A prominent general retail deal handled by TD Securities and CBRE and an industrial disposition arranged by Cushman & Wakefield are among the top first-quarter property sales recognized by CoStar for greater Toronto.
As big-ticket items involving sizable investments, commercial property transactions often have a wider impact within the local community.
Here are the property sales in the region selected as the first-quarter 2025 winners of the CoStar Power Broker Quarterly Deal Awards:
TOP SALE: Oshawa Centre, 419 King St. W, Oshawa, ON
Brokers Involved:Ā Elliot Medoff, Ashley Martis, Jason Murison and Martha McIvor of TD Securities represented the seller. Hillel Abergel and Peter Senst of CBRE represented the buyer.
TOP SALE: Unilever Distribution Center, 7900 Airport Road, Brampton, ON
7900 Airport Road, Brampton, ON (CoStar)
Sale Price:Ā $253,000,000
Sale Date:Ā March 27, 2025
Size:Ā 745,263 SF
Buyer:Ā Crestpoint Real Estate Investments, Toronto, ON
Seller:Ā Unilever, Toronto, ON
Brokers Involved:Ā Amir Nourbakhsh, Jesse Roth and Matthew Rakhit of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller.
Deal Commentary:Ā In a significant sale-leaseback deal in the first quarter, Unilever sold its Brampton warehouse to Crestpoint Real Estate Investments Ltd. and an undisclosed institutional investor. Built in 2014 and fully leased to Unilever, the LEED Gold-certified property features a clear height of 36 feet, 105 truck-level doors, two drive-in doors, and ample parking for employees and trailers. The property is located near major highways, Toronto Pearson Airport, CN Railās Brampton Intermodal, and the rest of the Greater Toronto Area.
TOP SALE: 438 University Ave., Toronto, ON
438 University Ave., Toronto, ON (CoStar)
Sale Price:Ā $105,600,000
Sale Date:Ā February 24, 2025
Size:Ā 322,835 SF
Buyer:Ā Ministry of Infrastructure, Toronto, ON
Seller:Ā Dream Unlimited, Toronto, ON
Brokers Involved:Ā Ashley Martis, Elliot Medoff and Massimo Lorusso of TD Securities and Jaysen Smalley and Kai Tai Li of CBRE represented the seller.
Deal Commentary:Ā Major downtown Toronto landlord Dream Office REIT struck a deal in the first quarter to sell one of its key assets in Canada’s largest city to one of the building’s major tenants and use the sale proceeds to pay down debt. The Ministry of Infrastructure paid $105.6 million or $327.10 per square foot for the 22-storey tower. Dream said it secured agreements to relocate tenants occupying approximately 17,000 square feet in the building to other downtown Toronto buildings in its portfolio as part of the deal. Dream will also continue to manage the property.
TOP SALE: 6435 and 6451 Northwest Drive, Mississauga, ON
6451 Northwest Drive, Mississauga, ON (CoStar)
Sale Price:Ā $100,000,000
Sale Date:Ā January 20, 2025
Size:Ā 399,992 SF
Buyer:Ā Groupe Montoni, Laval, QC
Seller:Ā Flynn, Mississauga, ON
Brokers Involved:Ā Scott Speirs of CBRE represented the seller.
Deal Commentary:Ā Flynn, one of the largest commercial roofing, glazing and cladding contractors in North America, sold a pair of industrial buildings to Groupe Montoni for approximately $252 per square foot in another notable sale-leaseback in the first quarter. Flynn will remain a tenant in the property.
TOP SALE: Bisha Hotel, 80 Blue Jays Way, Toronto, ON
80 Blue Jays Way, Toronto, ON (CoStar)
Sale Price:Ā $91,000,000
Sale Date:Ā March 3, 2025
Size:Ā 470,000 SF
Buyer:Ā Sunray Group, Toronto, ON
Seller:Ā Lifetime Developments and INK Entertainment Group, Toronto, ON
Brokers Involved:Ā The Colliers Hotels Team of Alam Pirani, Robin McLuskie, Jessi Carrier, Hamir Bansal, Russell Beaudry and Fraser MacDonald represented both sides of the deal.
Deal Commentary:Ā Lifetime Developments and INK Entertainment Group sold this posh 96-room hotel located between King Street W and Wellington Street W, just two blocks north of Rogers Centre, to Sunray Group for approximately $947,917 per room in a top first-quarter deal. The price of furniture, fixtures and equipment was included, with the real estate value at $62,608,000. The Bisha hotel, which was previously operating under Loews Hotels, will be rebranded to join Marriottās exclusive Luxury Collection. INK Entertainment will continue to operate the food and beverage businesses at Bisha.
172,000-sq.-ft. facility in GTA city of Oshawa to be operated by Martin Brower
BGO Cold Chain is one of the world’s largest cold-storage investors, but it has just recently opened its first facility in Canada for operator Martin Brower at the Northwood Business Park in Oshawa, Ont.
The facility was developed in partnership with Stonemont Financial Group.
BGO Cold Chain is part of global real estate investment management advisor and real estate services provider BGO. Itās a dedicated business line representing cold-storage real estate investment management, asset management and development activity on behalf of its institutional investors.
BGO Cold Chain has been involved in approximately 30 million square feet of transaction activity since 2015.
āIn North America we have a focused business solely around development of cold-chain assets,ā managing partner and head of North America for BGO Cold Chain Kevin Rivest told RENX. āWe have a specific fund that we invest out of that is solely focused on cold storage.
