The downtown Toronto office building located at 145 Wellington Street West — that was set to be redeveloped into a 65-storey tower — has officially been sold, leaving the fate of the planned project up in the air.
The 13-storey Class A office building constructed in 1987 — located kitty-corner from Roy Thompson Hall and just one block away from the Metro Toronto Convention Centre — was formerly owned by Toronto-based H&R REIT (TSX: HR.UN), which has made various development proposals over the years.
In 2019, a rezoning application was submitted for a 60-storey mixed-use tower consisting of 47 storeys of residential space above 13 storeys of office space. A site plan control application was submitted the following year, for 52 storeys of residential space above 13 storeys of office space. Most recently, in 2024, an application was submitted for a 65-storey residential tower with 861 units and retail space on the ground floor.
Last summer, H&R REIT announced that it had received “unsolicited expressions of interest” and formed a special committee to explore a potential sale of the REIT. However, no sale was ultimately completed, with the REIT saying it received offers for certain assets, but not the REIT as a whole. H&R REIT also said it would sell approximately $2.6 billion in assets, and a few weeks later announced binding agreements for $1.5 billion in sales of office and retail assets. One of those assets was 145 Wellington Street West, which was held under 145 Wellington Portfolio Inc.
Toronto-based real estate investment firm Crestpoint announced in late-January that they had acquired 145 Wellington Street West on behalf of their closed-end Crestpoint Opportunistic Real Estate Strategy fund.
Neither H&R REIT nor Crestpoint have disclosed the sale price, but STOREYS has learned that the price was $50,800,000. According to H&R REIT financial reports, 145 Wellington has 160,098 sq. ft of space, so the price translates to around $317 per sq. ft. Those financial reports also note that the building had an occupancy rate of 88.2% as of December 31, 2025.
It is unclear whether Crestpoint plans to carry out the redevelopment plan that H&R REIT previously proposed, but the project website remains online. STOREYS reached out to Crestpoint in early February, but has not received a response.
Renderings of the 65-storey tower previously proposed for 145 Wellington Street West. (Turner Fleischer / SKYGRiD)
Crestpoint also acquired the office building located at Markham's 88 McNabb Street from H&R REIT, but the price is unknown.
H&R REIT said in its 2025 annual report, published this month, that $1.1 billion of the previously announced $1.5 billion in sales was completed in January, and that it had entered into a contract to manage the two office buildings and 23 retail properties it had sold.
“Net proceeds of approximately $727.3 million generated from the sales of assets in January 2026 has been used to repay corporate debt in January 2026,” said the REIT. “The additional net proceeds from the remaining assets under contract to be sold will also be used to repay corporate debt. Additionally, the REIT intends to apply to the TSX for approval to commence a normal course issuer bid and may use up to $200.0 million of the newly created debt capacity, over time, to repurchase Units pursuant to any such NCIB.”
Following the above sales, H&R REIT says the proportion of its portfolio of residential and industrial assets increased to 84%, and that 68% of its portfolio is now located in the United States, with Executive Chair and CEO Tom Hofstedter saying that the goal is to “reposition H&R to be a more simplified growth and income-oriented REIT focused on residential and industrial properties.”
Further, in mid-January, Executive Vice President of Development & Construction Matt Kingston departed H&R REIT.
