Bentall Kennedy has acquired two “best-in-class” office buildings from Mile-End Investments Inc., 7250 and 7450 rue du Mile End, in Montreal’s dynamic Mile End District.

Bentall Kennedy and Sun Life have acquired these two office buildings (bordering railway line) at 7250 and 7450 Rue du Mile End in Montreal. (Google Maps image)

The acquisition, on behalf of Sun Life Financial (SLF-T), is well-positioned to serve a growing technology and innovation sector in the city, Bentall Kennedy said in a media release. The properties add almost 400,000 square feet of office space to Sun Life Financial’s portfolio in Quebec.

“This new acquisition is a testament to Sun Life Financial’s continuing belief in Montreal’s strong economy as a growing, desirable hub for innovation. It’s well-aligned with our strategy to acquire best-in-class assets with a long-term outlook,” Robert Dumas, president and chief executive officer, Sun Life Financial Quebec, said in the release.

“The Mile End district specifically has a unique creative, out-of-the-box vibe. That’s why we opened a new office for our employees on De Gaspé Avenue – where our IT innovation centre is located – and deployed numerous initiatives to be part of this great community.”

The site includes an eight-storey office building of about 320,000 square feet and a smaller, two-storey building one lot away. In between sits a vacant property.

Properties border Mile End, Mile Ex districts

The properties sit at the border of the Mile Ex and Mile End neighborhoods in midtown Montreal adjacent to the Parc train station. This provides a direct connection to downtown Montreal and is within walking distance of two Métro subway stations. 

Following extensive re-development, 7250 Mile End achieved LEED Silver certification in 2016 and BOMA Best Silver certification in 2017.

The project, featured on the website of former owner Kevric Real Estate Corp., resulted in the complete renovation of all eight floors, creating a property “which now offers loft-style office space with large open spaces and tremendous views.” 

Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD-T) was the first major tenant in the redeveloped building, taking three floors in mid-2013. Shaw Direct and TouchTunes Networks are among the other tenants.

Telecon Inc. is the tenant in the other building.

Kevric purchased the properties in 2012. It had also planned a third building, of about 100,000 square feet, to be constructed on the vacant lot.

“Both properties boast outstanding location in a vibrant part of Montreal, and a tenant base that exemplifies the new economic opportunities for the technology sector in Montreal,” Phillip Gillin, executive vice-president and portfolio manager for Bentall Kennedy (Canada) Limited Partnership and Sun Life Investment Management, said in the release.

“This investment, combined with our acquisition of the L’Avenue retail office project adjacent to the Bell Centre, reflects our confidence in the growth and diversification of the Montreal economy.”

About Bentall Kennedy 

Bentall Kennedy, a Sun Life Investment Management company, is one of the largest global real estate investment advisors and one of North America’s foremost providers of real estate services.

Bentall Kennedy serves the interests of more than 550 institutional clients with expertise in office, retail, industrial and multi-residential assets throughout Canada and the U.S. Bentall Kennedy’s Investment Management group has approximately $47 billion Cdn of assets under management as of Dec. 31.

Bentall Kennedy is one of the largest real estate services providers in Canada, managing 60 million square feet on behalf of third-party and investment management clients (as of Dec. 31.).

Bentall Kennedy is a member of UN PRI and a recognized Responsible Property Investing leader ranked among the top firms around the globe in the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) for the seventh consecutive year since GRESB was launched.

Bentall Kennedy includes Bentall Kennedy (Canada) Limited Partnership, Bentall Kennedy (U.S.) Limited Partnership and the real estate and commercial mortgage investment groups of certain of their affiliates, all of which comprise a team of real estate professionals spanning multiple legal entities.

The assets under management shown above include real estate equity and mortgage investments of the companies within Bentall Kennedy.

About Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services organization providing insurance, wealth and asset management solutions to individual and corporate clients. Sun Life Financial has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda.

As of Dec. 31, Sun Life Financial had total assets under management of $975 billion Cdn.