George Brown College's $232.5 million purchase with an investment partner of a building on Toronto's waterfront, a significant expansion for the post-secondary institution, was Canada's largest real estate transaction during the second quarter, making it one of the top deals recognized in the latest CoStar Power Broker quarterly awards.

Toronto-based H&R sold the almost 480,000-square-foot building at 25 Dockside Dr. as part of the continued repositioning of the real estate investment trust. H&R plans to focus mainly on the industrial and residential sectors on both sides of the border.

The deal, done at a 5.7% cap rate, was first announced in December and closed on April 15. "Given the considerable headwinds in the public and private real estate markets, we are very pleased to have completed the sale," said Tom Hofstedter, executive chairman and chief executive of the REIT, at the time of the deal.

George Brown bought the property, also known as Corus Quay, with Halmont Properties Corp., with a plan to create, over the long term, a consolidated waterfront campus for the college in downtown Toronto.

George Brown has a student population of about 30,000. It first opened a campus on the waterfront in 2012 and later relocated its School of Design to the Daniels City of the Arts complex at 130 Queens Quay East, establishing a hub for design, innovation and technical skills training in the East Bay front community.

Next year, George Brown College plans to open Limberlost Place, Ontario's largest institutional mass timber building at 185 Queens Quay East. It will house the School of Architectural Technology and the School of Computer Technology.

Gervan Fearon, president of George Brown College, said the acquisition will be a vital long-term asset for the school.

"It will enable us to expand our academic offerings and fulfill our commitment to the development and education of our future leaders," Fearon said in a statement.

The buying brokers on the deal were Jeff Lever and Julian Brandon of Cushman & Wakefield.

Insurance Corporation of British Columbia Signs Deal in Vancouver

The second quarter's top office lease was Insurance Corporation of British Columbia's 15-year lease at the building known as the Hive in Vancouver.

The 164,253-square-foot 10-storey mass timber office building is under construction at 2150 Keith Drive and is set to open in 2025.

ICBC, a provincial Crown Corporation that provides auto insurance in British Columbia, signed the lease on May 1. The deal takes effect April 1, 2025.

Dialogue was the architect behind the mass timber project developed by BentallGreenOak.

The leasing representatives on the deal were Marco DiPaolo and Megan Dear of Colliers.

Simons Snaps Up Downtown Toronto Location

The top retail lease of the quarter was signed by Le Maison Simons at CF Toronto Eaton Centre at 220 Yonge St. in the downtown core of the country's largest city.

Cadillac Fairview, the real estate arm of the Ontario Teachers' Pension plan, signed the Quebec City-based retailer Simons to a 110,000-square-foot flagship storefront across three levels of the shopping centre that was previously occupied by Nordstrom. The deal was signed on June 7. The lease start date is October 2025.

Karen Hackey, senior director of leasing and Obaid Malik, senior manager of leasing, were the leasing contacts at Cadillac Fairview.

Agrocrops Foods Signs Lease in Vaughan

Agrocrops Foods signed a full-building lease in the first quarter for a 168,747-square-foot facility in Vaughan, north of Toronto, a deal selected as the top industrial lease of the quarter.

The new lease agreement for the building at 865 Gibraltar Road marks a significant expansion in Agrocrops Foods Inc.'s operations in the Greater Toronto Area.

Proximity to major arteries at Highway 400 and Highway 407 make the site a prime location.

Terry Di Felice, senior vice president of industrial & logistics at CBRE and Alex Sgro, a salesperson at CBRE, were leasing representative contacts on the deal. Agrocrop acted as the tenant contact.

The deal was signed on May 10, and the start and move-in date of the seven-year lease is Aug 9.