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The RENX Top-20 CRE stories of 2025
The RENX Top-20 CRE stories of 2025
A strong year for retail despite the exit of one of Canada's most iconic brands, Hudson Bay. A slower industrial sector ... dramatically changed circumstances in multifamily ... green shoots in the office sector. All this and more in our annual rankings.
1. InterRent REIT agrees to $4B acquisition by CLV Group, GIC
InterRent (IIP-UN-T), one of Canada’s largest multifamily housing owners, agreed to be acquired by Ottawa's CLV Group and Singapore’s GIC in a $4B transaction. It's the second straight year such a transaction tops our list (Blackstone acquired Tricon in 2024).
2. Can retail owners absorb millions of sq. ft. of HBC space?
Hudson’s Bay Company closed dozens of department stores across Canada after sliding into bankruptcy proceedings – putting millions of square feet of prime retail space onto the leasing market. Canada's major retail owners, however, have had no qualms about HBC's demise.
3. Colliers to acquire Triovest from Coril Holdings
Colliers (CIGI-T) has spent the past couple of years significantly expanding its reach and its business footprint. Early in 2025 it made another big move, announcing a deal to buy Triovest's Canadian CRE services platform from Coril Holdings.
4. QuadReal sells The Post office towers in Vancouver
QuadReal Property Group sold a landmark Vancouver office and commercial property, the recently-reimagined The Post complex, in one of the year's marquee CRE transactions. It came amid a sudden spike in activity in the sector as return-to-office mandates gained traction.
5. Grosvenor gets $763M CMHC loan for B.C. rental towers
Grosvenor announced in October a massive CMHC loan to construct two purpose-built rental towers at Burnaby's Brentwood Block. As CMHC became the de facto lender for multires developments, it was one of several huge loan packages within the sector.
6. Rogers to sell 9 Canadian data centres to InfraRed Capital
Toronto telecom titan Rogers Communications Inc. agreed in August to sell nine Rogers Business data centres to infrastructure investment manager InfraRed Capital Partners – a U.K.-based subsidiary of Canadian-owned Sun Life. It reflected another year of major DC sector growth.
7. Chartwell’s $1-billion (and counting) year of growth
The seniors housing sector also stayed hot, hot, hot for investors. And no Canadian company was busier than Chartwell Retirement Residences (CSH-UN-T), which hit $1 billion in acquisitions ... and just kept on going.
8. Court filing cancels One Bloor West presales, relaunch
Despite the state of the Toronto condo market, values remain much higher than seven years ago. So, Tridel and the court-appointed monitor for One Bloor West applied for, and then won, court approval to cancel almost all existing presale agreements.
9. Oxford acquires 100% stake in 7 office towers: $730M
Oxford Properties wasn't the first back in, but it certainly was a big player as office activity picked up, investing $730M to acquire the 50 per cent interest in seven Calgary and Vancouver towers previously owned by CPP Investments.
10. Investors are all-in on retail strip centres, coast to coast
Strip malls across Canada, especially those anchored by grocery stores and pharmacies, remained a hot asset throughout the year. We published this article in February, but the buying spree continued right into the final weeks of 2025.
Sunoco makes $9.1B bid for Parkland
Sunoco LP (SUN-N) made a successful bid to acquire Calgary-based Parkland Corporation in a transaction valued at US$9.1 billion. First announced in April, the takeover closed in November.
Plesman returns to succeed Fournier as Oxford CEO
Oxford Properties Group experienced a leadership transition, as Daniel Fournier stepped down and Eric Plesman returned as his successor. Elsewhere, Angela Sahi took the reins at Morguard, while Panattoni, Northwest Healthcare and Centurion were among other firms naming new leaders.
H&R REIT announces $1.5B in retail and office sales
H&R REIT announced in November the first of a promised series of major property sales, confirming agreements to divest interests in dozens of North American office and retail assets worth $1.5B to trim debt and improve its finances.
Conservatory Group's multibillion-dollar portfolio is for sale
In a long-awaited announcement, The Conservatory Group of Companies' 61-property real estate portfolio is now available for acquisition through a sales process conducted by EY. Most of the properties are in the Greater Toronto Area.
Primaris buys, sells $724M of shopping centres
Primaris REIT (PMZ-UN-T) kicked off the new year by acquiring interests in the Southgate Centre in Edmonton and Oshawa Centre in the Greater Toronto Area. As it had done in 2024, Primaris then kept buying assets throughout the year.
Amazon building 3.1M-sq.-ft. Ottawa distribution centre
Amazon began construction of what will become its largest Canadian distribution centre, a 3.1-million-square-foot, state-of-the-art building in Ottawa where the online retail giant already operates four facilities of various sizes.
Inside a creative refinancing that saved Ōku condos by Ulmus
Canada’s condo market has been beset by cost overruns, construction delays and sales that have gone cold, leaving many projects unfinished and facing liquidity problems. But creative financing is helping some companies soldier on... this is just one of them.
Is it time for a major new Toronto office development?
Toronto’s overall office availability remains elevated, but premium space is being leased fast. As return-to-office mandates grew, and a flight to quality continued, an Avison Young report speculated conditions might soon be ripe for a major downtown office tower development.
Veyron buys 1.26M-sq.-ft. Ontario distribution centre from DSV
Industrial leasing might have slowed, but good space remains in demand among both tenants and buyers. In this deal, New York City-based Veyron bought a new, 1.26-million-sq.-ft., DSV distribution centre in Innisfil, north of Toronto, on a sale-leaseback.
Vacant for 6 years, Calgary's former Nexen tower gets new life
In another indication of green shoots in the office sector, a class-A tower in downtown Calgary, vacant since 2019, is getting new life. New leases at the renovated former Nexen tower bring tenants to 10 of its 37 storeys.
Industry Events
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Québec Apartment Investment Conference
Feb 04 2026
Palais des congrès de Montréal
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BUILDEX Vancouver
Feb 11 2026
to Feb 12 2026
Vancouver Convention Centre West
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Real Capital
Feb 24 2026
Metro Toronto Convention Centre North
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MIPIM - The Global Urban Festival
Mar 09 2026
to Mar 13 2026
Palais des Festivals, Cannes, France
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Vancouver Real Estate Forum
Mar 31 2026
to Apr 01 2026
Vancouver Convention Centre West
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