1. Canderel-led group acquires Cominar for $5.7B

Commercial  •  RENX

Cominar REIT (CUF-UN-T) agreed to be acquired by a Canderel-led consortium in a transaction which valued the trust at $5.7 billion. The arrangement, involving the sale of various parts of Cominar’s portfolio to different purchasers, was approved by unitholders on Dec. 21.

2. H&R REIT sells Calgary’s Bow tower, reorganizes

Commercial  •  RENX  •  RENX  •  RENX

3. Tricon partners on billions in U.S., Canadian rentals

Residential  •  RENX  •  RENX  •  RENX

Tricon Residential (TCN-T) created partnerships to acquire/develop billions in rental housing, committing capital to partnerships which will: acquire up to 18,000 U.S. resale homes worth $6.4 billion; acquire $1.8 billion in new Sun Belt homes; and construct $500 million of GTA multresidential.

4. Blackstone acquires WPT Industrial in US$3.2B deal

Commercial  •  RENX  •  RENX

Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust acquired Toronto-based WPT Industrial REIT (WIR-U-T) in an all-cash transaction for $3.2 billion US. WPT earlier sold a minority interest in a $370-million US industrial portfolio in a JV with Investment Management Corporation of Ontario.

5. CF buys GTA’s Buttonville Airport property for $193M

Commercial  •  RENX

Cadillac Fairview paid nearly $193 million to become the sole owner of the Toronto Buttonville Municipal Airport, a 169-acre property in Markham which for years has been considered a prime site for a major redevelopment.

6. Panattoni builds 2.9M-sq.-ft. Amazon Edm. facility

Commercial  •  RENX

Panattoni Development Co. is building a massive robotic fulfillment centre for Amazon in Parkland County, just outside Edmonton, which will be one of the largest such distribution facilities in Canada when it opens in 2022.

7. SmartCentres acquires 53 acres at VMC for $513M

Commercial  •  RENX

SmartCentres REIT (SRU-UN-T) paid $513 million to acquire a two-thirds interest in 53 acres of property at the massive Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, becoming the largest landowner at the development just north of Toronto. The transaction closed on Dec. 22.

8. Milton land, bought for $15.8M, sells for $165M

Commercial  •  RENX

A tract of future industrial development land across from the planned new CN intermodal terminal in Milton was sold for $165 million – more than 10 times what it was acquired for six years ago.

9. Oxford sells huge U.S. assets, acquires industrial

Commercial  •  RENX  •  RENX  •  RENX

Oxford Properties transacted billions in U.S. properties: selling St. John’s Terminal (with CPP Investments) to Google for $2.6B; and One Memorial Drive. It was a U.S. industrial buyer; a $2.8B portfolio from KKR, and a $1.3B venture with EverWest.

10. Brookfield Asset Mgmt. ups offer for BPY to US$6.5B

Commercial  •  RENX

Brookfield Asset Management (BAM-A-T) increased its original offer to secure an agreement to take its Brookfield Property Partners (BPY-UN-T) subsidiary private. BAM paid shareholders $6.5 billion for the shares it didn’t already control.

Petra, MACH buy iconic 51-storey Montreal office tower

Commercial  •  RENX

Groupe Petra and MACH have finally completed a four-year odyssey, announcing they have acquired one of Montreal’s most iconic office buildings, the 51-storey, 673-foot 1000 de la Gauchetière.

Allied buys Montreal Gare Viger offices for $250M

Commercial  •  RENX

Allied Properties REIT (AP-UN-T) acquired the office component of Jesta Group’s million-square-foot Montreal Place Gare Viger redevelopment. The acquisition includes the 123-year-old Gare Viger, a tract of development land, and the forward purchase of a new office tower.

$350M Ottawa office deal ends active year for Crestpoint

Residential, Commercial  •  RENX  •  RENX  •  RENX

Crestpoint Real Estate Management wrapped up 2021 in partnership with Crown Realty Partners on a $350-million deal for Ottawa’s Place de Ville. Crestpoint also acquired Edmonton’s Northport Business Park; a Vancouver apartment portfolio; Surrey industrial and Hamilton retail assets.

Mass timber office to be built at Van.’s Bentall Centre

Commercial  •  Daily Hive  •  Vancouver Sun

Hudson Pacific Properties is expanding the Bentall Centre in downtown Vancouver by nearly a third with a fifth, 16-storey mass timber tower. The building will add about 450,000 square feet, bringing the complex to nearly two million square feet.

Oak Street buys Calgary’s Western Canadian Place

Commercial  •  RENX  •  CTV News

Western Canadian Place, a major Calgary downtown office complex comprising two towers and over one million square feet, has been sold for $475 million. BCI/QuadReal sold the property to Oak Street Real Estate Capital, which earlier also acquired The Bow.

Teachers’ JV buying Brookfield’s Enwave for $4.1B

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

Brookfield Infrastructure (BIP-UN-T) signed deals totalling US$4.1 billion to sell Enwave, its North American district energy business. Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Australian firm IFM Investors were the purchasers of Enwave’s Canadian business.

Artis REIT sells GTA industrial portfolio for $750M

Commercial  •  RENX

Artis REIT (AX-UN-T) announced a “milestone” transaction, an unconditional agreement to sell its 28-property, 2.5-million square-foot Greater Toronto Area industrial portfolio for $750 million.

