Walmart has opened its first pharmacy clinic in Canada, joining a growing trend of drugstores and retailers providing medical services to take pressure off the country’s health care system.
The retailer said it launched the clinic at its Walmart Supercentre at 420 Vansickle Road in St. Catharines, Ontario, about an hour south of Toronto.
Pharmacies across the country are increasingly being allowed to bill provincial heath systems for some basic medical services normally provided by doctors.
“One in 5 Canadians don’t have a family doctor or nurse practitioner they see regularly. Our Walmart pharmacy clinics will help close this gap by becoming an easy access point for our pharmacists to provide non-urgent consultations and services beyond dispensing medications,” Alex Hurd, vice president of health services with Walmart Canada, said in a statement. “Our goal is to help ease the strain on emergency departments and traditional walk-in medical clinics.”
The new in-store clinic space will enable the retailer’s licensed pharmacists’ direct consultations and health care services within the expanded scope of the practice to the store, beyond dispensing medication via the pharmacy.
Walmart Canada said it plans to roll out more locations that are similar to walk-in medical clinics to give patients access to licensed pharmacists who can treat minor ailments such as urinary tract infections, cold sores, allergies and skin conditions.
The clinics also will conduct tests including blood pressure, HbA1C and cholesterol and offer medication management and support, the United States-based retail giant said. Patients can schedule an appointment online or walk in.
Walmart Canada has more than 400 stores nationwide and serves 1.5 million customers daily.
Walmart Canada this year announced plans to spend $6.5 billion to build stores and enhance its supply chain in the country.
A group of private investors hopes an ongoing development boom in a region just north of the Greater Toronto Area means this is a good time to market a tract of employment land near the town of Alliston.
Three potential purchasers have expressed serious interest in the 98.64 acres of vacant land at 7133 Industrial Parkway in the town of about 25,000 people 90 kilometres north of Toronto. A Colliers sales brochure for the site provides a list price of $40 million.
One potential purchaser is from Winnipeg, one is from Ontario and the third is from California and involved with solar panels, Colliers broker Amar Aulakh told RENX.
Once the California company finishes its due diligence, Aulakh said, its representatives want to talk to local and provincial officials and “see what benefits they can get from the government.”
The site was acquired in 2022 by a pool of private investors Aulakh said is willing to offer a vendor take-back mortgage to a reputable purchaser. The group also owns land around Niagara Falls, Brantford and London. They are waiting for the right deal to come along in Alliston, he added, and aren’t in a major rush to sell.
Many large land transactions have been put on hold in recent months due to economic uncertainty, including fears of the impact that United States-imposed tariffs could have on Canadian-based industries. Aulakh said buyers want to see how things unfold before making a major decision.
Location is adjacent to Honda plant
The 7133 Industrial Parkway property is adjacent to a Honda Canada manufacturing plant about five minutes from Highway 89 and 20 minutes from Highway 400. There are a variety of businesses, a recreation centre and a hospital nearby.
Honda announced plans in April 2024 for a $15-billion electric vehicle project on its large Alliston site that was originally slated to start operation in 2028. It was expected to add 1,000 jobs to the 4,200 already employed at Honda’s existing operations which produce approximately 390,000 vehicles per year.
However, the Japan-headquartered company said earlier this month it is pausing its Alliston expansion for two years due to the fluctuating demand for electric vehicles and uncertainties facing the industry due to U.S. tariffs on imported vehicles.
Aulakh doesn’t believe that decision will have a major impact on the 7133 Industrial Parkway property or others in the area, as it is already established as an important manufacturing and logistics hub.
7133 Industrial Parkway has Employment Area 2 zoning, which permits a number of different industrial, commercial, educational and recreational uses.
The property is also in an area designated as a provincially significant employment zone, which provides opportunities to improve coordination between land use planning, economic development and infrastructure investments to support job creation.
“I was checking in the Simcoe County area, Barrie and Innisfil, and any area with zoning and services is going for over a million dollars per acre,” Aulakh said. “Simcoe County is very flexible. If you approach them in a good manner at the developing stage, they’re very helpful.”
Other recently sold and available land in the area
Aulakh said eight acres recently sold in the neighbouring township of Innisfil for $11.5 million. A 14-acre tract also sold in another neighbouring community, Bradford West Gwillimbury, for $19 million as a development boom continues in the region.
