Primaris Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) will add two prominent Halifax retail properties to its portfolio. The $370 million deal for the Halifax Shopping Centre and its associated open-air Annex is slated to close at the end of November. Vendor, OPB Realty Inc., is to receive $200 million in cash, with the remainder of the purchase price to be conveyed in units.

“We are very pleased to add Atlantic Canada’s premiere shopping centre complex to the Primaris portfolio,” says Alex Avery, the REIT’s chief executive officer. “This acquisition further demonstrates Primaris as an attractive buyer for Canadian pension fund vendors of market leading Canadian shopping centres, with multiple discussions continuing for further acquisitions.

Halifax Shopping Centre is a 562,000-square-foot enclosed mall located on a 21-acre site along Mumford Road, a major arterial on the edge of the Halifax Peninsula. A $54-million redevelopment of the former Sears’ anchor space is now substantially complete and a number of new leases are in place. The mall will be at 96 per cent occupancy once those tenants move in.

The Annex is an adjacent 416,000-square-foot open-air retail centre on a 26-acre site. Both sites are well connected to public transit and the Halifax Regional Municipality has designated the Annex for potential future in-fill residential development.

“With very strong sales performance trending above $1,000 per square foot, this acquisition enhances the REIT’s portfolio value proposition with retailers, and offers a significant income growth opportunity consistent with the growth we see ahead for our existing assets,” says Patrick Sullivan, president and chief operating officer at Primaris.

The REIT is Canada’s second largest owner of enclosed shopping centre. The Halifax deal follows the acquisition of Conestoga Mall in Kitchener, Ontario, earlier this year.