Ivanhoé Cambridge and Hines announced today that they have purchased the land known as “141 Bay Street” in downtown Toronto from Metrolinx.
In September 2014, Ivanhoé Cambridge and Metrolinx announced an agreement by which Ivanhoé Cambridge will build a new GO Bus Terminal at 81 Bay Street, the location of the first of its two-building iconic office development project, Bay Park Centre.
In addition, Ivanhoé Cambridge, Hines, and Metrolinx will proceed with a thorough renovation of the Bay Street East Teamway along with PATH extensions to the Air Canada Centre and Union Station.
“Metrolinx is a long-term partner of Ivanhoé Cambridge and Hines in this Project,” said Arthur Lloyd, President, Office North America, at Ivanhoé Cambridge. “We thank them for their confidence and we look forward to bringing this large-scale Project to fruition.” Mr. Lloyd added: “Getting to this point has been a journey that Ivanhoé Cambridge began in 2007, with the acquisition of the 81 Bay Street (formerly 45 Bay) site. A series of subsequent and sequential acquisitions of additional land and air rights over the rail corridor has allowed us to offer our future tenants a fully integrated 2.9 million-square-foot (270,000 m2), four-hectare urban office campus with two-phased buildings and an elevated park. We have enjoyed invaluable partnerships with the Government of Ontario and its agency Metrolinx, and with the City of Toronto who have provided exceptional support to the Project, through forward-looking political leadership and the dedication and efforts of its staff. Ivanhoé Cambridge, Hines and Metrolinx are delighted to bring such a truly transformative and city-building development to Toronto.”
"Our GO bus system is a key part of our region’s transit network and Union Station is Canada’s busiest and most important multi-modal passenger facility in Toronto. We are pleased to work with Metrolinx and Ivanhoé Cambridge on this exciting integrated plan - bringing bus and rail transit together to provide Ontarians with a more seamless and stress-free travel experience,” said Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca. “With thousands of new construction jobs created, projects like these build entire communities up. The future transit hub will bring people, companies and infrastructure together - and when that happens, we know it leads to a stronger economy and improves quality of life."
Bay Park Centre: Delivering a new international standard for office users
Bay Park Centre, with its enviable location directly adjacent to Toronto’s Union Station, epitomizes the best of the “transit-oriented development” (TOD) approach. It not only completes the Union Station campus master plan by delivering a world-class GO Bus Commuter Terminal, but also provides direct links to all of Toronto’s transit channels, including TTC Subway, GO Train, Via Rail, PATH and the UP (Union Pearson) Express. As part of the Bay Park Centre Project, the Bay East Teamway will be renovated to first-class standards and will provide direct immediate access to the GO Train platforms from the Project.
Designed to maximize efficiency with open floor plates and building systems that enable tenants to optimize the footprint, Bay Park Centre will set a new standard for technology and innovation that far surpasses buildings from previous development eras. Bay Park Centre comprises two highly innovative office buildings on a 2.9 million-square-foot (270,000 m2) downtown urban campus. The Project is the result of a joint effort between global real estate leaders Ivanhoé Cambridge and Hines, and will be one of the last office developments with an internationally renowned Bay Street address in the business district.
The buildings will each feature 49 floors of cutting-edge office and collaborative spaces designed to exceed the expectations of the most discerning tenants. Bay Park Centre will accommodate the optimal densities that are required by today’s premier global office space users, and will offer expansive views of Lake Ontario and Toronto's skyline.
Ceiling heights throughout the Project will be 9’6” (2.9 m) on the office floors and 12’0” (3.65 m) on the high-density podium floors, and the floorplates will be the largest available in downtown Toronto.
Each building will be equipped with an extensive array of amenities far exceeding anything available in the Toronto marketplace today. The signature amenity of Bay Park Centre is a one-acre elevated park connecting the two buildings, to be programmed by Biederman Redevelopment Ventures, which operates and curates the activities in New York City’s famed Bryant Park. Additional amenities will include first-class fitness and bicycle-parking facilities with showers exclusive to tenants, a market-style eatery offering a selection of nutritious and healthy food options, and a variety of other restaurant options, including a white-tablecloth restaurant, a casual restaurant, and a café. The project will also deliver a first-to-market amenity of dedicated interior VIP parking and limo/taxi pick-up and drop-off facilities for building occupants and their clients.
Designed by WilkinsonEyre and Adamson Associates following a design competition, Bay Park Centre is founded in architectural and structural excellence, exceeding mechanical, electrical and security expectations, which have been designed to attain LEED Platinum, WELL and WiredScore Platinum accreditations. For more information: bayparkcentre.com.
About Ivanhoé Cambridge
Ivanhoé Cambridge, a global real estate industry leader, invests in high-quality properties and real estate companies in select cities around the world. It does so prudently, with a long-term view to generate optimal, risk-adjusted returns. Founded in Quebec in 1953, Ivanhoé Cambridge has built a vertically integrated business across Canada. Internationally, the Company invests alongside key partners and major real estate funds that are leaders in their respective markets. Through subsidiaries and partnerships, Ivanhoé Cambridge holds interests in nearly 800 buildings, primarily in the residential, office, retail and logistics real estate sectors. Ivanhoé Cambridge held approximately C$56 billion in assets as at December 31, 2016. The Company is a real estate subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (cdpq.com), one of Canada's leading institutional fund managers. For more information: ivanhoecambridge.com.
About Hines
Hines is a privately owned global real estate investment firm founded in 1957 with a presence in 189 cities in 20 countries. Hines has approximately $96.5 billion of assets under management, including $48.5 billion for which Hines provides fiduciary investment management services, and $48 billion for which Hines provides third-party property-level services. The firm has 114 developments currently underway around the world. Historically, Hines has developed, redeveloped or acquired 1,206 properties, totaling over 390 million square feet. The firm's current property and asset management portfolio includes 533 properties, representing over 213 million square feet. With extensive experience in investments across the risk spectrum and all property types, and a pioneering commitment to sustainability, Hines is one of the largest and most-respected real estate organizations in the world. Visit www.hines.com for more information.
About Metrolinx
Metrolinx is the Province of Ontario's regional transportation agency for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). GO Transit, a division of Metrolinx, is Ontario's inter-regional public transit system linking Toronto with the surrounding regions of the GTHA. GO accommodates nearly 70 million customer journeys a year in an extensive network of train and bus services that spans over 11,000 square kilometres.