.

“In Montreal, there are some super beautiful corners and most boroughs are favorable to development when the projects are well thought out and when the promoter has his mind in the right place,” replies Thomas Dufour when asked about the difficulty of building in the city of the regulation on the mix (20-20-20).

Savana on the Park

As will be the case in Savana sur le Parc, the first large-scale project in which HD Immobilier is participating, in a team with Omnia Technologies and Claridge Immobilier. There are 84 condos in the Le Triangle sector of the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough. The architect is Geiger Huot. Sales were launched in mid-March. Construction is scheduled to begin in the summer for delivery in fall 2023.

Built on 10 floors, Savana offers studios and apartments with 1, 2 and 3 bedrooms. The studios sell for $324,950. It takes out $407,000 for a four and a half and $523,400 for a three-bedroom apartment. Prices are given before taxes.

It should be noted that this project obtained its permit before the entry into force of the by-law on diversity, which requires a minimum of 20% social housing, 20% family housing and 20% affordable housing in all new construction of apartments.

In addition to Savana, HD Immobilier is working on a project of 550 residential units – half rental, half condo – near a metro station in Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve with its partner Kastello Immobilier, an entity belonging to the family of Richard Fortin, co-founder of Alimentation Couche-Tard.