Scotia Plaza in Toronto. (Courtesy KingSett, AIMCo)

KingSett Capital and AIMCo have announced Scotiabank will remain the anchor tenant at the Scotia Plaza office complex in downtown Toronto, renewing a 560,000-square-foot lease at the 40 King St. and 100 Yonge St. towers.

The renewal follows a year of planning and discussions, the co-owners say in a release, but the agreement means Scotiabank is vacating space at the top of the 40 King St. West tower. This means, “For the first time since the building’s construction, one of the best office spaces in Canada will be available for lease in 2023,” the owners say.

“We are very pleased that Scotiabank will continue to be a prominent tenant in the complex that bears its name. This renewal is a testament to how valued partners can work together to achieve a collective objective,” said Bill Logar, KingSett Capital’s executive vice-president of asset management, in the announcement Monday morning.

“Sustainable premium office real estate continues to be integral to promoting collaboration and productivity among employees in the workplace.”

Financial details of the renewal were not released.

Scotiabank has 1.1 million square feet

The renewal brings Scotiabank’s long-term commitment at the Scotia Plaza Complex to 1.1 million square feet.

KingSett, which owns its share as part of its Canadian Real Estate Income Fund (CREIF), and AIMCo have invested $85 million in capital improvements for the complex over the last five years.

“This extension is a testament to the outstanding efforts of our operating and tenant partners. Scotia Plaza’s zero-carbon certification fully aligns to AIMCo’s sustainability commitments and the property continues to be a great investment for our clients,” said Tony Vadacchino, director, real estate, for AIMCo.

In addition to Scotiabank’s ongoing commitment at Scotia Plaza, the bank has also committed to a major lease just a few buildings away at the new Scotiabank North Tower at Bay Adelaide Centre.

The bank is taking about 420,000 square feet in that new 32-storey, 810,000-squar- foot office tower at 40 Temperence St., which is currently under construction.

The Bay Adelaide complex is being developed by Brookfield Property Partners.

“We are proud to renew our tenancy in Scotia Plaza, the largest zero carbon-certified building in Canada. We continue to believe in the importance of having a prominent, physical location in Toronto’s downtown core” said Stephen Morson, the senior vice-president of real estate for Scotiabank.

The Scotia Plaza complex is comprised of four buildings: 40 King St. W., 44 King St. W., 100 Yonge St. and 11 Adelaide St. W.

Scotia Plaza’s 40 King St. W. is one of four buildings (at more than 1.5 million square feet) that has earned the Zero Carbon Building – Performance v2 Certification from the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC).

The tower is undergoing a transition to remove all carbon-intensive mechanical systems over the next 18 months, to take it beyond the certification’s latest zero-carbon balance requirements by also offsetting its emissions from waste-to-landfill generated onsite.

The building has also achieved the largest Fitwel certification in Canada for a multi-tenant base building. Other environmental certifications include LEED Platinum and WiredScore Certified: Gold.

About AIMCo and KingSett

AIMCo is one of Canada’s largest and most diversified institutional investment managers with more than $118 billion of assets under management. AIMCo operates at arms-length from the Government of Alberta and invests globally on behalf of 31 pensions, endowments and government funds.

Founded in 2002, KingSett has raised $12 billion of private equity for its growth, income, urban, mortgage and affordable housing strategies. KingSett owns interests in an $18.4-billion portfolio of assets and continues investing in a wide range of real estate properties, developments, joint ventures and mortgage lending.