Emergia owns 100 nearby acres at 14th Line and Industrial Parkway that it acquired in 2021 for $14.4 million. It’s seeking to sell 70 acres to a developer of single-family residences and develop approximately 500 housing units and up to 60,000 square feet of retail on the remaining property, according to its website.
Broccolini sold 55 acres and is building a 1.3-million-square-foot warehouse at Highway 400 and Innisfil Beach Road in Innisfil that will serve as a distribution centre for Denmark-based DSV – Global Transport and Logistics.
Broccolini is looking to sell an adjacent 16.8 acres at 7267 5th Side Road that fronts Highway 400 and is appropriate for an industrial building of up to 350,000 square feet. CBRE’s website listing has a price of $28.48 million for the site.
Prominent office leases signed by AstraZeneca PLC, Allstate and Metrolinx negotiated by top dealmakers from Cushman & Wakefield, Avison Young and CBRE are among the first-quarter office 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 office leases selected as the first-quarter 2025 winners of the CoStar Power Broker Quarterly Deal Awards:
TOP LEASE: Bell Campus, Building E, 5115 Creekbank Road, Mississauga, ON
5115 Creekbank Road, Mississauga, ON (CoStar)
Space Leased: 249,118 SF
Deal Type: New Lease
Size: 249,118 SF
Tenant: AstraZeneca PLC
Brokers Involved: Katya Shabanova, Fay Goveas and Craig Trenholm of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord.
Deal Commentary: The big office news in the first quarter was AstraZeneca Canada’s announcement of its plans to expand and relocate its operations to 5115 Creekbank Road, Mississauga, in late 2026. The move, which involved AstraZeneca signing a full-building lease, is part of the drugmaker’s $820 million investment in Canada, supporting the company’s ambitious goal of reaching US$80 billion in total revenue by 2030, with plans to deliver 20 new medicines globally. The expansion will keep its research and multi-functional hub within Mississauga while establishing a new campus alongside Bell Canada.
TOP LEASE: Steeles Technology Campus, Phase 2, 3389 Steeles Ave. E, Toronto, ON
3389 Steeles Ave. E, Toronto, ON (CoStar)
Space Leased: 27,923 SF
Deal Type: New Lease
Size: 335,396 SF
Tenant: Allstate
Brokers Involved: Matt Gunning and Katie Wilson of Avison Young represented the landlord. David Chiarello and Reid Bethell of CBRE represented the tenant.
Deal Commentary: Insurance and financial services firm Allstate committed to occupy just under 28,000 square feet of office space at Steeles Technology Campus in Toronto during the first quarter. The high-profile property is located at the intersection of Steeles Avenue East and Highway 404 and is owned by a Crestpoint investment fund along with Markham, Ontario-based North American Development Group and Toronto-based Hazelview Properties.
TOP LEASE: 5650 Yonge St., Toronto, ON
5650 Yonge St., Toronto, ON (CoStar)
Space Leased: 25,454 SF
Deal Type: New Lease
Size: 567,885 SF
Tenant: Metrolinx
Brokers Involved: Matt Gunning, Mark Sullivan and Katie Wilson of Avison Young represented the landlord.
Deal Commentary: In a top deal signed last quarter, Metrolinx will be opening a new office and become the largest tenant in this downtown 23-storey office tower owned by Manulife Financial Corp. The office tower is part of North American Centre, a two-building, 1.2 million-square-foot office complex located on the northwest corner of Yonge Street and Finch Avenue that features a direct connection to the Finch Subway Station.
TOP LEASE: 175 Bloor Street East, South Tower, Toronto, ON
175 Bloor Street East, Toronto, ON (CoStar)
Space Leased: 24,869 SF
Deal Type: New Lease
Size: 304,211 SF
Tenant: National Payroll Institute
Brokers Involved: Sam Carr of Allied Properties REIT and Eric Shaw, Cam Mitchell and Steven Sotiroff of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord. John Reid of Colliers represented the tenant.
Deal Commentary: The National Payroll Institute, a national advocacy organization representing payroll professionals, secured a lease for just under 25,000 square feet in this 18-storey office tower located at the intersection of Bloor and Church streets. This office tower was one of six acquired Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust in 2022 from Choice Properties REIT, Canada’s largest REIT, as part of its decision to reduce its office holdings and focus on its core business of essential retail and industrial. Under the deal, Allied added 1.2 million square feet in Canada’s three largest cities.
