Canadian and international investors need timely, expert advice on real estate acquisitions and joint ventures.
We act for clients buying and selling both individual properties and portfolios of office buildings, shopping centres and other retail properties, industrial properties and development sites. We also advise clients on the acquisition and disposition of many other types of real estate, including apartment buildings, hotels, senior accommodation, student housing, golf courses, recreational facilities and resource properties.
The Acquisitions & Dispositions lawyers in our Real Estate group are leaders in helping our institutional and private clients form joint ventures and limited partnerships to jointly own and develop all manner of Canadian and international projects. We also have a leading pension fund advisory practice for both Canadian and international properties and investors and have special expertise in assisting pension funds in their real estate investments.
The purchase or sale of real property also involves a complicated array of other activities, including the negotiation of a detailed agreement of purchase and sale, and conducting or responding to a complex array of due diligence investigations. These include the examination of title and related matters, review of leases and mortgages, analysis of contractual rights and obligations, and developing strategies based upon such review. Blakes Commercial Real Estate lawyers are experts at conducting and coordinating these myriad activities and providing synthesized, focused advice to clients.
In addition, we work with our network of lawyers around the globe to assist clients on their investments outside of Canada and ensure deals are smoothly completed.
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Northview Fund in its C$742-million acquisition of three multi-family portfolios with properties in Alberta, Ontario, Nova Scotia and Quebec, as well as its conversion into a perpetual REIT.
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Mackenzie Financial Corporation on its C$222.6-million sale of a 13-property, 710,389-square-foot portfolio in Vaughan, Ontario, to CanFirst Industrial Realty Fund VII L.P.
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Simcoe Wellington Hotel Limited Partnership on its sale of a 60 per cent interest in The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto hotel to Cadillac Fairview.
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Oxford Properties on its sale of a 50 per cent interest to Canada Pension Plan Investment Board of a 4.2-million-square-foot portfolio of seven office buildings in downtown Toronto and Calgary, including the new flagship EY Tower at 100 Adelaide Street West, Toronto.
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Fiera Properties on its acquisition of four retail plazas from RioCan in Waterdown, Guelph and Orangeville, Ontario; and Duncan, B.C.
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Granite REIT on its disposition of a series of warehouse and industrial properties in St. Thomas, Newmarket, Aurora and Tillsonburg, Ontario.
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BentallGreenOak on its acquisition of 1250 René-Lévesque from Oxford Properties Group Inc. and PSP Investment Board.
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Deka Immobilien on its €345-million acquisition of the 69-storey Stantec Tower in the Ice District of Edmonton, Alberta.
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BentallGreenOak in connection with its joint venture with KingSett involving the development and construction of three 30-storey towers to be built on land owned by St. Michael’s College.
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IG Mackenzie Real Property Fund (formerly Investors Real Property Fund) on its joint venture with Minto Properties and LaSalle at Minto Place, a three-tower, 945,030-square-foot office complex in downtown Ottawa, including financing provided by The Great-West Life Assurance Company.
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CREC Commercial Fund LP on its C$158-million purchase of a LEED Gold-certified 895,000 square foot warehouse and distribution facility in Brampton, Ontario.
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Ontario Pension Board and Workplace Safety Insurance Board on their C$1.9-billion purchase of an undivided 50 per cent interest in a 12-building portfolio of office buildings in downtown Vancouver, including the CF Pacific Centre regional shopping mall.
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JCF Capital ULC on its acquisition of the debt on Trump International Hotel and Tower in Toronto, the enforcement of that debt, the acquisition of 211 hotel units and 74 residential condominium units, and the sale of the hotel portion of the tower to InnVest REIT.
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Bell Canada and Rogers Communications on their C$1.3-billion purchase of a 75 per cent interest in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.
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BentallGreenOak on its purchase of Canadian Western Bank Place and the Enbridge Tower, 28- and 20-storey office buildings in downtown Edmonton, Alberta.
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Ontario Pension Board on its C$300-million purchase of a 50 per cent interest in the RBC Centre, a 41-storey class AAA Toronto office building, and negotiation of a joint venture arrangement with Ontrea Inc.
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Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan on its C$140-million purchase of Lansdowne Place, a two-level enclosed regional shopping centre in Peterborough, Ontario.
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C$108-million sale by a Middle Eastern pension fund of Hazelton Lanes, a landmark upscale retail centre located in Toronto’s Yorkville shopping district.
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C$100-million purchase by a major Canadian pension fund of a 50 per cent interest 1981 McGill College Avenue, a two-tower office complex in downtown Montréal.
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2020 University GP Inc. on its C$95.4-million sale of 2020 University Street, a 26-storey class A office building in downtown Montréal.
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WestLB AG and Alvarez & Marsal Canada ULC on their sale of the assets and undertaking of The Rosseau Resort Developments Inc., the developer of a luxury hotel and condominium complex located on Lake Rosseau in Ontario’s cottage country.
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1542775 Alberta Ltd. on its C$58-million purchase of the Ashby and Brighton Apartments, a low-rise multi-unit residential complex located in Edmonton, Alberta.