“A very significant majority of the assets in the fund we have developed from the ground up in various partnerships with different developers, and we also have the ability to develop ourselves.ā
There are 24 assets with a total project cost of US$1.6 billion in the BGO U.S. Cold Storage Fund, which the Oshawa facility is part of. It has developed cold-storage facilities on both build-to-suit and speculative bases.
āCold storage is a really critical part of our overall food supply chain, which has certainly come more in focus over the last several years between the supply chain issues coming out of COVID and more focus on supply chain, food prices, food security and food insecurity,ā said Rivest, who is based in Washington, D.C.
āIt’s certainly become a lot more of a focus for institutional real estate investors. Whether it’s grown as a percentage of the overall industrial base, probably not really because of the absolute boom and continued development of general industrial for e-commerce, et cetera. But there’s certainly been large growth in the development of new cold storage.ā
Stonemont and Martin Brower
Atlanta, Ga.-headquartered Stonemont is a private real estate investment firm. Its founders and managing principals have a combined track record of more than 60 years of experience and have invested US$20 billion in a range of asset classes. Stonemont currently has more than US$5 billion in assets under management.
Stonemont and BGO coordinated the site acquisition, design and development of the Oshawa cold-storage facility.Ā Panattoni Development Company CanadaĀ was the local development manager andĀ Nexrock Design Build Inc.Ā was the general contractor.
Rosemont, Ill.-headquartered Martin Brower was founded in 1934 and has become a supply chain operator for some of the worldās leading food brands. It has operated in Canada since 1972 and serves as the sole supplier for theĀ Ā McDonald’sĀ restaurant chain across the country. This new facility will service more than 200 McDonaldās locations across eastern Ontario.
What the Oshawa facility offers
Ground was broken for the Oshawa build-to-suit project in the second quarter of 2023. Although the opening was only recently announced, Martin Brower has been operating in the 172,034-square-foot Northwood Business Park facility since late 2024.
āIt varies based on size and complexity, like any project, but if a regular ambient temperature warehouse takes eight to 10 months to build, a cold storage project is generally 11 to 15 months,ā Rivest explained. āAnd if it’s very large and has automation and other things that are more technically complex, then it could push a little farther than that to be completely operational.ā
The building is located on 16.86 acres at 650 Conlin Rd. W. It offers 40-foot clear heights, 37 dock doors, two drive-in doors, 130 trailer parking spaces and 125 car parking spaces. The facility will bring 175 jobs to the community.
āThe refrigeration system is CO2-based, which is much more environmentally friendly and also very efficient for energy usage,ā Rivest said.
Building new facilities is the better way to go
A lot of older cold-storage facilities are inefficient and thereās a need for modernization to keep up with current needs and trends. While they can be retrofitted and upgraded, or new additions can be made to existing buildings where space allows, Rivest thinks it generally makes more sense to build new ones wherever possible so the highest standards can be achieved.
āWe don’t necessarily think of frozen foods as especially healthy, but the reality is that there is quite a bit of advancement in freezing technologies and in the ability to flash-freeze foods ā whether they be proteins, fruits, vegetables, et cetera ā to maintain all their nutritional value and be stored and then ultimately packaged and sold in a pretty economical way,ā he said.
BGO Cold Chain plans to invest further in Canadian facilities, but Rivest said he couldnāt be more specific about future projects at this point.
Prominent retail leases signed by Pickleplex Social Club, Fotile and Uptown Montessori School-Woodbridge negotiated by top dealmakers from Royal LePage Frank, CBRE and Cushman & Wakefield are among the first-quarter retail leases recognized by CoStar.
As big-ticket items involving sizable investments, commercial property transactions often have a wider impact within the community. CoStar is pleased to recognize the following top leases completed during the first quarter and the dealmakers who made them happen in their respective markets.
Here are the Greater Toronto retail leases selected as the first-quarter 2025 winners of the CoStar Power Broker Quarterly Deal Awards:
TOP LEASE: Kingway Village, 1300 King St. E, Oshawa, ON
1300 King St. E, Oshawa, ON (CoStar)
Space Leased:Ā 37,828 SF
Deal Type:Ā New Lease
Size:Ā 170,000 SF
Tenant:Ā Pickleplex Social Club
Brokers Involved:Ā Chris Tyrovolas of Royal LePage Frank represented the landlord. Matthew Pieszchala of CBRE represented the tenant.
Deal Commentary:Ā Pickleplex Social Club signed the top first-quarter retail lease in the GTA securing a new location in Kingway Village, a strip retail center in Oshawa owned by Valiant Group.
TOP LEASE: 9625 Yonge St., Richmond Hill, ON
9625 Yonge St., Richmond Hill, ON (CoStar)
Space Leased:Ā 19,994 SF
Deal Type:Ā New Lease
Size:Ā 56,672 SF
Tenant:Ā Fotile
Brokers Involved:Ā Mike Betel of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord.
Deal Commentary:Ā Fotile, one of China’s largest kitchen appliance brands and a popular retailer of premium kitchen appliances, signed a top deal in the first quarter for just under 20,000 square feet, continuing its Canadian expansion with this large-format retail presence. Fotile is now the largest tenant in the Richmond Hill neighbourhood centre owned by Prombank Investment Ltd.
TOP LEASE: 37 Carl Hall Road, Toronto, ON
37 Carl Hall Road, Toronto, ON (CoStar)
Space Leased:Ā 13,168 SF
Deal Type:Ā New Lease
Size:Ā 85,131 SF
Tenant:Ā Uptown Montessori School-Woodbridge
Brokers Involved:Ā Susan Best of BGIS Global Integrated Solutions Realty represented the landlord. Mir Ali Asgary and Adam Watson of Creiland Consultants Realty represented the tenant.
