Taurus Heads North for $43M Retail Buy

BOSTON-Locally based Taurus Investment Holdings spent much of last year buying retail properties in its own back yard, but the real estate investment firm is demonstrating an ability to operate outside the area, as exemplified via the $42.9 million purchase of a 160,000 sf shopping center in suburban Ontario. Affiliate Taurus Canada Investments Ltd. secured the Cookstown Outlet Mall in Innisfil, completing its second Ontario acquisition in the past four months.

“We are really committed to the Canadian market,” Taurus president and CEO Peter Merrigan tells GlobeSt.com. “It’s doing better than the US right now and we think conditions are going to remain fairly stable.” Taurus has been in Canada since 2000 and now has nine projects in its portfolio. The firm is mulling fresh opportunities throughout the country, says Merrigan, but all investments made to date are in Ontario, including 111 Peter St., a 250,000-sf office building purchased in late 2007.

Located one hour north of Toronto at the confluence of Highways 89 and 400, Cookstown Outlet Mall is comprised of an enclosed shopping center and 125 undeveloped acres that can accommodate additional density. Cookstown is one of the highest profile and most successful outlet centers in Ontario, reports Taurus, a distinction enabled by the roster of top retailers such as Adidas, Levis, Liz Claiborne, Nine West, Samsonite and Tommy Hilfiger.