First Movers Toronto - 7 Notable Office Leases in Q4 2021

In the final installment of our 2021 quarterly updates on notable office leasing activity in Toronto, we’ve highlighted First Movers over the past quarter – companies who made a commitment to move, sublease, expand their footprint or renew their leases.

Q4 2021 was a busy quarter in the greater Toronto area with leasing activity (absorption) of approximately 1,350,000 square feet downtown and negative absorption in the suburbs. Space in higher quality buildings was more in demand than commodity buildings.

During the quarter, two new office towers were delivered from Menkes Developments – LCBO Tower at 100 Queens Quay East and the Waterfront Innovation Centre at 125 & 155 Queens Quay East.

Below is a summary of 7 notable leases that were completed in Toronto in the final quarter of 2021.

Royal Bank Plaza at 200 Bay Street was recently sold for $1.2 B to Zara founder Amancio Ortega (CoStar)

Office Leases in the Greater Toronto Area – Q4 2021

1. Tonal at 200 Bay Street

Company known for offering the ‘Peloton of weight training’
50,000 square feet in an iconic building
Recently sold for ~$1.2 billion CAD by Oxford & CPPIB to Pontegadea (Spanish billionaire and Zara founder Amancio Ortega)

16 York Street view from York Street looking south (Cadillac Fairview)

2. Facebook at 16 York Street

127,600 square feet
New lease
Property completed in 2020, designed by the team at architectsAlliance and B+H Architects
Property owned by Cadillac Fairview & Ontario Pension Board

Rendering of Allied Properties’ QRC West, Phase II (Allied Properties REIT)

3. Northeastern University at 375 Queen Street West (QRC West, Phase II)

Global, experiential, research university
93,100 square feet (~77,400 SF office & 15,700 SF retail)
New lease – 12 year term, in a mixed use building
Building is now 100% pre-leased with expected completion of Q3 2023
Property owned by Allied Properties REIT

Scotiabank leases 53,800 SF at 70 University Avenue (Avison Young)

4. Scotiabank at 70 University Avenue

One of Canada’s big 5 banks
53,800 square feet
Property owned by LaSalle Canada Property Fund

New lease signed by Bounteous Canada at 351 King Street East (Avison Young)

5. Bounteous Canada at 351 King Street East (King East Centre)

Digital agency of record for major brands that include Dominos, Staples, Home Hardware, Keter and League
New lease for 28,400 square feet
Marquee co-innovation space – nicknamed “The Shop”
Supports their flexible, hybrid model that the firm maintains across its team and branches
Fun Fact: the company has doubled their headcount since the beginning of the pandemic
Property owned by First Gulf

SiriusXM takes space at 351 King Street East (First Gulf)

6. SiriusXM Canada at 351 King Street East

Division of the larger American broadcasting company
New lease for 27,800 square feet
Property owned by First Gulf

Makers of Invisalign® to take 42,600 SF at 100 Queens Quay East (Menkes)

7. Align Technology at 100 Queens Quay East

Makers of the Invisalign® system
New lease 42,600 square feet
25 storey building, broke ground in Jan 2018 with completion achieved in Q4 2021.
The office tower was designed by B+H Architects and built by EllisDon
LCBO is a major tenant taking ~225,000 SF
Property owned by Menkes Developments

Follow along with Tech Office as we highlight notable leases that are completed in each quarter.

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The information above was obtained from sources deemed reliable (including quarterly reports from CBRE, Colliers, JLL, Avison Young & Cushman & Wakefield), however its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Square footages are approximate.

First Movers Toronto – 7 Notable Office Leases in Q4 2021