TOP LEASE: EQ Bank Tower, 25 Ontario St., Toronto, ON
25 Ontario St., Toronto, ON (CoStar)
Space Leased: 22,246 SF
Deal Type: New Lease
Size: 464,500 SF
Tenant: Equitable Bank
Brokers Involved: Brendan Sullivan and Mackenzie Sharpe of CBRE represented the landlord.
Deal Commentary: Rounding out the top office deals from the first quarter, Equitable Bank expanded its footprint in the EQ Bank Tower by leasing an additional 22,246 square feet of office space in this project formerly known as The Shift. The 24-storey office tower is under construction in the King East neighbourhood. Set for completion later this year, the new office tower is institutionally owned by The Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, a defined benefit pension plan, and Toronto-based developer First Gulf. The lease brings the banks total occupancy to more than 175,000 square feet.
Longtime commercial real estate broker Bob Knakal joins the podcast to discuss the current market cycle and why 2025 is a big year for real estate.
He also talks about artificial intelligence in real estate, and offers predictions about what to expect from the market through the rest of this year. Finally, Knakal also shares some tips on real estate prospecting.
Knakal is the chairman and CEO of BKREA, a commercial real estate capital markets brokerage company in New York City. He has been a broker in NYC since 1984. Over that time, he has brokered the sale of over 2,339 buildings having a market value of approximately $22 billion.
Prominent industrial leases signed by ID Logistics, Apps Transport Group and 18 Wheels negotiated by top dealmakers from CBRE, Metrus Properties and Colliers are among the first-quarter industrial 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 Toronto industrial leases selected as the first-quarter 2025 winners of the CoStar Power Broker Quarterly Deal Awards:
TOP LEASE: 221 Church St. S, Ajax, ON
221 Church St. S, Ajax, ON (CoStar)
Space Leased: 698,301 SF
Deal Type: New Lease
Size: 698,301 SF
Tenant: ID Logistics
Brokers Involved: Samantha Sukumar, Kyle Hanna and Graeme McDonald of CBRE represented the landlord. Fraser McKenna of CBRE represented the tenant.
Deal Commentary: ID Logistics, a global contract logistics firm, signed the top industrial lease deal of the first quarter, a full-building lease for Building A in the Ajax Industrial On The Park development in Ajax, Ontario. ID Logistics specializes in supply chain solutions, including warehousing, transportation, and value-added services. Crestpoint Real Estate Investments Ltd. is developing the new industrial project.
TOP LEASE: 9501 Hwy-50 Highway, Vaughan, ON
9501 Hwy-50 Highway, Vaughan, ON (CoStar)
Space Leased: 229,847 SF
Deal Type: New Lease
Size: 908,351 SF
Tenant: APPS Transport Group
Brokers Involved: Gabrielle Mair of Metrus Properties represented the landlord. Graham Meader of Colliers represented the tenant.
Deal Commentary: APPS Transport Group, a Canadian less-than-truckload (LTL) and intermodal carrier based near Toronto and owned by TFI International, signed one of the top industrial deals of the first quarter leasing just under 230,000 square feet at this truck terminal property located at 9501 Hwy-50 Hwy in Vaughan, Ontario. The truck terminal property is owned by Metrus Properties.
TOP LEASE: 8470 Hwy 50, Brampton, ON
8470 Hwy 50, Brampton, ON (CoStar)
Space Leased: 228,000 SF
Deal Type: New Lease
Size: 318,595 SF
Tenant: 18 Wheels
Brokers Involved: Ryan Dobbin and Caitlyn Schiefer of CAP Ontario represented the landlord.
Deal Commentary: 18 Wheels Logistics has back-filled a majority of space in this newly constructed, 318,595-square-foot Class A industrial facility located in the heart of Brampton’s industrial core. Developed and owned by Panattoni Development Co., the building had previously been preleased by Highlight Motor Group. Offering direct access to Highway 427, the site offers quick access to other 400 series highways including Highways 407, 401 and 410.
TOP LEASE: 9501 Hwy-50 Highway, Vaughan, ON
9501 Hwy-50 Highway, Vaughan, ON (CoStar)
Space Leased: 191,325 SF
Deal Type: New Lease
Size: 908,351 SF
Tenant: GLS
Brokers Involved: Gabrielle Mair of Metrus Properties represented the landlord. Adam Zioba of Rentex Realty represented the tenant.
