A pair of local firms has purchased an office and retail real estate portfolio in Montreal's old city from Toronto-based co-owners Nexus Real Estate Investment Trust and Sandalwood Management, with a pair of other purchases soon to come.
The two buyers are Metrocap, a company founded last year by Richard Kertzer, and Prime Properties, a company launched by Karsten Rumpf. Prime Properties has attained a significant property footprint in downtown Montreal after starting out as a company that operates video game amusement centres in the downtown core.
Co-seller Nexus REIT was founded in 2017 and has been led by CEO Kelly C. Hanczyk since 2018. It has a current portfolio of 89 industrial properties, all but three owned without partners. Nexus also has 12 office and 17 retail properties, mostly co-owned, according to its website.
The deal that has been in the works for several months closed 10 September. It highlights the increased interest in opportunities offered by well-preserved, older structures in the tourist-friendly area of Old Montreal, or the Old Port as many now call the first-settled section of the city founded 382 years ago.
It involves the following properties:
The Coristine Building at 410 Saint Nicolas spans 162,106 square feet spread out over six floors and was built for James Coristin's fur company in 1901. It was described by one newspaper as "one of the most successful mercantile buildings in the city."
The building has a current municipal assessment of $23.7 million and its latest annual property tax bill came in at $735,000.
This office property at 353 Saint Nicolas contains nearly 35,000 square feet spread out over five floors. It was built in 1840 and is currently assessed at $5.3 million, with a $162,000 property tax bill for this year.
The structure at 127 Saint Pierre spans nearly 35,000 square feet over five floors. It has a $5.4 million municipal assessment and an annual $165,000 property tax bill.
A sprawling building at 329 De La Commune near the waterfront contains 22,000 square feet of office space spread out over four floors and has an evaluation of $4.3 million and a $65,000 property tax bill.
The three-storey building at 321 De La Commune holds 12,150 square feet and has a $2.1 million municipal assessment. Its owners were charged $62,000 in the latest property sales tax bill.
The property at 360 Notre Dame W. is a five-floor building with approximately 31,000 square feet of room, including retail at street level. The property is assessed at about $5 million, leading to $151,000 in the latest property tax bill.
Two other properties are expected to be part of the portfolio sale following the closing on 9 October.
They are:
This five-floor office building at 63 De Brésoles contains almost 40,000 square feet of space and a $3.4 million municipal assessment as well as a $35,000 tax bill for the most recent year.
The only property outside of the old city and outside of the office and retail category included in the eight-property deal is an industrial structure measuring 41,627 square feet over two floors at 425 Guy St. The building was completed in 1951 and has a current municipal assessment of roughly $5 million and received a property tax bill of $140,000 for this year.