$730-million acquisition of seven office properties in Vancouver and Calgary | Daily Hive

Oxford Properties acquires 100% ownership of seven major office properties in Vancouver and Calgary in $730 million deal

MNP Tower backdropping the historic Marine Building in downtown Vancouver. (Tada Images/Shutterstock)

The real estate development and investment arm of Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) has acquired full ownership of a major portfolio of significant office buildings in downtown Vancouver and downtown Calgary.

Toronto-based Oxford Properties announced today it has closed the deal to acquire Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s (CPPIB) 50 per cent stake in seven buildings in both city centres, spanning a combined total of four million sq. ft. of commercial space. The deal is worth $730 million.

The high-performing portfolio, valued at approximately $1.5 billion, comprises premium Class AAA calibre space and “trophy” office assets that have attracted stable, long-term tenants and continue to outperform their respective local downtown markets.

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The acquisition underscores a rare countertrend in a struggling office market — especially in downtown Calgary, where leased office vacancy rates have been hovering at about 30 per cent for 10 years — highlighting institutional investor confidence in premium properties. In contrast, downtown Vancouver’s vacancy rate is hovering at roughly 11 per cent, maintaining its title as the tightest city centre office market of any major urban area in Canada and the United States.

Three of the office buildings now under full Oxford ownership are in downtown Calgary, including the 2016-built, 25-storey Eau Claire Tower (611,000 sq. ft.), the 2010-built, 39-storey and 23-storey Centennial Place towers (1.3 million sq. ft.), and the 1988-built, 45-storey 400 Third tower (820,000 sq. ft.).

The most significant property in the downtown Vancouver portfolio is the 2023-built, 37-storey The Stack (558,000 sq. ft.) — Metro Vancouver’s tallest office building and Canada’s greenest office tower, home to high-profile tenants such as Disney’s Industrial Light Magic Vancouver studio and Ernst & Young.

Other properties under the deal in Vancouver’s city centre include the 1969-built, 23-storey Guinness Tower (262,000 sq. ft.), which underwent a major renovation in 2014, and the historic 1930-built, 22-storey Marine Building (177,000 sq. ft.), which was also last renovated in 2014, as well as the 2014-built, 35-storey MNP Tower (277,000 sq. ft.).

the stack office tower 1133 melville street vancouver

Exterior of The Stack office tower. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

This marks a reversal of Oxford’s years-long practices of primarily disposing of office assets.

“Oxford has been a net seller of office for over a decade to achieve portfolio diversification. We believe now is an opportune time to rotate capital back into this asset class, and this portfolio ticks all the right boxes,” said Tyler Seaman, executive vice president of Canada, for Oxford Properties, in a statement.

“As the asset and property manager of this portfolio, this transaction represents a compelling opportunity for us to further invest in markets that we not only understand intimately, but in buildings where our teams have built great relationships with our customers and where we consistently use this advantage to outperform the market.”

Oxford and CPPIB first began their partnership 20 years ago, and they will continue to co-own other properties.

Oxford’s Canadian office portfolio continues to post strong results, with occupancy exceeding 95 per cent in key hubs like Calgary, Toronto, and Vancouver — driven by what the firm describes as an ongoing “flight to quality” in the office sector.

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