Primaris Real Estate Investment Trust recorded the biggest sale in Canada during the fourth quarter of last year, selected as the top transaction in the CoStar Power Broker quarterly deals awards.
The Toronto-based REIT acquired ownership of Promenades St. Bruno, a two-level enclosed mall on Montreal’s South Shore, in October. The $565 million purchase in cash and equity follows the company’s last mall purchase in September 2024, when it paid $325 million for Galeries de la Capitale in Quebec City.
Promenades St. Bruno is located roughly 30 minutes south of the Island of Montreal, around the intersection of Highways 30 and 116, and features major retailers such as Lululemon, Sephora, Best Buy Express, Guess, Simons and Winners.
Spanning more than 1 million square feet of retail space on 154 acres of land, Promenades St. Bruno is the largest retail mall in the greater Montreal area. It generates over $271 million in annual sales, or $917 per square foot, ranking as the 39th most profitable mall in the country by sales per square foot and the fifth-most profitable in Quebec.
The seller, Cadillac Fairview Corp. Ltd., had invested about $227 million in upgrades over the previous 10 years, including adding a flagship Simons store and repurposing the former Sears space.
The listing brokers on the deal were, from TD Securities: Massimo Lorusso, Elliot Medoff, Jason Lay, Ashley Martis; and from RBC Capital Markets: James Palladino, Dan Giaquinto, Nurit Altman and Theo Christakis.
Top office lease
Royal Bank of Canada inks big lease in Toronto's financial district
On the final day of 2025, Royal Bank of Canada signed the largest office lease in the country during the fourth quarter, renting 326,347 square feet at Simcoe Place, located at 200 Front Street West in Toronto’s Financial District, according to CoStar data.
RBC has made a four- to five-year commitment and will occupy the second to 13th floors, effectively renting 40.5% of Simcoe Place, and will move its headquarters into the building on February 21.
There may still be some ground to make up for Cadillac Fairview, the owner of Simcoe Place, following the decision by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board to vacate 541,875, or 67.2% of the building, 12 months ago. CoStar data shows another major lease in the building is set to expire in the next several years. One slice of optimism: Boston Pizza absorbed 5,500 square feet, or 0.7% of the building, in November.
Simcoe Place is serviced by below-grade mass transit at St. Andrews Station and Union Station, the latter of which is Canada's largest transit hub and offers GO trains and buses to every corner of the region. The King Street Streetcar is also accessible two blocks north of Simcoe Place, and the Gardiner Expressway is accessible in minutes.
RBC is one of the largest banks in the country and among the world’s largest based on market capitalization. Its 97,000 employees occupy 14.3 million square feet across 1,372 locations.
The leasing broker in this top fourth-quarter deal was John Knechtel.
Top industrial lease
Computer software distributor signs for space in Caledon
The largest industrial lease last quarter was in the greater Toronto municipality of Caledon, where TD Synnex is leasing 1.1 million square feet.
TD Synnex, a computer software distributor, signed its lease for the first floor of the five-star industrial distribution facility on Nov. 10, with the start date beginning a day later and occupancy slated for Oct. 1, 2027. The building is notable for its overall size and 40-foot clear height.
The property, known as Station 12, will become a master-planned industrial complex developed by QuadReal Property Group and located at 12173 Dixie Road in an emerging Greater Toronto logistics hub. Construction on the first phase of Station 12, comprising two buildings of approximately 2 million square feet, began in September and is expected to be delivered in October.
According to CoStar data, the estimated rent on the property is $11 to $14 per square foot.
The listing broker on the leasing deal is Tanner Witton of QuadReal Property Group.
Top retail lease
Health club chooses long-term lease in Edmonton
The top retail lease in Canada last quarter was signed on October 1 at a health club in Edmonton, where Altea Active began renting 125,823 square feet last month.
The triple-net lease has a 20-year term and, according to CoStar data, a starting rent of $24 per square foot. CoStar data also revealed that Altea Active occupies 96.6% of the building at 17303 100 Ave. NW in West Edmonton, whose landlord is DIA Holdings Ltd.
Altea Active is a luxury fitness and wellness operator based in Toronto, established in 2017, with about 380 employees, according to CoStar data.
The listing agent on the deal is Colliers Property Management.