Epic Investment Services has added its name to the list of buyers acquiring retail properties in recent months, acquiring the grocery-anchored Ottawa Greenbank Hunt Club Centre on behalf of an unnamed client investor.

Located at 250 Greenbank Rd., it is located along a commercial corridor in the west-end residential neighbourhood just north of one of the city’s main east-west arteries, Hunt Club Road.

The open-air facility comprises 96,741 square feet and is emblematic of a style of retail property that has been in great demand by investors.

Epic did not disclose the purchase price. The vendor was a private family owner.

“We are proud to serve our stakeholders across the country, maximizing the value of their assets and delivering premium property management services,” said Epic CEO and managing partner Craig Coleman in the announcement on Thursday. “Epic will be overseeing the asset and property management of the centre, reinforcing our commitment to delivering fully integrated and quality real estate services.”

Epic and the new owner plan to continue to manage the property as a retail centre, a spokesperson told RENX in response to an emailed question about the plaza's future.

Retail properties selling across Canada

The plaza is anchored by a Metro grocery store and also includes a range of food and beverage, medical, wellness and other offerings.

The acquisition continues a nationwide burst of activity in the shopping centre sector, with assets of all sizes trading.

Most recently, in Toronto Trinity Group acquired the 170,000-square-foot Sheridan Plaza near the intersection of Jane and Wilson streets in Toronto under its Trinity Retail II Fund. Anchored by Walmart and a Food Basics grocery store, the open air plaza also includes a community health centre and a Tim Horton’s, further driving traffic to the facility.

Another Toronto buyer, Salthill Capital, acquired the 96,467-square-foot Place Major grocery-anchored retail centre at the corner of Laurier Boulevard and Montée Major in Terrebonne, Que. (Greater Montreal). This property is anchored by a Super C store, and also includes high-traffic tenants such as Dollerama and a pharmacy among others. 

A few weeks earlier in a larger transaction, Primaris REIT sold its St. Albert Centre just outside Edmonton for $60 million to Montreal-based Leyad, which has been a significant commercial real estate buyer in the past year or two.

Anchored by a soon-to-be-closed Hudson’s Bay store, the 352,900-square-foot shopping centre is tenanted by a number of needs-based retailers and is located along a commercial corridor which includes grocery stores, a Canadian Tire, Staples and numerous other retailers and services.

About Epic Investment Services

Epic is a fully integrated real estate management platform providing asset, investment and property management services to institutional, wealth managers and high-net-worth investors.

Headquartered in Toronto, Epic has over $13 billion in assets under management across Canada and the U.S., comprised of 22 million square feet of office, retail, industrial and multifamily residential properties.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was updated after being published to add additional information about other recent retail transactions.