Deal Commentary:Ā Uptown Montessori School-Woodbridge finalized a first-quarter expansion by leasing space at 37 Carl Hall Road in Toronto’s Downsview Park area. The private school, which offers early childhood and elementary education, is expanding its presence in the GTA with this new location. The site is part of a larger mixed-use area that includes educational, recreational and public facilities owned by Canada Lands Company, the Crown corporation that acquires properties from various federal departments, agencies and Crown corporations.
TOP LEASE: Manulife Centre, 55 Bloor St. W, Toronto, ON
55 Bloor St. W, Toronto, ON (CoStar)
Space Leased:Ā 9,500 SF
Deal Type:Ā New Lease
Size:Ā 334,557 SF
Tenant:Ā L.L. Bean
Brokers Involved:Ā Arlin Markowitz and Alex Edmison of CBRE represented the landlord. Andrew Laudenbach of Oberfeld Snowcap represented the tenant.
Deal Commentary:Ā L.L. Bean, the U.S. based retailer known for its selection of outdoor gear and apparel, struck a deal in the first quarter to open a new store at 55 Bloor St W in Toronto. The new location will place the in the heart of the high end Bloor-Yorkville retail district. The building is owned by Brookfield Properties, which operates a number of high-profile properties across North America. This marks the companyās continued push into major Canadian urban markets.
TOP LEASE: 876 Eglinton Ave. E, Toronto, ON
876 Eglinton Ave. E, Toronto, ON (CoStar)
Space Leased:Ā 3,725 SF
Deal Type:Ā New Lease
Size:Ā 5,582 SF
Tenant:Ā Tim Hortons
Brokers Involved:Ā Sun Quach of CB Metropolitan Commercial represented the landlord.
Deal Commentary:Ā Tim Hortons will open one of its popular coffee stores at the prominent intersection of Eglinton Avenue East and Laird Drive in Toronto. The storefront retail location in Scarborough is owned by Topostar Corp.
Intermarket plans to build out industrial and data centre facilities at 80-acre Cambridge property
Intermarket Properties has developed three buildings at its 80-acre IP Park in Cambridge, a city just west of Toronto, and is ready to launch three additional buildings at the site.
Intermarket assembled, zoned and serviced the lands to create the IP Park master plan. The site is conveniently close to highways 401 and 8 and will host approximately 1.5 million square feet of industrial and data centre uses in 15 buildings when complete.
Intermarket previously sold adjacent land to Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan for its four-million-square-foot-plus iPort Cambridge logistics and industrial campus. Fengate and Dream also own neighbouring industrial properties, while thereās also a Loblaws distribution centre, an Amazon facility and a Toyota manufacturing plant nearby.
āWe’re small-bay industrial with nothing over 150,000 square feet, and the big players around us are all large distribution centres,ā Intermarket development manager Xavier Kindrachuk told RENX, adding that IP Parkās first three completed buildings on Boychuk Drive were all under 120,000 square feet.
IP Parkās first three buildings are finished
Angstrom EngineeringĀ purchased one of them and the other two are leased. A deal for 44,974 square feet was just signed with a business unit ofĀ HongSheng Thermal SystemsĀ at 140 Boychuk Dr.
āThe lenders that we’ve been using have been really happy with us because our projects have all come under budget and been completed before we initially thought,ā Kindrachuk said.
IP Park is in relatively close proximity to numerous restaurants and retail outlets while a futureĀ Grand River TransitĀ bus stop andĀ GO TransitĀ station will provide convenient access to the site.
The IP Park master plan was also created with an integrated trail system that links its green spaces, including wetlands, a wood lot and a potential park. It also includes a number of environmental, social and governance initiatives to promote project sustainability and tenant wellness.
200 Intermarket Rd. and 155 Boychuk Dr.
IP Parkās second phase will be comprised of: 200 Intermarket Rd., which is being represented byĀ JLL; 155 Boychuk Dr., which is being represented byĀ CBRE; and 175 Boychuk Dr., which is being represented byĀ Cushman & Wakefield.
The 200 Intermarket site will be the first to break ground, with construction of an 85,878-square-foot industrial building to begin construction in May. It will have a 24-foot clear height, eight truck-level doors, eight drive-in doors and 201 parking stalls.
The building will be demisable into units of 15,000 square feet and above. Two letters of intent have been signed to lease 56 per cent of the building.
The 155 Boychuk building will be approximately 150,000 square feet and demisable into smaller units. It will have a 28-foot clear height, 10 truck-level doors, two drive-in doors, outdoor storage space and 258 car parking stalls.
āThere’s not very many 400,000- or 500,000-square-foot users out there,ā Intermarket founder and president Mark Kindrachuk, Xavierās father, told RENX in a separate interview.
āA lot of the local firms are now 15,000 to 45,000 square feet, and that’s where 80 per cent of the deals are done in our market of Waterloo Region.ā
Construction wonāt start on IP Parkās next two buildings until theyāve been leased due to the current uncertain economic environment and the caution of lenders, according to Xavier Kindrachuk.
Data centre at 175 Boychuk Dr.
A rendering of the building layout for IP Park in Cambridge. (Courtesy Intermarket)
Intermarket will create the shell for a build-to-suit data centre at 175 Boychuk, where an unnamed third party has been hired to build the interior.
