Last week, Halifax-based G2S2 Capital Inc. announced that it had acquired Bow Valley Square, a landmark office complex in downtown Calgary that spans a full city block.
Financial details were not disclosed, but sources familiar with the transaction told STOREYS the sale price was around $100 per sq. ft, amounting to a price of around $140 million for the property, which consists of 1.4 million sq. ft of office and retail space across 17-storey, 39-storey, 32-storey, and 37-storey towers.
Bow Valley Square sits on a city block that's bound by 5 Avenue SW on the north, 1 Street SW on the east, 6 Avenue SW on the south, and 2 Street SW on the west.
Developed by Hammerson Canada, the office complex was designed by WZMH Architects and constructed in stages beginning in 1972, with the fourth tower completing around 1982. The complex underwent a $40 million revitalization in 2019 and is now LEED Platinum-certified.
The acquisition was made through Armco Alberta, a subsidiary of Armco Capital Inc., which is itself a wholly-owned subsidiary of G2S2 Capital Inc., the privately-held investment holding company of George Armoyan. who is also the Chairman, President, and CEO of Clarke Inc. (TSX: CKI.TO) and serves on the Board of Trustees of Slate Office REIT (TSX: SOT.UN).
"We are excited and proud to welcome Bow Valley Square, its 200 tenants and all of our new employees into our portfolio," said Steven Darrow, President of Atlantic Canada & Alberta at Armco Capital Inc., in a press release.
"This acquisition is an important milestone in our growth strategy, and underscores our belief in the success of Calgary and Alberta," he added. "We look forward to building upon the legacy of this landmark while upholding the standards that have established Bow Valley Square as a premier choice for businesses."
Bow Valley Square's exterior (left) and interior (right). / Zeidler Architecture
G2S2 Capital acquired Bow Valley Square from Oxford Properties and the AIMCo. Oxford Properties is the real estate company that's wholly owned by the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), while the Alberta Investment Management Corporation is the provincial Crown corporation that manages investments on behalf of the public sector.
AIMCo has frequently been a co-investor with Oxford Properties / OMERS, including in the Square One District project in Mississauga and a UK-based company called Environmental Resources Management (ERM), which the partners sold their majority stake in back in 2021.
For Oxford Properties, this is at least the second big transaction it has been involved in this year surrounding a landmark office property. In May, the company completed the sale of 401 West Georgia and 402 Dunsmuir, two adjacent office buildings in downtown Vancouver. Oxford co-owned the properties with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and the properties were sold to Germany-based Deka Immobilien Investment GmbH for $300 million.
This is also the latest of a wave of office transactions in Calgary, where around 20 office properties have changed hands since January 2023, many of which were influenced by the potential of an office-to-residential conversion. Cadillac Fairview also sold a 26-storey Class B office tower recently, 635 8th Avenue, which was the second Calgary office property it has sold this year.
