RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust agreed to sell seven retail assets in Canada, totaling approximately 1,283,000 square feet of incremental gross leasable area, to CT Real Estate Investment Trust for C$200.0 million.
Five of the properties are in Ontario, namely the 210,000-square-foot Collingwood Centre in Collingwood; the 144,000-square-foot GoodLife Centre in St. Catharines; the Orillia Square Mall in Orillia, with a net leasable area of 318,000 square feet; the 148,000-square-foot Sudbury Place in Sudbury; and Upper James Plaza in Hamilton, with a net leasable area of 126,000 square feet.
The other two properties are the 264,000-square-foot Parkland Mall in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, and the 73,000-square-foot Southwinds Crossing in Oliver, British Columbia.
The deal represents a weighted average going-in cap rate of 6.3%, and CT will fund the transaction with the help of its credit facilities. The company also plans to redevelop and re-lease portions of the Orillia Square property, excluding which, the occupancy rate of the portfolio stands at 98.5%.
All the properties are anchored by Canadian Tire. Subject to closing conditions, most of the deals are expected to be closed in December with the remaining slated for completion in the first quarter of 2018.
RioCan will use the sale proceeds for debt repayment, unit repurchases through its normal course issuer bid program, and its development activities.
