- What Crestpoint Real Estate Investments and Choice Properties paid just under $260m for a three-building Loblaw portfolio
- Why The parties each acquired a 50% interest in the properties
- What next The buildings are fully leased for over 15 years
Crestpoint Real Estate Investments and Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust paid roughly $254m last month for a three-building Loblaw portfolio, Green Street News can reveal.
The deal was announced in September without pricing.
The 50-50 joint venture purchased a retail space inside the former Maple Leaf Gardens in downtown Toronto, a warehouse and distribution centre in Mississauga and a retail property in Winnipeg. The properties all are fully occupied with average lease terms exceeding 15 years.
Initial talks began in March between Crestpoint, Choice and sellers Loblaw Properties and Shoppers Realty, both owned by Loblaw Cos.
The deal closed on Sept. 5. BMO Capital Markets handled the sale, and Crestpoint and Choice funded the deal in part with a $165m acquisition loan from TD Asset Management. The debt runs 10 years and carries a 4.8% interest rate.
The venture paid $179.2m, or $252/sq ft, for the 711,000 sq ft warehouse and distribution centre at 6941 Kennedy Road in Mississauga. Matrix Logistics Services, a third-party logistics provider specializing in warehousing, distribution and transportation services, occupies the space.
The retail assets represent $75m of the purchase price. The Toronto property is a 95,000 sq ft strata unit in the lower floors of the former Maple Leaf Gardens at 60 Carlton Street.
Its houses a Loblaws grocery store, an LCBO outlet, a Joe Fresh and 150 underground parking spaces. The upper floor of the building is owned by Toronto Metropolitan University.
The Winnipeg property comprises a 150,000 sq ft Real Canadian Superstore at 1385 Sargent Avenue. It’s also home to a Joe Fresh as well as a Loblaws Pharmacy and a medical clinic.
Choice is Canada’s largest commercial REIT. It manages 60m sq ft of commercial space – the vast majority of it on behalf of its principal tenant Loblaw, owner of the Loblaws grocery store chain and other big name Canadian retail brands.
Crestpoint controls 38m sq ft of commercial space across the country.