Intermarket is proposing 80,000 square feet for a one-storey building and 160,000 square feet for a two-storey option. Fifteen megawatts of power will be available in the first quarter of 2027.
Intermarket previously sold five acres of adjacent land toĀ GrandBridge Energy, which provides electricity to the area. It will build a transformer station, which will have 100-megawatt capacity by 2028, to provide power to the data centre.
The site is adjacent to the existing Waterloo Region water tower, which will provide water to cool the data centre. There are also five fibre providers in the area.
Advantageous data centre location
āWe have power, we have fibre, we have water and we’re in Waterloo Region, which is a technology hot spot, so we’ve pivoted to really focus on data centres now,ā said Mark Kindrachuk. āWe’ve refined our marketing program to really drill down on the data centre opportunity because we have competitive advantages on our site.ā
Mark Kindrachuk added that Intermarket has reached an agreement with theĀ Region of WaterlooĀ to enable the excess heat produced from IP Parkās data centre to be used to heat adjacent buildings. Consultants and engineers are studying how to carry that out, he noted.
āOur anticipation is that once we finish our first data centre project, and with the new transformer built, we will move forward with some other data centres,ā Xavier Kindrachuk said. āMost of the sites are zoned for data centre use.ā
Toronto-based Intermarket is a real estate development and management company established by Mark Kindrachuk in 1997 that has development, investment, and advisory and consulting business units.
The company has private investors and has been involved with a variety of projects over the years. IP Park is its current priority.
āWe are not institutionally funded and we don’t have any pension plans supporting us,ā Xavier Kindrachuk explained. āWe like to be nimble.
“We like to be able to pivot quickly and we don’t typically want that much bureaucracy making decisions for us.ā
A look at the big real estate deals brokers wrapped up in the first quarter
Primaris Real Estate Investment Trust’s $375 million deal to buy a mall and surrounding properties east of Toronto was Canada’s largest real estate transaction during the first quarter, making it one of the top deals recognized in the latest CoStar Power Broker quarterly awards.
Toronto-based Primaris, looking to expand its retail shopping mall empire, bought seven properties as part of its deal to acquire the Oshawa Centre, located just east of Canada’s largest city.
“The transactions improve the overall quality of our enclosed shopping centre portfolio,” said Primaris CEO Alex Avery in announcing the deal in Oshawa, the same day his REIT also bought a stake in another regional mall, Southgate Centre in Edmonton.
The deal for the seven Oshawa properties, located at 400 Gibb Street, 410 Gibb Street, 255 Stevenson Road S., and the mall at 419 King Street W., closed on Jan. 31 and included 1,215,200 square feet of retail space, pricing the mall and adjacent properties at $308.59 per square foot.
Including the 50% interest purchase of Southgate Centre in Edmonton, Primaris paid $585 million, which included $335 million in cash, $75 million units of the trust, and $175 million in 6.25% exchangeable preferred units of a newly formed subsidiary limited partnership.
Avery has noted that the REIT has recently partnered with five of Canada’s 10 largest pension funds, with the vendors taking back equity and exchangeable preferred equity investments.
The buyer brokers with CBRE included Hillel L. Abergel, vice chairman, and Peter Senst, president of Canadian capital markets.
Here is a look at other top deals completed in the three months ending Mar. 31.
TOP OFFICE LEASE
AstraZeneca signs first quarter’s top office lease to expand Mississauga R&D hub
AstraZeneca signed the largest office lease of the quarter at this building in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga. (CoStar)
The first quarter’s top office lease was AstraZeneca PLC’s move to occupy 247,500 square feet in Mississauga. The move is part of the company’s plans to spend $820 million to expand its Mississauga-based Research & Development Hub and establish a new Alexion Development Hub focused on developing medicines for treating rare diseases.
The lease atĀ 5115 Creekbank RoadĀ in Toronto’s airport submarket reflects the pharmaceutical giant’s ongoing investment in its Canadian operations. The new space is set to support the companyās goal of reaching US$80 billion in total revenue by 2030 and its plans to deliver 20 new medicines globally.
Located near major highways and Pearson International Airport, the large office building owned by Chicago-basedĀ Oak Street Real Estate CapitalĀ offers key logistical advantages for the company’s growing workforce. The property is part of a modern business park known for its sustainability features and access to nearby amenities.
AstraZeneca signed the full-building lease on Mar. 1 with a start date of Oct. 1, 2026.
“This move supports our growth as a strategic global research and multi-functional hub withinĀ AstraZeneca,” the pharmaceutical company said in a social media post. “We are excited to be staying in the great city of Mississauga and joining a vibrant campus alongside Bell Canada.”
The leasing representative contacts on the deal were fromĀ Cushman & WakefieldĀ and include Senior Vice PresidentĀ Katya Shabanova,Ā Vice President of Office LeasingĀ Fay GoveasĀ and Senior Vice President of Office LeasingĀ Craig Trenholm.
TOP RETAIL LEASE
MTL Pickleball becomes one of the largest tenants at Centre RioCan in Kirkland
The top lease of the quarter was for a pickleball facility in Kirkland, on the Island of Montreal. (CoStar)
MTL Pickleball signed the top retail lease of the quarter for a new enclosed location with 11 regulation courts in the Centre RioCan Kirkland, a large retail complex located just off the Trans-Canada Highway on the Island of Montreal.
