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.

Ivanhoe Cambridge, a subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, was the seller in the Oshawa Centre and Southgate Centre deals. The listing brokers were with TD Securities and included Elliot Medoff, director of investment banking and real estate; Ashley Martis, managing director and head of property brokerage; Jason Murison, managing director and Martha McIvor, investment banking associate.

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

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 at 5115 Creekbank Road in Toronto’s airport submarket reflects the pharmaceutical giant’s ongoing investment in its Canadian operations. The new space is set to support the company’s 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-based Oak Street Real Estate Capital 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 within 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 from Cushman & Wakefield and include Senior Vice President Katya Shabanova, Vice President of Office Leasing Fay Goveas and Senior Vice President of Office Leasing Craig Trenholm.

TOP RETAIL LEASE

MTL Pickleball becomes one of the largest tenants at Centre RioCan in Kirkland

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, making MTL Pickleball one of the largest tenants in the Montreal retail centre 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 Harden served as the landlord’s leasing representative on the deal, which was led by Assistant Vice President of Leasing Gina Mastromonaco and Marketing Director Manon Patenaude. The tenant was self-represented.

TOP INDUSTRIAL LEASE

IEM’s two-building industrial lease in Surrey is a top first-quarter deal

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 at 19125 28 Avenue and 2955 192 St. 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 from Colliers were Executive Vice President of Industrial Chris Morrison, Senior Vice President Vito Decicco, Senior Vice President of Industrial Pat Phillips and Associate Nick Repchuk in a direct deal with IEM.

Source CoStar. Click here for the full story.