Regional Group has acquired a 18-storey highrise at 150 Slater St., marking the first major sale of a downtown Ottawa office building to a private buyer in nearly three years.
The Ottawa-based firm announced Friday it has purchased the class-A office tower, which has served as the headquarters of Export Development Canada since it opened in 2011, from Manulife Investment Management.
Financial terms of the transaction, which closed on Thursday, were not disclosed.
Iconic spaces, lasting impressions
The Canadian Museum of History and the Canadian War Museum offer more than beautiful spaces; they provide meaningful settings celebrating heritage, culture and design. An architectural landmark overlooking Parliament Hill
Iconic spaces, lasting impressions
The Canadian Museum of History and the Canadian War Museum offer more than beautiful spaces; they provide meaningful settings celebrating heritage, culture and design. An architectural landmark overlooking Parliament Hill
It’s the largest deal in Regional Group’s 68-year history and the firm’s first acquisition of a downtown office property.
“It’s a landmark building and a landmark transaction for the company,” Regional Group vice-president of acquisitions Sachin Anand told OBJ on Friday morning.
“We’ve been historically a suburban landlord, especially with regards to our class-A office space. This was a great way to accomplish a downtown ownership strategy, have a best-in-class building, get size and critical mass without having to buy a bunch of buildings. For us, the stars aligned on this being a great entrance to downtown.”
The 477,448-square-foot tower at the corner of Slater and O’Connor streets is fully leased. EDC occupies about 98 per cent of the space on a lease that expires in 2031, and the remainder of the building is leased to ground-floor retailers.
The deal is the second major transaction in recent days involving a downtown office building. Earlier this month, Morguard announced it was selling a 14-storey tower at 131 Queen St. to Public Services and Procurement Canada in a deal that’s expected to close in August.
It’s also the biggest office deal involving a private-sector buyer since the spring of 2023, when Montreal-based Groupe Mach acquired the 27-storey highrise at 160 Elgin St. from H&R REIT for $277 million.
More to come…