RICHMOND HILLS, ONTARIO-Developers Diversified Realty is planning its first center in Canada here in this suburb 15 miles north of Downtown Toronto. The Cleveland-based REIT is building the C$150-million ($150.7-million) center in a 50-50 partnership with Rice Commercial Group of Toronto.
The yet-to-be-named development will total 700,000 sf on 74 acres. It will include lifestyle retail, offices and residential space, with the developers prepped to start construction in the spring of 2009 for a fall 2011 opening date.
Developers Diversified will look for other opportunities north of the border, says David Oakes, the company's EVP of finance and chief investment officer. He says that retail projects are especially in demand in the Ontario area because of the Greenbelt Act of 2005, which protects 1.8 million acres from development.
Developer Rice Commercial Group owns and manages about 500 acres of assets, mostly in Toronto, including three-million sf of retail.
This is not Developers Diversified's first foray outside of the US. The REIT owns 15 shopping centers in Puerto Rico and has interests in nine centers in Brazil.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
