On Wednesday, Toronto-based RioCan REIT (TSX: REI.UN) announced a series of sales to other REITs as it continues to advance the monetization of its RioCan Living rental portfolio.

"With RioCan Living, we've developed a portfolio of transit-oriented, mixed-use properties in Canada's major markets," said RioCan President & CEO Jonathan Gitlin. "Having achieved its intended scale, [the company is] focused on generating maximum value from this one-of-a-kind portfolio. These strategic dispositions are a significant milestone in the RioCan Living asset monetization strategy, demonstrating the portfolio's immense value. Given the numerous attributes that differentiate our portfolio in this competitive market, we have full confidence in the Trust's ability to continue to unlock its intrinsic value."


Prior to the sales, the RioCan Living portfolio consisted of 13 income-producing properties and two properties under development, with the overall portfolio valued at approximately $1 billion.

RioCan's sales announcement on Wednesday pertains to to three properties in Ottawa and one property in Calgary. The transactions are expected to close in Q3 2025.

RioCan Sales To Killam Apartment REIT

In Ottawa, RioCan sold its stakes in the Frontier, Latitude, and Luma rental buildings all to Killam Apartment REIT (TSX: KMP.UN) for a total of $136.0 million. Although RioCan did not state this in the press release, its Q1 2025 supplementary information release indicates that it only owned a 50% interest in all three properties.

RioCan partnered with Killam Apartment REIT on all three properties. The first two stemmed from a joint venture the two REITs formed in April 2017. That joint venture saw Killam acquire a 50% interest in a 7.1-acre development site near RioCan's Silver City Gloucester retail complex for $8 million, with plans to develop four residential towers according to a press release.

Luma at 964 Smyth Road in Ottawa.Luma at 964 Smyth Road in Ottawa. / RioCan

Since then, two of the towers have been completed. Tower One is located at 100 Frontier Path Private and is a 23-storey tower named Frontier that houses 227 units. Tower Two is located at 200 Frontier Path Private and is a 20-storey tower named Latittude that houses 209 units.

The third property involved in the transaction is located at 964 Smyth Road, immediately north of the Elmvale Acres Shopping Centre, and is a nine-storey building named Luma that houses 168 units.

RioCan Sale To Boardwalk REIT

In Calgary, RioCan sold its stake in the Brio mixed-use complex to Boardwalk REIT (TSX: BEI.UN) for $37.4 million. RioCan's Q1 supplementary information release indicates it also owned just a 50% interest in the property.

RioCan partnered with Boardwalk REIT on the Brio project as part of a joint venture they created in November 2016. That joint venture saw Boardwalk acquire a 50% interest in a parcel of development land that was subdivided from the RioCan's Brentwood Village Shopping Centre for approximately $2.9 million, according to a press release.

Brio at 50 Brentwood Common NW in Calgary.Brio at 50 Brentwood Common NW in Calgary. / RioCan

Now completed, Brio is located at 50 Brentwood Common NW and is a 12-storey building with 162 units and several retail units on the ground floor.

This sale was announced earlier this month by Boardwalk REIT when it published its Q1 2025 financial results.

RioCan

Following these sales, the RioCan Living portfolio will be cut to nine income-producing properties and two properties under development, with a total valuation of approximately $0.9 billion, and RioCan's announcement on Wednesday hints that there will be more to come.

In its announcement, RioCan said that it is already in late-stage negotiations on the sale of a property in Toronto. According to its Q1 2025 supplementary information release, the RioCan Living portfolio includes three properties in Toronto: the nine-storey Litho at 740 Dupont Street, the 36-storey eCentral at 15 Roehampton Avenue, and the 36-storey Pivot at 35 Greenfield Avenue. The first two are 50/50 co-owned with Woodbourne while the third is 50/50 co-owned with Sun Life (through BGO).

RioCan added that there is "considerable interest" in other assets within the RioCan Living portfolio. Selling some of these assets will simplify its business and proceeds from those sales will be used to reduce its debt and support its Normal Course Issuer Bid program.

"RioCan is maximizing the value of this portfolio through the sale of individual assets or subsets of the portfolio, and will focus on completing these sales in-line with IFRS values within the next 12 to 24 months," the REIT said.

Along with the sales to Killam and Boardwalk, RioCan's announcement on Wednesday also included the sale of Strada in Toronto to CAPREIT. RioCan co-owned the rental property with Allied Properties REIT (TSX: AP.UN) and both were bought out by CAPREIT for $48 million, as previously reported by STOREYS. Earlier this month, RioCan also disclosed a loss of $209 million on its investment in its joint venture with Hudson's Bay.

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