Dream Industrial sells 75% stake in $602M U.S. portfolio

Commercial  •  RENX

Dream Industrial REIT (DIR-UN-T) sold a 75 per cent interest in 20 U.S. industrial properties to a U.S. industrial fund in a transaction which valued the portfolio at $602 million. Dream retained a 25 per cent interest in the properties.

RBC fund acquires 50% of $1B QuadReal portfolio

Residential, Commercial  •  RENX

The RBC Canadian Core Real Estate Fund expanded its partnership with British Columbia Investment Management Corp., and its subsidiary QuadReal, acquiring a 50 per cent interest in a portfolio of Canadian industrial and multifamily assets valued at over $1 billion.

Ottawa Island Park Towers sell for city record $267M

Residential  •  RENX

One of Ottawa’s most prestigious multiresidential rental complexes has been sold, making it the largest such transaction in Ottawa’s history. Island Park Towers was acquired by Homestead Land Holdings for $267 million.

Avenue Living buys 1,500 Edmonton rentals for $275M

Residential  •  RENX

Calgary-based Avenue Living Asset Management Ltd. acquired three Edmonton-area apartment and rental portfolios, comprising more than 1,500 units, for about $275 million. The investments more than doubled the company’s presence in the Alberta capital.

Dozens of Mtl. apartment buildings sold in $300M deal

Residential  •  Montreal Gazette

Les Immeubles Banvest Inc., a subsidiary of Banvest Development, acquired about 70 multiresidential properties, representing 2,242 units in 10 suburban Montreal locations, from New Jersey-based RAAMCO for $300 million. The deal marked RAAMCO’s exit from the Quebec market after three decades.

Centurion to make record Quebec apartment acquisition

Residential  •  RENX

Centurion Asset Management, the asset manager of Centurion Apartment REIT, announced the largest apartment transaction ever in Quebec, buying 30 newly constructed multifamily properties in the Greater Montreal Area. The portfolio comprises 3,678 rental units.

Starlight to sell $760M in US multifamily, wrap up fund

Residential  •  RENX

Properties owned by Starlight’s U.S. Multi-Family No. 1 Core Plus Fund (SCPO-V) were sold for about $760 million, with proceeds paid to unitholders and the fund delisted. Sherrin U.S. Multi-Family No. 1 Holding LP was the buyer.

CPP, Greystar to invest $1B in U.S. single-family rentals

Residential  •  RENX

CPP Investments is expanding its multi-billion-dollar partnerships with U.S.-based Greystar Real Estate Partners LLC, announcing a $1.06 billion Cdn joint venture in the single-family rental community sector.

B.C. floods caused at least $450M in insured damage

Residential, Commercial  •  CP 24

The Insurance Bureau of Canada estimates the insured damage caused by flooding in British Columbia in November at $450 million, calling it the “most costly severe weather event in the province’s history.”

First Capital executes $400M in sales, development JVs

Residential, Commercial  •  RENX

First Capital REIT (FCR-UN-T) executed agreements to sell two of its Western Canadian shopping centres, and entered partnerships on two major Toronto development properties. In total, the four transactions amount to approximately $400 million.

Empire to buy 51% of Longo’s grocery chain for $357M

Commercial  •  RENX

Empire Company Ltd., (EMP-A-T) returned to a tried-and-true strategy to make a major expansion in the GTA. This time, it spent $357 million to acquire 51 per cent of Longo’s stores and Grocery Gateway. The deal closed in May.

JLL to take over Ivanhoé’s Canadian retail portfolio

Commercial  •  RENX

Ivanhoé Cambridge found a new partner for its Canadian retail operations, announcing JLL would take over operation of the retail portfolio in what the firms called an “agreement to operate retail assets through a unified approach.”

Slate acquires $2.93B portfolio from Annaly Capital

Commercial  •  RENX  •  Business Wire

Slate Asset Management spent $2.93 billion to acquire the U.S. real estate assets of Annaly Capital Management (ACREG) in what its top executive calls an “opportune time in the market cycle.” The deal closed in late July.

An era ends: Sonshine’s final results call as RioCan CEO

Commercial  •  RENX

Ed Sonshine took part in his final quarterly results conference call as chief executive officer of RioCan REIT (REI-UN-T) on Feb. 11. On April 1, he passed that title to Jonathan Gitlin, with Sonshine becoming non-executive board chairman.

After 30 years of RE forums, Przybylowski set to retire

Commercial  •  RENX

George Przybylowski, one of the most well-known people in the Canadian development industry, will retire from his Informa Canada position as head of the country’s largest series of commercial real estate forums and conferences.

CT REIT’s Ken Silver announces plan to retire

Residential, Commercial  •  RENX

Ken Silver announced he will retire as CEO of CT Real Estate Investment Trust (CRT-UN-T) on May 31, to be succeeded by Kevin Salsberg. Melcor REIT (MR-UN-T) also announced Andrew Melton is returning as its interim CEO.

Gates buys controlling interest in Four Seasons

Commercial  •  Bloomberg

Bill Gates’ private investment company Cascade Investment LLC will pay Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal US$2.2 billion in cash for a 23.75 per cent stake in Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. Cascade’s stake will increase to 71.25 per cent.

Montreal Sheraton Centre in $520M hotel portfolio sale

Commercial  •  RENX

The 825-room Montreal Sheraton Centre is among a portfolio of five North American properties to be acquired in a $520-million Cdn transaction by special purpose acquisition company VM Hotel Acquisition Corp. (VMH-U-T).