H&R Real Estate Investment Trust (H&R) has entered into an agreement to sell The Atrium for $640 million, subject to customary closing conditions. The purchase price equates to a capitalization rate of 4.56 per cent.

The Atrium, comprising 595 Bay Street, 20 & 40 Dundas Street West, and 306 Yonge Street, is a 1.1 million square foot office and retail complex.

“Given the strong investor demand for Toronto office properties and the substantial capital this asset will require over the next several years for redevelopment and intensification, we chose to take advantage of strong market pricing, and reallocate capital to both strengthen our balance sheet and to fund our value-creating developments,” H&R’s president and CEO Thomas Hofstedter said in the REIT’s press release.

H&R purchased The Atrium for $344.8 million in 2011 and since the acquisition, has increased annual net operating income by $6.5 million, creating substantial value for unitholders.

Closing is expected to occur on or about June 6, 2019.