Alta Group, led by developer Richard Geller, is the new owner of a 26‑storey office tower at the edge of Montreal's Mount Royal Park after closing a $48 million acquisition this week.
The price paid is well below the $74.1 million city assessment according to CoStar data.
Alta bought the 559,099‑square‑foot property at 300 Léo‑Pariseau, also known as Place du Parc, in a deal registered Thursday. The tower, completed in 1977, rises directly beside Mount Royal Park and offers expansive, unobstructed views of the mountain. The building is clearly visible for a long stretch along Park Avenue, where its upper floors loom above the tree line.
The property was sold by entities controlled by the Braka family of New York that had owned the tower for more than 20 years. The transaction was executed on behalf of the sellers by Andréanne Beaudoin, according to the deed.
The acquisition comes amid a bifurcated Montreal office market. Vacancy across the city stood at 10.6% in early 2026, according to CoStar data, with tenant demand concentrated in higher‑quality, well‑located assets. Average asking rents hover around $36 per square foot, while sale prices continue to vary widely based on occupancy and asset condition.
The tower is often called the Transat building due to the prominent logo at the top of the north side facade. The Air Transat travel company leases roughly 213,000 square feet, making it the building’s largest tenant, according to CoStar data.
Office space about 50% leased
The sales price works out to $85.85 per square foot, reflecting the building's elevated vacancy at the time of closing. Geller said the office component of the building is currently about half leased, while the retail portion about 80% leased.
Alta financed the acquisition with a $36 million first‑ranking mortgage from Toronto‑Dominion Bank, registered earlier this month. The loan was issued to the acquisition partnership that took title to the building and is secured by the property and its rental income.
In addition to its office space, the property includes a significant retail component totaling about 56,000 square feet beneath the La Cité complex. Geller said the shops includes daily‑needs tenants, including a grocery store and a cinema, helping stabilize cash flow even as the office leasing remains a work in progress.
The Braka family, whose best known representatives are David and Benjamin Braka of Aetna Realty, also recently sold the office component of the Cours Mont‑Royal complex on Peel Street, part of the former Mount Royal Hotel. The sale was also completed at a price well under the city of Montreal assessment.
Alta has been redeploying capital following a series of exits.
Last year, the firm sold the former Miséricorde Hospital site in downtown Montreal to Hydro‑Québec, in a move that ended Alta's long‑running redevelopment plans for the historic property but helped fund new acquisitions.