Primaris REIT (PMZ-UN-T) has announced its second shopping centre sale of 2025, divesting the Hudson’s Bay-anchored, 352,900-square-foot St. Albert Centre just outside Edmonton for $60 million.

The buyer is not identified, but Primaris states it is a private real estate operator.

The transaction closed on March 31. It includes a $10-million vendor take-back loan by Primaris, which will mature in one year and carries a six per cent interest rate.

Primaris calls the St. Albert Centre the “dominant retail destination east of Edmonton”. Located at 375 St. Albert Trail in the community of St. Albert, it contains 74 stores and services and offers parking for 1,680 vehicles. The centre was constructed in 1980, and most recently renovated in 2018.

The 93,300-square-foot Hudson’s Bay store has been the anchor for the plaza, but that area will soon be vacated as HBC liquidates its store network across the country as part of its receivership proceedings. The stores are expected to be closed by the end of June.

Other notable tenants at St. Albert Centre include London Drugs, SportChek, Mark’s, Winners and Ardene.

The centre is located among a cluster of retail outlets under separate ownership that also includes Canadian Tire, two grocery stores, Staples, Chapters and dozens of other retailers and services.

Sherwood Park sale closes

Primaris also announced the closing of the previously announced sale of the Sherwood Park Mall, the Sherwood Park Professional Centre and an excess land parcel for $107 million. This property is just west of Edmonton.

The REIT says proceeds from the sales of the two unencumbered properties will be put to use as part of its capital recycling objectives, among other uses.

“These strategic dispositions further demonstrate our track record of executing on our well-defined growth strategy focused on market-leading shopping centres in growing Canadian markets,” Primaris chief executive officer Alex Avery said in the announcement. 

“Considering property transactions year to date, we have enhanced the appeal of our enclosed shopping centre portfolio, to our retailer tenants and shoppers, driving the portfolio's annual same store sales productivity from $705 per square foot as at December 31, 2024, to approximately $752 per square foot on a pro forma basis.”

Primaris has also recently acquired two major properties from Ivanhoé Cambridge, the Southgate Centre in Edmonton and the Oshawa Centre just east of Toronto.

The sale of St. Albert Centre leaves Primaris with nine other properties which contain HBC stores, though the REIT had previously stated it has been making plans for all of those properties to deal with the eventual loss of the Hudson’s Bay outlets. They combine for just over one million square feet of total space at an average lease rate of $4.33 net per occupied square foot ($9.94 gross).

That represents approximately $4.5 million net annual rental revenue, or 1.4 per cent of Primaris’ total annualized minimum rent.

About Primaris REIT

Primaris is Canada’s only enclosed shopping centre-focused REIT, owning interests in assets located in growing Canadian markets. The portfolio totals 15 million square feet, valued at approximately $4.6 billion at Primaris’ share.