Deal Commentary: In another top first-quarter industrial deal signed in this truck terminal property owned by Metrus Properties, the Canadian subsidiary of one of Europe’s largest parcel shipping companies inked a new lease for its Ontario flagship operation to set up shop north of Toronto. GLS Canada’s new facility has nearly 200,000 square feet of dock space with integrated parcel and freight capabilities as well as office space. The hub will serve as a central point for GLS’ Ontario operations and allow the integration of its provincial and national networks of 65 terminals across Canada, the company said.
TOP LEASE: 239 Chrislea Road, Vaughan, ON
239 Chrislea Road, Vaughan, ON (CoStar)
Space Leased: 124,004 SF
Deal Type: New Lease
Size: 124,004 SF
Tenant: Unique Blow Moulding
Brokers Involved: Michael Law and Mariano Covello of Lennard Commercial Realty represented the landlord. Greg Clark and Madison Scott of Colliers represented the tenant.
Deal Commentary: Plastic bottle manufacturer Unique Blow Molding struck a deal in the first quarter to occupy this entire warehouse property owned by Unique Store Fixtures and located in Vaughan. Stratosphere Quality previously occupied the buidling.
RioCan REIT and CT REIT released their Q1 2025 financial and operational results on May 5, and while RioCan had to absorb a $209-million hit thanks to its involvement with Hudson’s Bay Company, CT REIT had no such blips on its radar.
CT REIT has approved a 2.5 per cent distribution increase to unitholders after another strong quarter, while RioCan president and CEO Jonathan Gitlin described his company’s first three months of 2025 as “paradoxical” during a May 6 conference call with analysts.
“It’s been a tough quarter, though you wouldn’t know it based on results,” Gitlin explained. “RioCan continues to produce operational results demonstrating considerable strength and maintaining historic highs.
“However, the backdrop has been a bit turbulent. The macro environment is rife with uncertainty, including trade conflicts, economic instability, dampened market and consumer sentiment and a general risk-off approach to trading. In addition, Canada’s longest-standing retailer, Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), commenced insolvency proceedings under CCAA.
“It’s a rocky road but, as always, RioCan is well-positioned to navigate it.”
Toronto-based RioCan’s portfolio is comprised of 177 properties. There’s approximately 32 million square feet of leasable area in its commercial portfolio, not including income-producing properties that are owned through joint ventures.
The REIT also has approximately 21 million square feet of space zoned for development.
RioCan’s operational and financial results
RioCan’s core retail portfolio achieved record-breaking operational results, according to Gitlin. These included:
a committed retail occupancy rate of 98.7 per cent;
respective blended and new leasing spreads of 17.5 and 18.3 per cent;
and commercial same property net operating income (NOI) growth of 3.6 per cent due to contractual rent steps, an increase in in-place occupancy and positive leasing spreads.
One million square feet of retail space was leased during the first quarter, including 200,000 square feet of new leases with necessity-based tenants.
A 28-cent net loss per unit was 71 cents lower than in the same period last year.
RioCan has approximately $1.43 billion of liquidity and $8.46 billion in unencumbered assets, which the REIT said will enable it to successfully navigate economic volatility and optimize capital allocation.
RioCan and Hudson’s Bay Company
RioCan and HBC established a joint venture in 2015. The REIT indirectly holds a 22 per cent interest in 10 locations where HBC is the sole tenant and an 11 per cent interest in two multi-tenanted locations. The joint venture represented 4.4 per cent of the trust’s funds from operations and 3.3 per cent of its equity as of the end of 2024.
“We’ve written down our investments by $209 million this quarter, which represents the vast majority of the NAV related to the joint venture,” Gitlin explained, noting RioCan had done previous contingency planning to prepare for a situation like this. It’s now taking steps to preserve value, protect the REIT’s rights and advance its strategic interests.
“We feel confident in our ability to recover some of the value over time,” Gitlin said. “We believe the market is pricing a downside risk that is more substantial than the probable outcome.”
RioCan Living
Gitlin also updated efforts to divest buildings in RioCan Living’s existing residential rental portfolio. RioCan Living’s operations generated $7.5 million of NOI in Q1, an increase of $1.1 million over the same period last year. There are 13 buildings in operation with a fair value of approximately $900 million.
In addition to the sale of Strada in Toronto, which closed in 2024, RioCan has a firm deal to sell its 50-per-cent share of Brio in Calgary, plus conditional sales for its 50-per-cent stakes in three additional assets. The REIT is also in advanced discussions on other properties within the RioCan Living portfolio.
