Crown Realty Partners has taken over from Colliers as the property manager for downtown Ottawa’s three-building, 946,000-square-foot Minto Place office and retail complex.

The integrated commercial real estate investment and management firm was chosen by Minto Place’s three owners: Minto Group, LaSalle Investment Management and Mackenzie Investments. 

“We presented our wares and were the chosen ones to move ahead with this to help them get through the spot they're in with some heightened vacancy in the marketplace,” said Scott Watson, who along with Emily Hanna was recently elevated to become a managing partner for Crown, in an interview with RENX. 
 
“They want to backfill those floors and help transition that complex back to a class-A nature.” 

The addition of Minto Place brings Crown’s footprint in Ottawa to more than four million square feet and grows the firm’s total portfolio under management to 12.5 million square feet across 67 buildings.

“We've established a pretty good base in Ottawa since we launched our property management there in 2020,” said Watson. “We've become a big part of the Ottawa real estate community, which is a very local community.” 

Minto Place's occupancy and leasing

Colliers will still be responsible for securing new leasing while Crown will oversee handling existing tenants and renewals at the buildings located at 427 Laurier Ave., 180 Kent St. and 344 Slater St.

The occupancy rate for Minto Place’s 864,646 square feet of office space is 84 per cent while the rate for the 81,355 square feet of retail space is 92 per cent.

The federal government has been Crown’s biggest Ottawa tenant and that will continue since it’s also the largest tenant at Minto Place. Minto also has office space in the complex.

“Most of the vacancy sits at 180 Kent, which is interestingly one of the newest office buildings in downtown Ottawa, built in 2009,” explained Watson. “But they just had some turnover there, so that's where the best opportunity comes. 

“That's where we're going to focus our efforts and energies on repositioning on 180 Kent to bring occupancy back up in that tower, and then focus on the balance of the retail and the other buildings in the complex.”

Repositioning plans for Minto Place

The initiative will involve a hands-on, value-add approach to modernize the main lobby and common spaces, enhance amenities, strengthen sustainability initiatives, and create an elevated workplace experience. Some common space and washroom renovations had already begun and will continue, while model suites will also be added.

“The goal would be to get designs completed and approved by year-end at 180 Kent, and mid-year 2027 would be a great time for construction completion,” said Watson.

In addition to the three office buildings, with retail and food providers at the base of each one, Minto also owns a purpose-built rental apartment as part of the site where office tenants can access its fitness centre and swimming pool. Crown isn’t property managing the residential building.

The LEED Platinum, BOMA BEST Platinum, Fitwel and WELL-certified Minto Place also has a significant amount of underground parking, eight electric vehicle chargers, a public car wash and bicycle storage spaces.

Crown's third-party property management growth

“After many years of just managing our own buildings and managing for co-owners or people we've sold to, we started to have discussions to grow our third-party property management business as of the beginning of this year, and this is a good testament,” Watson said of Crown’s new role with Minto Place. 

“It's institutional owners who understand the value that we can bring in repositioning assets beyond most property management firms through the integrated nature of Crown with in-house leasing, project management and operations, as well as marketing and repositioning of assets.”

Toronto-based Crown, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, also has a major property management presence in the Greater Toronto Area. It’s looking to expand upon its strength in Ontario and enter Western Canadian markets, particularly Vancouver and Calgary, in the next 12 to 18 months.

Crown still seeking office acquisitions

Crown continues to seek office acquisition opportunities, which can correspondingly help build its property management presence. It still has money available in its Crown Realty V Limited Partnership fund, which was created in 2021, and it launched a sixth fund last month that it’s looking to close by the end of this year or the first quarter of 2027.

“We're looking to keep a balanced platform as we continue to expand,” said Watson. “The office market's been very challenging, as everyone knows, since March 2020. 

“But we've definitely turned the corner and we see this as a phenomenal opportunity for payback and making big capital investments. The leasing market is definitely strong and it's not a question of if anymore, it's who and how and how much. 

“We're well-positioned for this next phase in the cycle and we're trying to capitalize on it for our partners and our employees.”