Harrison Street and its partner Gracorp Properties are launching the development of a 645-unit student and working professional housing project in Calgary’s University District, its third investment in the neighbourhood.

Named Block 22, ground has just been broken at the site and completion of the 12-storey building is scheduled for August 2027, in time for the start of the 2027-28 academic year.

Harrison Street, which is based in Chicago, is partnering for a second time in the city with Vancouver-based developer Gracorp, with which it has already collaborated for the 440-bed Encore project in the University District.

Block 22 focuses on three-bedroom units (which comprise 52 per cent of the apartments), to enhance affordability for students, according to Jonathan Turnbull, head of Canada for Harrison Street, in an email exchange with RENX. The average is two beds per unit, with the 645 beds spread across 322 apartments.

Features of Block 22

Block 22 is located at Perraton Avenue and McLaurin Street, a short walk from the University of Calgary’s campus, and designed primarily for students in their second year or higher. The university’s enrolment has outperformed average university growth in the country over the past five years, Harrison Street said.

The apartments will be furnished and the building will offer integrated wifi.

Planned amenities are a gym, an outdoor lounge, multiple study areas, a party room, kitchen, pet washing station, storage lockers and bike storage, Turnbull said.

It will be local to community amenities such as grocery stores, restaurants, hospitals, parks and access to public transit and the TransCanada Highway, according to Gracorp.

Additionally, Block 22 is on track to achieve Built Green Gold certification, and is expected to exceed the current National Energy Code by over 40 per cent across energy and greenhouse gas emissions savings, Harrison Street said.

"This is one of the most coveted locations in Calgary, with the university and nearby amenities providing high-quality housing options for students, faculty and residents, alike.” Trevor Dickie, vice-president of real estate in Alberta for Gracorp, said in the announcement.

Harrison Street’s Canadian presence

Harrison Street, which holds around US$55 billion in assets under management, focuses on investments in alternative real assets.

In Canada, this entails seniors living, student housing, medical office, life sciences, storage and digital assets, Turnbull told RENX in an interview. Its Canada Alternative Real Estate Fund has closed over $1.4 billion in transactions since launching in 2021. 

In Calgary’s University District, it has already invested in Encore and the 396-unit apartment ARIA.

Encore, which was previously named Block 15, will be managed by Campus Living Centres. Occupancy is scheduled for August 2025. Planned amenities are a gym, communal rooftop patios with lounge and a fire pit, in-suite laundry, indoor lounge space and secure bicycle storage.

The six-storey ARIA has one-, two- and three-bedroom units, with amenities like underground parking, a gym, a yoga studio, a lounge, a games room, a large group kitchen, a dining area, event and storage space. 

The student housing market in Calgary has demand for over 10,000 additional beds, Harrison Street estimates.

Outside of Alberta, Harrison Street has acquired:

• Le Mildoré, a 279-bed purpose-built student accommodation in downtown Montreal;
• two properties in Kingston, Ont. totalling 198 units that focus on Queen’s University students;
• the Shelley nearby the University of Victoria in B.C.;
• the  283-bed Comma UniverCity near Simon Fraser University, also in B.C.; and
• Hillside Apartments for University of Ottawa attendees.

The company’s Canadian student housing portfolio currently stands at approximately 2,400 beds, with approximately 1,400 units under development nationally across Block 22, Encore and Comma UniverCity, Turnbull said.

The Calgary portfolio is expected to number nearly 1,500 units upon completion of its developments.