CanFirst Capital Management capped off a busy 2025 with two acquisitions and one property sale in December, and the Toronto-based firm plans to remain very active this year.

CanFirst, which has more than $1.5 billion of assets under management, should also soon close on the acquisition of two other industrial properties with its CanFirst IncomePlus Real Estate Fund in conjunction with an institutional partner.

One is in Mississauga and the other is in Halifax. Both are core investments with long-term tenancies in place, CanFirst executive vice-president of investments and business development Mark Braun told RENX. 

“We're cautiously optimistic that there will be opportunities out there,” Braun said about future acquisitions. “There was an uptick in industrial demand in the second half of last year and a little bit of an uptick in transactions. 

“Interest rates have been ticking upwards again, so it's probably going to put a little bit of pressure on values, but we'd like to continue to invest for our partners over 2026.”

New acquisition in Guelph

CanFirst Industrial Realty Fund VIII (CIRF VIII) acquired a four-building, multi-tenant portfolio comprised of 576,346 square feet of class-A industrial space in Southgate Business Park at 935-945 Southgate Dr. in Guelph, Ont. The portfolio was acquired from Montez Corporation for $126.25 million in a deal brokered by CBRE.

“We like the quality of the asset,” Braun said. “We like the location in Guelph.

“We like the unit sizes relative to where desirability is in the market today — generally mid-bay, with a little bit of larger bay, but not too big. We thought it was competitive on a rent basis. 

“We just thought it was a very desirable product type and we were able to acquire it at an attractive price, given the current market.” 

Online wellness product retailer Well.ca is the main tenant.

CIRF VIII is a value-add growth fund focused on properties where leasing, upgrades and operational improvements can drive meaningful returns. It raised more than $219 million in its first close.

CanFirst’s Development Fund

CanFirst raised $122 million in 2022 for its Development Fund, which is in its investment period and designed to support the creation of modern logistics, warehousing and distribution facilities. CanFirst has committed to investing about 40 per cent of the fund so far.

CanFirst and Calgary’s Enright Capital Ltd. just closed on the acquisition of a 15-acre site at 5520-5540 47th Ave. SE from the City of Calgary for $11.4 million. Enright will be the development manager for building two industrial buildings totalling 359,000 square feet in the Constellation Industrial Park.

They’ll be built speculatively, with ground expected to break this spring and completion and lease-up slated for 2027.

“There's stronger demand in Calgary right now than we're seeing in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area),” Braun said, “but the economics are also a lot more desirable out there.

“Since the cost of land is more reasonable, you have a good cost base to start with to be able to have a successful project.”

Some of the Development Fund is also being invested in a 50-acre site in the Ottawa suburb of Barrhaven, where CanFirst plans to develop approximately 850,000 square feet of industrial space in multiple buildings. The project is in the final stages of getting its draft plan of subdivision approved by the City of Ottawa.

Once that’s finalized, work will begin on extending an existing road, which should be completed by mid-summer. This isn’t a spec development, but Braun is hopeful site work could begin for a building before the end of this year.

Another Calgary area acquisition

CanFirst IncomePlus Real Estate Fund and an institutional partner acquired High Plains Building 13 at 200 High Plains Trail in Balzac, part of the Greater Calgary Area, in the late spring of last year. 

“The strategy for that fund is term, covenant and, frankly, brand,” Braun said. “Where we can acquire new or recently developed properties with 10 years of term and annual contractual bumps, that’s right down the fairway for us.”

The newly constructed 201,437-square-foot, single-tenant distribution facility has a long-term lease with a strong covenant tenant and offers significant expansion potential. It was developed and purchased from Highfield Investment Group for $38 million.

Dispositions

CanFirst Industrial Realty Fund VI (CIRF VI) sold 1121 Walkers Line, a 288,580-square-foot industrial property in Burlington, Ont., for $60.5 million in December. 

“We had created the value with it and it was time to close out the property,” Braun said. “It was also the end of the fund, so we're closing out the fund over the next month.”

It was the latest of several 2025 dispositions from CIRF VI and CIRF VII, all of which were in line with the fund strategies. Other sales included:

• a 107,000-square-foot, single-tenant industrial property at 6811 Goreway Dr. in Mississauga;
• a 22,528-square-foot industrial property at 51 Citation Dr. in Vaughan, Ont.;
• an 18,498-square-foot industrial building at 2080 Carpenter St. in Abbotsford, B.C.;
• two industrial buildings totalling 39,255 square feet at 66 and 70 Bartor Rd. in Toronto;
• a 72,721-square-foot building at 81 Maybrook Dr. in Toronto;
• the 315,128-square-foot FAMA Business Park in Surrey, B.C.;
• three industrial buildings comprising 222,671 square feet at 400 Cochrane Dr. in Markham, 1180 Corporate Dr. in Burlington and 400 Jamieson Pkwy. in Cambridge, all in the Greater Toronto Area;
• a 40,000-square-foot, single-tenant industrial property at 355 Garyray Dr. in Toronto;
• a 113,178-square-foot, multi-tenant industrial complex at 71, 81 and 91 Kelfield St. in Toronto;
• a 59,730-square-foot, multi-tenant industrial property at 350-368 Signet Dr. in Toronto;
• and a 136,340-square-foot industrial property at 71 Maybrook Dr. in Toronto.