Managing Partner, Alignvest. Twenty years building real estate businesses, including two national platforms built and sold.
Extensive experience across private equity, venture capital, asset management and real estate. In real estate:
Self-storage was the way in. Student housing was the biggest business and the most recent exit. The next project is already under way.
We turned a former car rental site at 144 Norseman into a purpose-built facility, and converted an office and warehouse building at 605 Alden into self-storage. Add a 175,000 square foot Toronto flagship and eight acquisitions across Canada, and StorageNow became the country's second-largest self-storage company before its sale in 2007.
181 Lester in Waterloo was the first acquisition, and it validated the thesis. Over six years it grew to seventeen properties in seven markets and about 7,200 beds, Canada's largest purpose-built student housing platform. Sold in December 2024 for $1.69 billion.
A heritage building in the Discovery District, across from the University of Toronto's main entrance, owned by Alignvest. Official Plan and zoning amendments approved for a 60-storey, 489,000 square foot tower.
A side interest since the student housing sale: testing what one operator can now do with AI. A short note most weeks on what actually works. No hype.
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I am a Managing Partner of Alignvest, the private investment firm I co-founded in 2011. I built StorageNow into Canada's second-largest self-storage company, then built and ran Alignvest Student Housing, which became Canada's largest purpose-built student housing platform and was sold in December 2024 for $1.69 billion.
I serve on the boards of Scarborough Health Network and Transforming Cleft. I began my career as a CPA at KPMG, and I live in Toronto.
Investment, speaking and media enquiries: contact@sanjilshah.com