“RioCan Living assets are unique,” Gitlin said. “They’re new and therefore have low cap-ex requirements. They’re not subject to rent control and therefore have strong growth profiles. They’re in major markets and have transit at their doorstep.
“These characteristics are generating interest from buyers and will continue to do so in the future.”
While RioCan is selling its existing residential rental portfolio to reduce debt and purchase units under its normal course issuer bid program, Gitlin emphasized RioCan Living will continue to be a part of the trust’s business.
“RioCan will remain focused on maximizing value from our extensive mixed-use density pipeline,” Gitlin said. “When the time is appropriate, we will either build additional mixed-use properties or sell the densities.
“If we choose to build, we’ll pursue this through a structure that minimizes the impact on RioCan’s balance sheet. This involves seeking outside investors to provide the majority of required capital, while RioCan will contribute its plan and its expertise.”
On a proportionate share basis, approximately $66.1 million of condominium sales revenue and $22.2 million of residential inventory gains were recognized in Q1. Ninety-six per cent of the 324 expected Q1 condo interim occupancies at 11YV and U.C. Tower 2 were completed as of May 5.
Approximately $468 million of sales revenue is expected from the remaining units in RioCan Living’s five active condo construction projects.
CT REIT
CT REIT’s portfolio is comprised of more than 375 properties totalling more than 31 million square feet of gross leasable area, consisting primarily of net lease single-tenant retail properties across Canada. Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited is the most significant tenant.
The REIT saw property revenue rise by 4.3 per cent to $150.4 million and NOI increase by 4.6 per cent to $118.7 million compared to the same period a year earlier. This was primarily due to the acquisition, intensification and development of income-producing properties completed in 2024.
CT REIT’s indebtedness ratio dropped by 70 basis points to 40.3 per cent while its occupancy rate held steady, sliding by 10 basis points to 99.4 per cent.
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
419 King St. W, Oshawa, ON (CoStar)
Sale Price: $375,000,000
Sale Date: January 31, 2025
Size: 1,215,200 SF
Buyer: Primaris REIT, Toronto, ON
Seller: Ivanhoé Cambridge, Montréal, QC
Brokers Involved: 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.
Deal Commentary: Primaris, a Toronto-based real estate investment trust, kicked off the new year with a $585 million deal for two shopping malls, a move that comes after the landlord signaled it will continue its aggressive acquisition pace from last year. In the two-property transaction, Primaris REIT acquired a 50% stake in Southgate Centre in Edmonton for an allocated price of $210 million and a 100% interest in Oshawa Centre just east of Toronto for an allocated price of $375 million for a total valuation of $585 million consisting of a combination of cash and equity. The seller was Montreal-based Ivanhoé Cambridge, the real estate arm of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. “Southgate and Oshawa Centre are two market-leading regional enclosed shopping centres with all of the property characteristics Primaris is targeting with its growth strategy,” Patrick Sullivan, president and chief operating officer, said in a statement. “Both are located in large and growing markets, with access to mass transit, and with very strong sales volumes.
TOP SALE: Unilever Distribution Center, 7900 Airport Road, Brampton, ON
7900 Airport Road, Brampton, ON (CoStar)
Sale Price: $253,000,000
Sale Date: March 27, 2025
Size: 745,263 SF
Buyer: Crestpoint Real Estate Investments, Toronto, ON
Seller: Unilever, Toronto, ON
Brokers Involved: Amir Nourbakhsh, Jesse Roth and Matthew Rakhit of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller.
Deal Commentary: 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 Rail’s 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: $105,600,000
Sale Date: February 24, 2025
Size: 322,835 SF
Buyer: Ministry of Infrastructure, Toronto, ON
Seller: Dream Unlimited, Toronto, ON
Brokers Involved: Ashley Martis, Elliot Medoff and Massimo Lorusso of TD Securities and Jaysen Smalley and Kai Tai Li of CBRE represented the seller.
Deal Commentary: 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: $100,000,000
Sale Date: January 20, 2025
Size: 399,992 SF
Buyer: Groupe Montoni, Laval, QC
Seller: Flynn, Mississauga, ON
Brokers Involved: Scott Speirs of CBRE represented the seller.
Deal Commentary: 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: $91,000,000
Sale Date: March 3, 2025
Size: 470,000 SF
Buyer: Sunray Group, Toronto, ON
Seller: Lifetime Developments and INK Entertainment Group, Toronto, ON
Brokers Involved: 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: 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 Marriott’s 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. It’s 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.