Signed on Jan. 9, the 30,27-square-foot lease kicked in on February 1, makingĀ MTL Pickleball one of the largest tenants in the Montreal retail centreĀ owned by RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust. Other retailers at the 314,442-square-foot centre include Dollarama, Cineplex and Winners.
According to MTL Pickleball’s social media posting, the facility will have 11 courts. “As players, we wanted to create a facility that other players would enjoy playing in,” the group said.
Pickleball tenants have proven popular among retail centre owners for bringing additional foot traffic.
Real estate firm HardenĀ served as the landlord’s leasing representative on the deal, which was led by Assistant Vice President of LeasingĀ Gina MastromonacoĀ and Marketing DirectorĀ Manon Patenaude. The tenant was self-represented.
TOP INDUSTRIAL LEASE
IEM’s two-building industrial lease in Surrey is a top first-quarter deal
Global security consulting firm IEM signed the top industrial lease in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey. (CoStar)
The top industrial lease of the quarter was signed by global firm Industrial Electric Manufacturing in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey.
One of North America’s largest independent electrical distribution and control systems manufacturers, IEM pre-leased the new two-building industrial facility atĀ 19125 28 AvenueĀ andĀ 2955 192 St.Ā in the Latimer Lake Logistics Park for a combined total of nearly 727,000 square feet.
The firm is expanding beyond Silicon Valley to supply specialized electrical equipment throughout the U.S. and Canada, offering such specialized products as paralleling switchgear systems and fully front-accessible arc-resistant switchgear.
After leasing the first building earlier, IEM leased the second and largest building in the Latimer Lake Logistics Park.
Situated on the corner of 192nd Street and 28th Avenue, each building includes warehouse and office space and rooftop parking.
The leasing representatives fromĀ ColliersĀ were Executive Vice President of IndustrialĀ Chris Morrison, Senior Vice PresidentĀ Vito Decicco, Senior Vice President of IndustrialĀ Pat PhillipsĀ and AssociateĀ Nick RepchukĀ in a direct deal with IEM.
Vancouver-based store owner announces plans to launch department store concept in Canada
Vancouver shopping centre owner Weihong Ruby Liu has followed through on her promise to grab part of the iconic Hudsonās Bay department store empire, saying she struck a deal to take over 28 HBC leases in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. With the locations secured, Liu says she’ll launch a ānew modern department store concept in Canada.ā
Liu offered few details about the new concept.
Liu, who owns the Central Walk mall in Vancouver andĀ Mayfair CentreĀ in Victoria, Woodgrove Centre in Nanaimo, and Tsawwassen Mills near Vancouver, attracted attention when she announced she intended to bid on Hudsonās Bay stores after the chain filed for creditor protection in March, citing over $1 billion in debt.
The lease purchases are conditional upon approval by the landlords of the properties where the stores are located and by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The location of the stores were not revealed but they are expected to include the three retail outlets in malls that Liu owns in British Columbia.
Before it filed for protection from its creditors, HBC operated 32 stores in Ontario, 16 in British Columbia, 13 in Quebec, 13 in Alberta and two each in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia. HBC also operated 16 stores as Saks Off 5th and Saks Fifth Avenue under a licensing agreement.
HBC leased most of its stores but also owned a handful of retail properties its stores occupied in a joint venture with RioCan REIT, including prominent downtown standalone structures in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
Not all of the HBC leases attracted offers, as court-appointed bankruptcy monitor Alvarez and Marsal oversaw a bidding process in which 62 Hudsonās Bay leases failed to receive any qualified bids.
Although the closing of the HBC stores represents a loss of rental revenue for shopping centre owners, some landlords have expressed optimism for the future prospects of their centres without HBC as tenants, includingĀ Primaris REIT.
Primaris regains some control
Meanwhile, Primaris said this week that five of the nine leases it held with HBC received no bids.
As a result, on June 16, Primaris said it will take control of the HBC-leased properties atĀ Medicine Hat Mall, in Medicine Hat, Alberta;Ā Sunridge MallĀ in Calgary, and LesĀ Galeries de la CapitaleĀ in Quebec City. The real estate investment trust said it will also take control of HBC leases at a pair of shopping centres Primaris owns a half-interest in; includingĀ Cataraqui Town CentreĀ in Kingston, Ontario, andĀ Place dāOrleans Shopping CentreĀ in Orleans, Ontario.
Primaris REIT will be retaking control of at least five of the nine spaces it leased to HBC, including at the Place d’Orleans Shopping Centre. (CoStar)
The HBC outlets filled over half a million square feet of space, almost one-sixth of the total leasable area of the shopping centres. The two largest were in Calgary and Quebec City, measuring a little over 160,000 square feet each.
The HBC vacancies will cost Primaris $5.5 million in lower annualized revenue and roughly $50 million to $60 million in repurposing fees, the company said. The termination of the leases frees Primaris of its obligation to supply 13 acres of land in parking to HBC, or 1,866 parking spaces, and releases it from no-build restrictions on 71 acres of land, including nine acres filled by HBC stores, the company added.
PrimarisĀ President and Chief Operating OfficerĀ Patrick SullivanĀ said this week that some HBC stores could be subdivided and leased to new commercial tenants or even demolished to allow for redevelopment.
āThere is strong tenant demand for our HBC boxes, and we are in discussions with strong covenant, high-quality national retailers, including large format tenants,ā Sullivan said in a statement.
Student housing portfolio acquisition, major shopping centre deal take top spots
A $1.7-billion student housing portfolio and a Montreal-area shopping centre transaction were the top commercial real estate transactions in Canada during 2024.
