Fitzrovia Expands to Vancouver with First B.C. Office and Major Indigenous Development

📅 1 weeks ago

Fitzrovia, Canada's largest purpose-built rental developer, opens its first office in Vancouver and partners on the significant Sen̓áḵw Phase I Indigenous rental project, marking a strategic expansion into British Columbia.

Just nine years ago, Fitzrovia, which has grown to become Canada’s largest purpose-built rental developer, inaugurated its Yonge-St. Clair office in downtown Toronto. In a remarkably short time, the firm has successfully delivered 3,500 rental units, expanded its workforce to 400 employees, and established a second office in Montreal. Now, they are making a significant move into the West Coast market with the recent opening of their first office in downtown Vancouver, led by Oscar Lisa. Previously the Director of Investments on the Toronto team, Lisa has transitioned to the role of Vice President, Investments and Head of Vancouver operations.
This expansion aligns with the launch of the Sen̓áḵw Phase I project — an Indigenous-owned rental development poised to begin welcoming residents on June 1. This initiative marks Fitzrovia’s inaugural property management endeavor in British Columbia. The project is a collaboration between the Squamish Nation, Nch’ḵay̓ Development Corporation, and OPTrust, featuring a three-tower complex comprising 1,409 units situated at the base of the Burrard Street Bridge in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighborhood. As one of the largest First Nations-led development projects in Canadian history, Sen̓áḵw represents a significant milestone that Fitzrovia’s CEO and Founder, Adrian Rocca, deems an ideal entry point into the B.C. market.
Rocca expressed, “We had the ability to get into the Vancouver market with two excellent institutional partners that we could continue to grow with over time, on a flagship project that had a lot of visibility. So for us, it checked almost every box.” The desire to expand into British Columbia had been a long-term objective for Fitzrovia. Rocca noted, “We’ve wanted to be a coast-to-coast platform for a while now. You want to have exposure in the three largest markets: Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. We're already in two of those three, so Vancouver was the natural next entry point.”
Currently, the focus for Fitzrovia is on building their property management team for the Sen̓áḵw Phase I project, which will include 28 site team members. However, Rocca also mentioned that they are actively exploring several development deals in Vancouver. This includes potential projects focused on purpose-built rentals as well as opportunities in seniors housing, a segment that Lisa describes as “small but growing” within Fitzrovia’s portfolio. Lisa emphasized that seniors housing is a natural extension of their rental platform across Canada, given the rapidly aging population and the current undersupply in the market. He stated, “We see seniors housing as a natural extension of our rental platform across Canada because our aging population is growing rapidly, the market remains structurally undersupplied, and there is an opportunity to create hospitality-driven communities focused on wellness, service, and social connection rather than traditional institutional retirement models.”
Since its inception in 2017, Fitzrovia has primarily focused on purpose-built rentals, and has acquired, developed, or is currently constructing 19 rental buildings, including notable projects like Sloane and Elm-Ledbury in Toronto. Recently, they launched a subsidiary named Maddox, which focuses on acquiring older rental buildings for modernization. Across Canada, Fitzrovia has completed, acquired, or has projects in development totaling over 12,500 suites, with plans to deliver 2,300 new homes by 2026 and an additional 3,700 by 2030.
Rocca’s optimism regarding the company's growth reflects a broader trend in the Canadian rental market, often referred to as a rental "renaissance" by RBC Economist Rachel Battaglia. Since the mid-2010s, rental construction in Canada has surged nearly fourfold due to factors such as population growth, declining homeownership affordability, rising rents attracting investment, and favorable government policies that incentivize rental development. This surge has led to record levels of purpose-built rental projects being completed in recent years.
Despite the recent influx of rental supply, including high condominium completions and immigration cuts, Rocca is not concerned about the market's direction. He remarked, “We think we'll be completely undersupplied in Vancouver and Toronto. We have a significant amount of condo starts that broke ground at the tail end of COVID and are delivering right now, and so we're seeing downward pressure on rents and lease velocity. But if you look at the level of new starts, we are significantly below the long-term average.” He anticipates that the supply-demand imbalance will manifest in the coming 18 to 25 months, and he plans to leverage this through Fitzrovia’s expansion into the west.
“We are very bullish on B.C.,” Rocca concluded, underscoring the company’s commitment to its growth strategy in the region.

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