LaSalle Investment Management‘s LaSalle Canada Property Fund has acquired a portfolio of properties in Montreal and Vancouver from Ivanhoé Cambridge.
The portfolio includes: -A 50 per cent stake in Maison Manuvie at 900 Boulevard de Maisonneuve O, a more than 485,000-square-foot trophy office asset in Montreal. Manulife, whose Quebec headquarters are located in the office tower, will be LaSalle’s 50 per cent partner in the property.
-50 per cent ownership of Guildford Town Centre, a top performing super-regional mall in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey. Ivanhoé Cambridge will remain a partner in the property.
-50 per cent ownership of an 18-acre development site directly north of Guildford Town Centre. Ivanhoé Cambridge will also remain a partner in the parcel.
John McKinlay, CEO of LaSalle Canada, said: “The addition of Maison Manuvie and Guildford Town Centre, along with the opportunity to develop mixed-use assets in a prime location in the Vancouver area represents an outstanding opportunity for us to strategically use our retail weighting while also gaining exposure to Canada’s second largest market in Montreal via the city’s marquee office asset. Additionally, it is rare to find an economically viable development site with residential densification potential in Vancouver, where residential fundamentals are extremely favorable for newly built units. We have long sought to enter these markets, and are excited to do so along with exceptional partners in Ivanhoé Cambridge and Manulife.”
Stephen Robertson, Head of Canada Acquisitions, added: “There continues to be value available in office and retail assets, especially those in irreplaceable locations and with strong tenant demand. Both Maison Manuvie and Guildford Town Centre are premier properties in their respective asset classes in Canada and position LaSalle and LCPF well as fundamentals for office and retail continue to improve.”
Located in Montreal Financial District, Maison Manuvie is 97 per cent leased with a 13.7-year average weighted lease term, and provides tenants direct access to amenities and underground connections to both McGill and Peel subway stations. The property also boasts exceptional sustainability credentials, including: LEED Gold CS and ENERGY STAR® certifications, Building Energy Challenge’s Improved Energy Performance Award, and a 2019 BOMA BEST® certification making it the only building in the Greater Montreal Area that has been awarded the Platinum level.
Guildford Town Centre is 95.5 per cent leased, and continues to attract new-to-market tenants including Uniqlo and Muji. The shopping center underwent $280 million in capital improvements completed in 2013, and is LEED Gold certified.
The parcel, located to the north of Guildford Town Centre, is in the process to be zoned for additional residential density, and could therefore allow LCPF to develop a best-in-class multifamily property, the most expensive and sought-after asset class in Canada. Surrey is a target market for multifamily development as it forecast to outpace the population of Vancouver proper within the next 15 years, and has limited supply of new multifamily product.
