After the usual summer dip, Western Canada saw quite a few commercial real estate transactions in September. Here are a few notable deals that may have flown under the radar.
2M Sq. Ft Industrial Portfolio (Alberta)
Value: $309M
Seller: Unconfirmed
Buyer: Skyline Industrial REIT
Skyline Industrial REIT announced in early September that it had completed its largest-ever transaction, comprising of 16 industrial buildings on 129.5 acres of land across four industrial parks in Calgary and Edmonton, which are 97.7% occupied and total to over 2M sq. ft of industrial space.
The deal is shrouded in a little mystery, however, as the seller has not been publicly named, with Skyline only saying that it purchased the portfolio from "a major Canadian pension plan."
However, Skyline did list the properties it acquired, one of which was the Rampart Business Park on 157th Avenue NW in Edmonton, and development information for one of the buildings at Rampart Business Park listed on the Province of Alberta website named the developers as LaSalle Investment Management, a Chicago-based real estate investment management firm that has previously acquired large amounts of industrial space in Alberta.
72,088 Sq. Ft Industrial Building (Edmonton)
Value: $15.8M
Seller: Unknown.
Buyer: BTB REIT
BTB REIT, another real estate investment management firm, purchased one of the buildings within McIntyre Industrial Park in early September, which is leased to a single tenant: Redco Equipment Sales, which makes tools for the oil industry. The building is located on 8743 50th Avenue and was originally built in 1998.
READ: “A Perfect Storm”: Why BC Industrial Real Estate Demand is Migrating to Alberta
220 Prior Street (Vancouver)
220 Prior Street. (MCMP Architects)
Value: $123M
Seller/Developer: Keltic Canada Development Co. Ltd.
Buyer: Masimo Corp.
This upcoming building was originally going to be developed and leased, like most office space is. However, Keltic eventually decided to sell the building, now owned by California-based company Masimo, which makes a variety of personal and professional heath-tracking devices. The building is in the False Creek Flats area near the site of the also-upcoming St. Paul's Hospital.
The building is set to be 100,000 sq. ft, meaning the deal works out to approximately $1,200 psf. The site was previously a warehouse, which Keltic purchased in 2019 for $25M. Ground broke officially on August 30 and is set to complete construction in 2024.
Gastown Heritage Building Commercial Strata Units (Vancouver)
Value: $3.34M
Seller: Unknown
Buyer: Unknown
This isn't a deal with any particularly eye-catching numbers, but it is nonetheless noteworthy because it involves two commercial strata units in a Gastown heritage building, now called the Koret Lofts, that was built in 1906. The two units -- on 57 and 63 East Cordova Street -- total to approximately 2,807 sq. ft of space.
READ: Heritage Building Next To Vancouver Gastown Steam Clock To Become Hotel
The Hamlets Senior Housing Portfolio (BC & Alberta)
Value: $300M
Seller: H&H Total Care Services Inc.
Buyer: Axium Infrastructure & Optima Living
The Deal:
This $300M commercial real estate deal is for an eight-property portfolio, together known as the Hamlets, of senior housing communities spread out across Western Canada. Three are in Alberta -- two in Red Deer and one in Airdrie -- and five in British Columbia, in Vernon, Duncan, Penticton, Kamloops, and Surrey. In total, the deal includes 1,092 suites.
"The portfolio features a balanced mix of assisted living and independent living suites and funded long-term care and complex care beds and private pay complex care beds," said the Newmark Group, who brokered the deal, in a press release. "The portfolio is relatively new, with an average building age of 10 years and three residences opened since 2019. In addition, three of the assets provide the new ownership with over 360 units of development/expansion opportunities. The properties are each positioned well within their respective markets and spread across some of Canada's most desirable retirement communities."