“In North America we have a focused business solely around development of cold-chain assets,” managing partner and head of North America for BGO Cold Chain Kevin Rivest told RENX. “We 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.”
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.
“Cold 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,” said Rivest, who is based in Washington, D.C.
“It’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.”
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. Panattoni Development Company Canada was the local development manager and Nexrock Design Build Inc. was the general contractor.
Rosemont, Ill.-headquartered Martin Brower was founded in 1934 and has become a supply chain operator for some of the world’s leading food brands. It has operated in Canada since 1972 and serves as the sole supplier for the McDonald’s restaurant chain across the country. This new facility will service more than 200 McDonald’s 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.
“It 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,” Rivest explained. “And 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.”
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.
“The refrigeration system is CO2-based, which is much more environmentally friendly and also very efficient for energy usage,” Rivest said.
Building new facilities is the better way to go
A lot of older cold-storage facilities are inefficient and there’s 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.
“We 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 — whether they be proteins, fruits, vegetables, et cetera — to maintain all their nutritional value and be stored and then ultimately packaged and sold in a pretty economical way,” he said.
BGO Cold Chain plans to invest further in Canadian facilities, but Rivest said he couldn’t 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: 37,828 SF
Deal Type: New Lease
Size: 170,000 SF
Tenant: Pickleplex Social Club
Brokers Involved: Chris Tyrovolas of Royal LePage Frank represented the landlord. Matthew Pieszchala of CBRE represented the tenant.
Deal Commentary: 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: 19,994 SF
Deal Type: New Lease
Size: 56,672 SF
Tenant: Fotile
Brokers Involved: Mike Betel of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord.
Deal Commentary: 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: 13,168 SF
Deal Type: New Lease
Size: 85,131 SF
Tenant: Uptown Montessori School-Woodbridge
Brokers Involved: 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: 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: 9,500 SF
Deal Type: New Lease
Size: 334,557 SF
Tenant: L.L. Bean
Brokers Involved: Arlin Markowitz and Alex Edmison of CBRE represented the landlord. Andrew Laudenbach of Oberfeld Snowcap represented the tenant.
Deal Commentary: 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 company’s continued push into major Canadian urban markets.
TOP LEASE: 876 Eglinton Ave. E, Toronto, ON
876 Eglinton Ave. E, Toronto, ON (CoStar)
Space Leased: 3,725 SF
Deal Type: New Lease
Size: 5,582 SF
Tenant: Tim Hortons
Brokers Involved: Sun Quach of CB Metropolitan Commercial represented the landlord.
Deal Commentary: 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 there’s also a Loblaws distribution centre, an Amazon facility and a Toyota manufacturing plant nearby.
“We’re small-bay industrial with nothing over 150,000 square feet, and the big players around us are all large distribution centres,” Intermarket development manager Xavier Kindrachuk told RENX, adding that IP Park’s first three completed buildings on Boychuk Drive were all under 120,000 square feet.
IP Park’s first three buildings are finished
Angstrom Engineering purchased one of them and the other two are leased. A deal for 44,974 square feet was just signed with a business unit of HongSheng Thermal Systems at 140 Boychuk Dr.
“The 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,” Kindrachuk said.
IP Park is in relatively close proximity to numerous restaurants and retail outlets while a future Grand River Transit bus stop and GO Transit 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 Park’s second phase will be comprised of: 200 Intermarket Rd., which is being represented by JLL; 155 Boychuk Dr., which is being represented by CBRE; and 175 Boychuk Dr., which is being represented by 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.
“There’s not very many 400,000- or 500,000-square-foot users out there,” Intermarket founder and president Mark Kindrachuk, Xavier’s father, told RENX in a separate interview.
“A 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.”
Construction won’t start on IP Park’s next two buildings until they’ve 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 to 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
“We 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,” said Mark Kindrachuk. “We’ve refined our marketing program to really drill down on the data centre opportunity because we have competitive advantages on our site.”
Mark Kindrachuk added that Intermarket has reached an agreement with the Region of Waterloo to enable the excess heat produced from IP Park’s data centre to be used to heat adjacent buildings. Consultants and engineers are studying how to carry that out, he noted.
“Our 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,” Xavier Kindrachuk said. “Most of the sites are zoned for data centre use.”
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.
“We are not institutionally funded and we don’t have any pension plans supporting us,” Xavier Kindrachuk explained. “We 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.”