Cadillac Fairviewās $553.2 million buyback last August of its 50 per cent interest in the 266-store CF Carrefour Laval shopping centre from TD Asset Management, was the biggest single-asset transaction 2024 by dollar value, according to Altus Group.
But that was eclipsed by the year-end closing of Forum Asset Management’s acquisition of Alignvest Student Housing REIT, a $1.7 billion deal which created the country’s largest private owner of student housing accommodations. Forum’s REIIF fund now holds a nationwide portfolio of approximately 10,500 student housing beds.
The deal for the 1.2-million-square-foot mall in the Montreal suburb provided proof of a resurgence in retail investment. Later in the year, Cadillac Fairview announced it would build 20- and 11-storey multifamily towers comprising 365 homes at the shopping centre.
Unlike 2023, in which most of the Top-15 transactions were in the Greater Toronto Area and Ontarioās Greater Golden Horseshoe area, about half of 2024ās Top-15 were scattered throughout the country. This shows āinvestors are looking to diversify,ā according to Raymond Wong, vice-president, data solutions, client delivery at Altus Group.
Some of the top deals involved downtown office buildings ā including Brookfield Propertiesā acquisition of 2 Queen St. E. in Toronto ā thus indicating there is still demand for quality downtown office space, Wong said.
Year-end transaction numbers down in Canada
Total Canadian real estate investment activity last year ended up below 2023 numbers – at approximatelyĀ $50.5 billion according to Altus Group’sĀ Canadian CRE Investment TrendsĀ – compared with $54.8 billion in 2023. That’s a reduction of about eight per cent.
Investment activity reached $8 billion in Vancouver versus $7.3 billion in 2023 and Montreal was at $9.6 billion compared with $8.1 billion in 2023. However, in the GTA, investment activity dropped to $17.1 billion compared with $22.1 billion in 2023.
Wong said while the challenge for investors in 2023 was high interest rates, the question now is by how much they will continue to drop and the frequency of interest rate cuts. The impact of a low Canadian dollar has become a concern this year, he said.
The impact of U.S. tariffs could also become a factor.
Wong says foreign investors still have an appetite for Canadian real estate ā two of the top five deals last year involved foreign investors. āThey still see Canada as a safe haven (with) good stability and solid assets.ā
Canada’s Top-15 transactions in 2024
Here are the Top-15 largest (by dollar value) commercial real estate transactions in Canada in 2024:
1. Forum Asset Management acquisition of Alignvest Student Housing REIT for $1.7 billion.
2. Cadillac Fairviewās $553.2 million buyback of its 50 per cent interest in the 266-store CF Carrefour Laval shopping centre from TD Asset Management.
3.Ā Morguard Corp. sale of a portfolio of 14 hotel properties with 2,248 rooms in Ontario and Halifax toĀ InnVest HotelsĀ andĀ Manga Hotel GroupĀ for $410 million. InnVest acquired 10 of the hotels: Marriott Toronto Airport, Courtyard Toronto Airport, Residence Inn Toronto Airport, Hotel Carlingview, Courtyard Vaughan, Courtyard Markham, Residence Inn Markham, Townplace Suites Sudbury, Cambridge Suites Halifax and The Prince George Halifax.
4.Ā Prologis, a San Francisco-based REIT, acquired a 1.3 million-square-foot distribution centre at 8450 Boston Church Road, in Milton, Ont. for $361 million from New York-basedĀ Sycamore Partners. It will continue to serve as a Rona distribution centre through a 15-year leaseback. The site formed part of Sycamore Partnersā acquisition of Loweās Canadian retail business and Rona rebrand.
5.Ā Primaris REITĀ acquired the million-square-foot Les Galeries de la Capitale shopping centre in Quebec City for $325 million in a transaction which closed on Oct. 1.Ā Oxford PropertiesĀ had been the previous owner.
The 401 West Georgia St., office tower in Vancouver. (Google Maps)
6. Germany-basedĀ Deka Immobilien Investment GmbHĀ spent $300 million to acquire 22-storey 401 West Georgia St. and nine-storey 402 Dunsmuir St. in downtown Vancouver fromĀ Oxford Properties. The majority tenant is Amazon and the buildings total just over 416,000 square feet of office space.
7.Ā Brookfield PropertiesĀ acquired Village Green Apartments, a 705-unit, three-tower apartment complex at 40 Alexander St. in Old Toronto for $264.4 million fromĀ Greenrock Property Management.
8.Ā PrologisĀ spent $258.1 million to buy a 90-acre industrial property and 1.5-million-square-foot warehouse in the Toronto suburb of Brampton.Ā Canadian TireĀ said the distribution facility, located near Bramalea and Steeles roads, was no longer needed and that the company would operate out of its newer, more modern, more highly automated facilities in the Greater Toronto Area.
9.Ā H&R REITĀ sold its Corus Quay office building, along the Lake Ontario waterfront in Toronto, toĀ George Brown CollegeĀ andĀ Halmont Properties Corp. for $232.5 million. The eight-storey building at 25 Dockside Drive has 479,437 square feet of space.
10. Three private investors in Quebec acquired the Norgate portfolio of approximately 70 older, small apartment buildings in the Montreal borough of Saint-Laurent fromĀ Starlight InvestmentsĀ andĀ KingSett CapitalĀ for $197.5 million.
11.Ā Choo CommunitiesĀ sold Envie Rideau, its 296,900 square foot student housing building at 256 Rideau St. in Ottawa, for $183 million toĀ Forum Asset Management. The 579-unit, 737 bed property has since been renamed Alma @ ByWard Market.
