LaSalle Canada Property Fund acquires premier mixed-use asset in downtown Edmonton

LaSalle Investment Management (“LaSalle”) announced that its flagship core real estate fund in Canada, LaSalle Canada Property Fund (“LCPF” or “the fund”) along with its Custom Accounts group representing Frankfurt-based fund-servicing company Universal-Investment on behalf of Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK), and two managing owners, North American Development Group and Canderel, have acquired Edmonton City Centre (ECC). The property includes the Edmonton City Centre retail component, TD Tower, Oxford Tower and Centre Point Place spanning three city blocks in downtown Edmonton’s central business district.

John McKinlay, LaSalle Canada CEO, said: “We are pleased to complete this transaction with our partners, as it represents a rare opportunity to own a landmark mixed-use asset with a strong tenant roster in the heart of Edmonton’s downtown core. This acquisition aligns well with LCPF’s objective to provide investors with immediate exposure to a diverse and mature portfolio of assets focused in Canada’s six major markets. We are pleased with the strong relative performance of the Fund and the sustained interest from multinational investment partners.”

Michael Cornelissen, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions for LaSalle Canada, added: “This transaction is emblematic of our ability to source world-class properties with industry-leading partners. We see tremendous potential in the ECC acquisition given the growth momentum of the adjacent Ice District, light rail transit connections that are supporting continued urban gentrification and population growth.”

Spanning three city blocks, ECC is situated at the epicenter of Edmonton’s financial core and is the major shopping centre downtown, with an evolving service, convenience, entertainment and food and beverage-focused offering. The retail and parking portions benefit from their Pedway connectivity and adjacency to the recent downtown Ice District development, Canada’s largest mixed-use sports and entertainment district with 180 events per year.

The Edmonton core has grown from a residential population of 10,000 in 2008 to approximately 15,000 in 2019, and is projected to have 18,000 residents by 2020. The dramatic increase in residential condominium and rental development has been driven by inbound urban migration, with 1,600 units recently completed, 1,400 residential units under construction, and an additional 3,100 units proposed in proximity to ECC.

Surrounding residential developments and recently completed office developments are driven by a strong urbanization trend in Edmonton. This trend will undoubtedly further increase the foot traffic coming to ECC beyond the traditional daytime office employee population.

About LaSalle in Canada

On an aggregate basis, LaSalle has executed more than C$6 billion in Canadian real estate since 2000, providing it with an in-depth understanding of the market. The formation of LCPF expanded LaSalle’s existing Canadian real estate product suite and investment vehicles, which include a series of closed-end commingled funds as well as separate accounts.

About LaSalle Canada Property Fund (LCPF)

LCPF is an open-ended fund targeting core properties in major markets across Canada. The Fund is targeting commitments from Canadian and global institutional investors seeking access to the Canadian real estate market through a diversified, income-oriented vehicle. Launched in 2017, the Fund aims to provide investors with immediate exposure to a diverse and mature portfolio comprised of office, industrial, mixed-use, retail and multifamily assets. Through its near-term pipeline of potential future investments, the Fund will seek to take advantage of mispriced assets as it continues to grow.

This release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in LCPF. A private offering of interests in the relevant Fund vehicle is being made only to certain qualified investors pursuant to the applicable confidential private placement memorandum. Within the European Economic Area (EEA), the Fund is only available to professional investors in EEA member states where marketing has been registered or authorized in accordance with local requirements. A full list of the relevant EEA member states is available from LaSalle on request.

About LaSalle Investment Management

LaSalle Investment Management is one of the world’s leading real estate investment managers. On a global basis, LaSalle manages approximately $68 billion of assets in private and public real estate property and debt investments as of Q2 2019. LaSalle’s diverse client base includes public and private pension funds, insurance companies, governments, corporations, endowments and private individuals from across the globe. LaSalle sponsors a complete range of investment vehicles including separate accounts, open- and closed-end funds, public securities and entity-level investments. For more information please visit http://www.lasalle.com, and LinkedIn.

About Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK)

Bayerische Versorgungskammer is the competence and service center for occupational and communal pension schemes and Germany´s largest pension scheme group under public law. As a public authority of the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior, it is the joint executive body of twelve liberal professions´ and communal pension schemes. Bayerische Versorgungskammer covers about 2.2 million insured persons in total, with contributions of € 4.4 billion and € 3.2 billion pension payments annually. It currently has € 69 billion assets under management and more than 1,200 employees. Visit https://www.versorgungskammer.de/ for more information.

About North American Development Group

Founded in 1977, North American Development Group (“NADG”) has been active in the development, acquisition, redevelopment and management of over 250 shopping centres as well as multi-family and mixed-use developments comprising well in excess of 35 million square feet. Today, NADG owns over 25 million square feet of existing retail GLA in Canada and the U.S., with an additional 3 million square feet in development or pre-development. NADG has 11 offices across North America, 6 in Canada and 5 in the United States, and a team of over 225 seasoned real estate professionals. The Company’s head office is in Toronto, Ontario with regional offices in Kelowna, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa and Halifax. In the U.S., NADG’s head office is in West Palm Beach, Florida with regional offices in Phoenix, Dallas, Nashville and Atlanta. For more information, please visit www.nadg.com.

About Canderel

Canderel is one of Canada’s leading real estate development and management firms with in excess of $15 billion in acquisitions, development and management projects over the past 45 years in markets across the country. This translates into more than 60 million square feet of owned, managed and developed properties in the office, industrial, mixed-use and retail sectors. Regardless of the space, our vision remains to ensure long-term investment value for our clients, partners and investors. For more information, please visit www.canderel.com.

About Universal-Investment

With fund assets of around EUR 471 billion under administration, thereof EUR 380 billion in own vehicles and around EUR 91 billion in, inter alia, insourcing, well over 1,400 mutual and special investment mandates and a workforce of around 700, Universal-Investment is the largest independent investment company in the German-speaking region. With the acquisition of UI labs in January 2019, the industry-leading IT data specialist now completes the Group’s service portfolio by adding front office and data solutions. The investment company is the central platform for independent asset management and unifies the investment know-how of portfolio managers, private banks, asset managers and investment boutiques. Founded in 1968, the Universal-Investment Group is headquartered in Frankfurt/Main and has subsidiaries, branches and holdings in Luxembourg, Poland and Austria. It is one of the pioneers of the investment industry and has meanwhile become the market leader in the areas of master-KVG and private label funds. According to the 2019 PwC ManCo Survey, Universal-Investment is the largest AIFM ManCo in Luxembourg; among the Third-Party-ManCos, Universal-Investment also ranks in first place (as of August 31, 2019). More information available at: www.universal-investment.com. 

About LaSalle Investment Management 

About LaSalle Investment

LaSalle Investment Management is one of the world’s leading real estate investment managers. On a global basis, we manage approximately $77 billion of assets in private equity, debt and public real estate investments as of Q4 2021. The firm sponsors a complete range of investment vehicles including open- and closed-end funds, separate accounts and indirect investments. Our diverse client base includes public and private pension funds, insurance companies, governments, corporations, endowments and private individuals from across the globe. For more information please visit www.lasalle.com and LinkedIn.

NOTE: This information discussed above is based on the market analysis and expectations of LaSalle and should not be relied upon by the reader as research or investment advice regarding LaSalle funds or any issuer or security in particular. The information presented herein is for illustrative and educational purposes and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy in any jurisdiction where prohibited by law or where contrary to local law or regulation. Any such offer to invest, if made, will only be made to certain qualified investors by means of a private placement memorandum or applicable offering document and in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. Past performance is not indicative of future results, nor should any statements herein be construed as a prediction or guarantee of future results.