An Ontario First Nations group which has purchased Edmonton’s Connect Centre - one of the city’s most prominent downtown mixed-use properties - has plans to move quickly on a major 35-storey residential expansion at the site.

The property in the ICE District next to Rogers Place was sold to the Wiikwemkoong community, located on Ontario’s Manitoulin Island, for $65.25 million. Katz Group was the vendor, said Cory Wosnack, principal and managing director of Avison Young which represented the seller. Wosnack said his firm acted as the exclusive real estate advisor on the deal.

He said the Katz Group is deploying that capital into its next project. 

“They’re building an event park across the street next to Rogers Place. That’s a $250-million project and they’re a big investor in that project. This is just them redeploying that capital into the next project,” Wosnack explained. “This is actually going to be one of the best things that will happen to downtown, that not enough people are celebrating."

Wosnack said there is a large open space adjacent to the Rogers Place arena and entertainment venue, the site of a former casino. It is often the location for viewing parties during playoff runs by the NHL's Edmonton Oilers hockey team, one of two sites for these types of events (the other being the plaza at Rogers Place).

"Construction starts later this year, and it’ll be done in two years. There’ll be smaller venues for concerts, beach volleyball, basketball tournaments, and all kinds of fun seasonal things. It’s going to be a fantastic, beautiful entertainment park.”

Development plans for Connect Centre

Connect Centre is also about to undergo a major change. DLA Piper, which acted as legal counsel to Wiikwemkoong Connect Centre Limited Partnership in its acquisition of the centre, provide background about the transaction on its website.

“The Connect Centre is a recently completed two-storey commercial asset featuring 113,776 square feet of grocery anchored retail space, prominent frontage along the ICE District Plaza, and stratified air rights permitting significant future development potential. The ICE District is one of Canada’s largest mixed use sports and entertainment districts, spanning approximately 25 acres and includes Rogers Place, home of the Edmonton Oilers,” the statement reads.

“The Wiikwemkoong Connect Centre Limited Partnership... is partnered with Integro Developments to add a 35-storey residential tower above the existing commercial podium, an investment aimed at supporting long-term financial self sustainability for the Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory community while contributing to the continued revitalization of downtown Edmonton.”

The Wiikwemkoong plans would deliver between 350 and 375 rental units atop the existing centre, which houses a Loblaw grocery store, two restaurants, an Edmonton Oilers sports store, and National Bank and CIBC branches.

Strong interest from Eastern Canada buyers

“When we brought it to market, we were curious how many Eastern Canadian investors would pursue it, and the list was longer than we thought,” Wosnack said. “We had many people from Ontario and Quebec make offers. We ran a process and had more offers than expected. Many groups saw this as their big opportunity to get into Edmonton, some for the first time.

“This First Nation group made the investment with really strategic collaboration and communication with other First Nation groups in Alberta. That was very important to them. It’s a very respectful gesture to invest in Alberta. First Nation groups can be aligned strategically to support one another, and this was done very impressively. They’ve never bought anything like this before. To buy it in Edmonton, it’s a trophy property.”

He said what made this property unique was the ability to create additional density in timely fashion.

“They're going to get on with developing the tower right away. The development infrastructure is already in place," Wosnack said. "There’s already a development permit granted. They can bring a highrise tower to the market one year sooner because all the at-grade and below-grade work has been done. Parking is already there. The elevator cores and stairwells are there.

"They can act on it immediately and plan to build 350 to 375 apartment units."