The founding partners of the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO) have acquired a 50 per cent interest in Cadillac Fairview’s Vancouver portfolio. The newly announced deal will see the Ontario Pension Board (OBP) and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) each take a 25 per cent stake in the super-regional mall, CF Pacific Centre, and 12 office buildings.

“The deal gives us the rare opportunity to gain direct exposure to the tightly held Vancouver real estate market,” notes Mark Fuller, OPB’s president and chief executive officer. “As the economic and financial centre for western Canada and the primary access point to Asian markets, Vancouver is expected to outperform other major Canadian cities going forward.”

The three parties to the deal already have a track record of joint holdings. Cadillac Fairview and OPB co-own two major office properties — RBC Centre and Toronto-Dominion Centre — in downtown Toronto, along with two development properties, while Cadillac Fairview and WSIB co-own Simcoe Place, also in Toronto’s core.

IMCO, which was created through Ontario provincial legislation last year, is slated to launch operations in 2017. This will initially bring OPB and WSIB into a shared asset management framework, with flexibility for other Ontario broader public sector organizations to voluntarily join the pool. Cadillac Fairview is the real estate arm of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

“Today’s announcement proves the value of pooled asset management and its tremendous potential for the economy of Ontario,” says WSIB’s president and chief executive officer, Tom Teahen.

“It was critical for Cadillac Fairview to find like-minded partners who share in our long-term vision,” concurs John Sullivan, president and chief executive officer of Cadillac Fairview.