Toronto-based Primaris REIT (TSX: PMZ.UN) has officially put the Northland Village open-air shopping centre in Calgary on the market, fresh off of a years-long undertaking to reimagine the mall.
Northland Village Mall is located at 5111 Northland Drive in northwest Calgary, about a five-minute drive away from the Brentwood LRT Station. Longtime anchor tenants of the mall include Walmart, Winners, and Best Buy, with other notable tenants including Dollarama, GoodLife Fitness, and Lenscrafters.
The mall originally opened in 1971 as an enclosed one-level indoor shopping centre and was expanded and renovated several times in the early-aughts. In 2021, Primaris REIT unveiled a plan to redevelop the enclosed mall into an open-air shopping centre. (The enclosed mall made an appearance in the first season of The Last of Us prior to being demolished.)
According to Primaris REIT's financial reports, Northland Village previously spanned 34.7 acres. Approximately two acres were then sold in 2022 to a third-party residential developer that has since completed construction of a 219-unit rental complex along Northland Drive NW.
Photos of some of the stores within Northhland Village. / TD Cornerstone, RBC Capital Markets
"In the summer of 2022, the interior portion of Northland was demolished, Walmart completed a renovation to their store, and Primaris commenced construction of a fully pre-leased outparcel building," said Primaris REIT in its Q2 2025 financial report. "Projected redevelopment costs for the project are estimated in the range of $120 to $125 million with an anticipated return on the project of approximately 6.5% to 7.0%.
"The redevelopment project will be completed over multiple phases as leases are signed for new pads on the site," Primaris added. "Project-to-date spending was approximately $119 million as at June 30, 2025 and future redevelopment costs relate to the construction of additional pads as new leases are signed. Approximately $1.2 million of interest was capitalized to the project for the six months ended June 30, 2025."
Upon completion, the redeveloped Northland Village will include approximately 390,000 sq. ft of retail space and office space. According to Primaris, leasing is complete for approximately 370,000 sq. ft. The report also noted that Northland Village had been classified under "assets held for sale" and CEO Alex Avery said in the REIT's Q2 2025 conference call that they are "preparing for the sale of Northland Village" and are expecting to find "a broad pool of interested buyers for this property."
The Listing
This week, Northland Village was listed for sale by TD Cornerstone Commercial Realty and RBC Capital Markets Real Estate Group, which described Northland Village as a "dominant" shopping centre and the offering as "an exceptionally rare opportunity to acquire a high-quality, recently redeveloped, open-air shopping centre with secure, long-term cash flow and future development potential."
- Address: 5111 Northland Drive NW + 4600 Crowchild Trail NW, Calgary
- Site Area: 31.81 acres
- Gross Leasable Area: 435,420 sq. ft
- Current Occupancy Rate: 97.8%
- Price: Unpriced
- Listed By: TD Cornerstone (Ashley Martis, Elliott Medoff, Jason Lay, Jackson Watts) and RBC Capital Markets (Dan Giaquinto, Jason Cottle, Nurit Altman, Ryan Marino)
A property summary of Northland Village. / TD Cornerstone, RBC Capital Markets
The retail component spans 30.32 acres, but the offering also includes a separately-titled office building located at 4600 Crowchild Trail NW that is 82% occupied. The retail and office component have a combined average weighted average lease term of 6.7 years and an average in-place minimum net rent of $24.10 per sq. ft.
"The Property has been a fixture in Calgary’s retail landscape for decades and has recently undergone a major redevelopment and repositioning, enhancing the tenancy mix with a focus on necessity-based and service-oriented retailers," said the listing team in its sales brochure.
"Northland offers prospective investors secure and sustainable cash flow with 80% of in-place gross rent generated from national and regional tenants and rental upside via contractual escalations supported by credit-rated national tenants. With 720 surface parking stalls and an expansive 31.81 acre site, the Property provides flexibility for future intensification, mixed-use redevelopment, or a strategic phased repositioning over time. Northland is ideally suited to meet the evolving demands of today's consumer by combining grocery, convenience, and accessibility in a format that is both adaptive and resilient."
