Rendering of The Well in Toronto. (Courtesy Hariri Pontarini Architects)

RioCan and Allied Properties REITs have provided a leasing update for their landmark The Well development in Toronto, with more than 110,000 square feet of retail space and a million square feet of office space now accounted for.

The Well, located at Front, Spadina and Wellington in downtown Toronto, will encompass more than three million square feet of mixed-use space when complete. In addition to office, commercial and retail components, it includes more than 1,700 condos and purpose-built apartments.

RioCan (REI-UN-T) and Allied (AP-UN-T) are the main partners in the overall development, while Woodbourne Canada Partners and Tridel Builders Inc. are partners in the development of the six residential towers.

The retail leasing completed so far comprises about a third of the 340,000 square feet of available space, which is scheduled to begin occupancy in 2022. Approximately 60,000 square feet of the committed space will be home to restaurants and eateries, including a 6,500-square-foot commissary kitchen and 11,000 square feet of restaurant space at the top of the development’s 36-storey main office tower.

Sweat and Tonic among tenants

“We are very pleased to announce retail leasing activity that defines the character of The Well,” said Jonathan Gitlin, president and COO of RioCan, in the announcement.

“The property itself is the best model of what The Well has to offer and with ongoing construction momentum, prospective tenants are now able to tour and see for themselves the scale and dynamic architecture of this true mixed-use community.”

In the health and wellness sector, approximately 24,000 square feet has been leased to Sweat and Tonic, a high-end fitness and wellness enterprise which provides activities such as yoga, Ride, HIIT and Pilates classes within three state-of-the-art studios, as well as personal training facilities, cafe, bar, lap pool, spa, beauty and community spaces.

Approximately 16,000 square feet has been leased to Shoppers Drug Mart, Canada’s largest pharmacy, offering residents and the surrounding neighbourhood essential goods. About 10,000 square feet are leased to tenants catering to everyday needs such as banking and barista style coffee.

“Now that prospective users can tour the different components of the retail environment at The Well, the remaining retail leasing will unfold according to a comprehensive merchandising plan developed by RioCan and Allied that will further enrich the neighbourhood,” said Michael Emory, president and CEO of Allied, in the announcement.

The Well’s office leasing component

The 1.2 million square feet of office space is now 85 per cent committed to tenants including Shopify, Intuit, Finance IT, Index Exchange, Spaces, Quadrangle and Konrad Group.

Initial tenant occupation is slated for this fall. The main office building has reached its height of 36 storeys and is on track to be topped off in May.

Woodbourne and Tridel are continuing development of the residential component, for which they are partners in 1.3 million square feet of air rights. RioCan retains a 50 per cent interest in the residential rental tower, the 46-storey, 600-apartment FourFifty The Well.

The Well JV in December completed the sale of the first portion of air rights for the residential and podium space at Building A and B to Woodbourne. Air right sales for the four remaining residential buildings remain on track to be conveyed in 2021 as construction continues.

The six residential buildings, including the towers Tridel and Woodbourne will develop on their own, will be home to 1,100 condominium and 600 purpose-built rental suites.

Tridel has pre-sold 83 per cent of its condo inventory.