12. Brookfield Properties spent $172.8 million to buy the 483-unit, multifamily property at 77 Davisville Ave. in Old Toronto from Greenrock Property Management.
13. Brookfield Properties spent $161.3 million to buy outĀ AIMCoĀ andĀ CPP InvestmentsĀ to be the sole owner of the 477,000 sq. ft. 2 Queen St. E. office tower in downtown Toronto.
14.Ā Seventh Centre Residential Properties spent $154.7 millionĀ to obtain from 7th Avenue Sky Property a 50 per cent undivided interest in TELUS Sky, at 685 Centre St. SW in Calgary. The 60-storey building, one of downtown Calgaryās most iconic high-rise towers contains commercial and residential components.
15. Vancouver-basedĀ Hydrogen Technology & Energy Corp. paid $145 million to purchase a 21-acre industrial property at100 Forester Street in North Vancouver from specialty chemicals producerĀ ERCO Worldwide. The site will be home to a 15 tonne-per-day clean hydrogen plant to meet a growing market demand for low-carbon transportation fuels.
EDITOR’S NOTE:Ā This story was updated to clarify CF Carrefour Laval was the largest single-asset transaction; that the Forum / Alignvest transaction was the largest overall transaction; and to add information about the Primaris / Oxford transaction. This information had not been included in the data supplied to RENX.
It was once a centrepiece of the economy in a General Motors-dominated town east of Toronto, and the redevelopment of the hotel property in Oshawa has become part of the city’s downtown revitalization story.
The Genosha Hotel first opened its doors in 1929 and welcomed numerous high-profile guests from business executives to politicians visiting the bustling city. Humming with activity, the building housed the bus terminal, radio station and several shops. The hotel was considered the centrepiece of downtown Oshawa, then considered to be “Canada’s Motor City.” As downtown’s social hub, The Genosha hosted banquets, weddings, dinners and dancing at its prominent corner location on King and Mary streets.
But suburban sprawl resulted in the slow decline of downtown Oshawa as the hotel went from luxury to a boarding house and finally a strip club before being abandoned in 2003.
The Genosha was saved from demolition due to a 2005 designated heritage status for its Chicago Art styling.
The property changed hands multiple times through failed attempts by developers to repurpose the property until Oshawa-based Summers & Co. Developments Inc., under the leadership of its founder and CEO Rick Summers, jumped in with a vision to restore the property’s status.
The project, now branded as the Market at 70King has earned a 2025 CoStar Impact Award for redevelopment in Toronto, as judged by real estate professionals familiar with the market.
About the project: Summers & Co. implemented a plan to create 86 luxury rental units and a nine-restaurant culinary destination that would draw people back downtown. Working closely with Heritage Oshawa, the developer restored the exterior of The Genosha’s original brickwork. The bricked-in main floor was opened back to its original form, the original limestone cladding was recreated, and the upper give floors repurposed into a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom rental units.
In 2019, the units were fully leased, a rooftop solar farm was brought online, and cashflow stabilized, with the building refinanced to prepare for a nine-restaurant food hall.
While larger, more-established restaurant franchises would have offered more stabilized buildouts and leases, Summers adopted for local owner-operated restaurants, creating a diverse space that focused on attracting local business downtown.
To overcome skepticism of the downtown location and inspire belief in the viability of the overall project, Summers & Co. built out the base restaurant pods and hosted an exclusive pitch night that secured the first five leases, which allowed them to gain momentum and lease the remaining space.
The restaurant owners’ vision was coordinated with architectural, engineering and design packages. A particularly difficult element was crafting an exhaust hood system that serviced all restaurants while navigating an existing heritage structure and mitigating its impact on the final design aesthetic.
Summers & Co. also took on the roles of project management and general contracting on the buildout of each restaurant to ensure a coordinated grand opening.
A specialized elevator known by LULA was deployed to create fully accessible space. This elevator leads to basement preparation areas for the restaurants and a speak-easy-themed event space that references the prohibition period during which The Genosha was built.
Summers & Co. also worked with the city to reclaim a traffic lane to create two permanent sidewalk patios through an encroachment agreement.
The residential and commercial spaces are now fully leased, with a waiting list of restaurants seeking to join the building’s food hall.
Oshawa Mayor Dan Carter has widely praised this development declaring: “The Genosha Hotel redevelopment project is the last piece of the puzzle. Picking up where others failed, Summers & Co. has built on the success of their past projects in the city and revitalized the historic building, which I believe will be the cornerstone of downtown development.”
What the judges said: “This redevelopment is impactful and worthy of the award because it delivers a highly desirable mixed-use project at a significant scale and in a node that provides many community benefits. This project succeeded where others had failed in converting a very undesirable use into something more meaningful and beneficial for the city,” said Paul Macchione, senior vice president of Industrial with Cadillac Fairview Corp.
“A really good reuse of an older building in a challenged market (downtown Oshawa),” said Chris Langstaff, Canada head of research and strategy with LaSalle Investment Management.
“I know Oshawa well enough to remember the eyesore that used to be there. This is an excellent project. I love seeing the rejuvenation of this asset. I know the building and I am so happy to see it restored and reactivated. The kitchen area looks amazing,” said Allen Grinberg, principal at Avison Young.
“The Market at 70King is the most impactful of the projects we considered, from its history to its transformation to a mixed-use development in a much-needed area of downtown Oshawa. Taking influences from art deco Chicago brings vibrancy to the project. The revitalization of the downtown core has a direct impact on the larger community. Accessibility and sustainability are key themes that stand out in this development,” added Alanna Cantkier, national vice president of retail leasing at JLL.
They made it happen: The development team at Summers & Co. Developments Inc. that rescued The Genosha was led by CEO Richard Summers and included Jeff Steffen, chief operator officer, David Lee, director of operations of Summers & Co., as well as Joel Gerber, principal of Joel Gerber Architects; Michelle Peer, a principal of 2Co, Jude Kamal, Principal of Sansa Interiors, and Evan Kim, principal at EK Engineering.
The transaction was for $104 million, but more importantly, the sale of the Millcreek Business Centre set a standard for valuing industrial-flex properties in Mississauga, in the suburbs of Toronto.
The deal for seven properties earned the 2025 CoStar Impact Award for sale/acquisition of the year in Toronto, as judged by a panel of real estate professionals familiar with the market.
The seven properties at 6665, 6675, 6685, 6695, 6705, 6715, and 6725 Millcreek Drive in Mississauga contained a total square of 324,362 sold in a year-end deal that created a period of limited availability for key stakeholders.
Another hurdle was outdated tenant contact information with crucial tenant records that were not current, delaying lease administration.
To make the deal happen, the buyer, Soneil Investments Inc., and the real estate brokers involved, Sam Shah of Bluetick Realty Inc. and listing brokers Victor Cotic, Gord Cook, Max Brenzel and Brennan Eastmure of Colliers Macaulay Nicolls swung into action. Their creative solutions included reconstructing a tenant-contact database through back-engineering lease records and direct outreach involving face-to-face meetings with tenants.
About the project: The buildings, originally constructed between 1987 and 1989, have modern industrial features, including clear heights exceeding 20 feet and 53-foot trailer accessibility.
The sale set a new high price in the Mississauga industrial market, underscoring the demand for high-quality, well-located assets.
Millcreek Business Centre was one of the region’s first properties designed to integrate office and industrial uses. Its location also benefits businesses with access to major highways, rail intermodal terminals and Toronto Pearson International Airport.
The average rental rates are 18% below market, giving the buyer significant upside potential for long-term growth.
The deal was a direct acquisition without leasebacks or tax incentives, but its small-bay industrial strategy minimizes risk by avoiding exposure to a single major tenant.
For Soneil, the deal aligned with its long-term expansion strategy, with planned acquisitions ranging from $300 million to $400 million in 2025.
The Life Assurance Company and an investment group named 801611 Ontario Ltd., represented by Toronto brokerage GWL Realty Advisors Inc., sold the property to Soneil Investment. The asset was 92% occupied at the time of sale with 31 tenants representing a mix of national, regional, and local businesses.
What the judges said: “This sale set a new high in the Mississauga industrial market and demonstrates current demand for high-quality assets. The diversification of this portfolio is also impactful as it demonstrates the convergence between office and industrial as an asset class,” said Alanna Cantkier, national vice president of retail leasing with JLL.
“This nomination is impactful and worthy of the award because of its scale in a transaction-constrained market. The purchaser was able to undertake a significant amount of due diligence under a tight timeframe involving multiple buildings and tenants, and the product type is very much on trend with where the leasing market is building momentum right now. The purchaser also identified the opportunity to capture upside in net rents by reducing the operating cost model,” noted Paul Macchione, senior vice president of industrial with Cadillac Fairview Corp.
They made it happen: Soneil Investments CEO and President Neil Jain was the buyer, with buyer representation by Sam Shah of Bluetick Realty Inc. The listing brokers were Victor Cotic, Gord Cook, Max Brenzel and Brennan Eastmure of Colliers Macaulay Nicolls Inc. Lender RBC provided financing.
After a negotiation process that took months, the Candian division of a global semiconductor manufacturer renewed its lease by expanding in an office building northeast of Toronto, filling all the remaining available space in the building.
The lease renewal and expansion at 105 Commerce Valley Drive in Markham, Ontario, proved to be a significant transaction. The company expanded its footprint in the building to 156,493 square feet, an increase of 48,469 square feet.
For serving as an indicator of returning strength in Tortonto’s office sector, the deal earned the 2025 CoStar Impact Award for the lease of the year in Toronto, as judged by a panel of real estate professionals familiar with the market.
About the project: The negotiation process took three to five months, requiring in-depth discussions and strategic concessions to secure the lease renewal. Key challenges were the tech firm’s specific leasing requirements, competitive market conditions, and the need to provide enhanced tenant incentives while ensuring the long-term financial viability of the lease.
The landlord extended specific preferential lease terms, such as granting prominent visibility to the firm within the Southcreek Corporate Centre complex and a right of first offer with priority access to additional space in the building, ensuring room for future expansion.
What the judges said: Chris Langstaff, Canada head of research and strategy at LaSalle Investment Management, said there were several winning factors in evaluating the impact of this deal. “The total size of this deal, the expansion of the tenant’s footprint, the right of first offer on additional space, the type of company (a major computer chip maker), a significant long-term lease and prominent location.”
“This project for an existing tenant to expand and secure more space in a building showered with LEED certification shows the dedication of a tenant to the asset more than the other options,” said Allen Grinberg, principal of Avison Young.
They made it happen: Landlord representative Sam Shah with Bluetick Realty, President Neil Jain of Soneil Markham, the owner of the Southcreek Corporate Centre office building, and Senior Vice President Howard Bogler of Savills, who represented the tenant.
