Cominar sale to Luc Poirier positions complex for exciting possibilities, including office-to-residential conversion

Laval, Québec – Global commercial real estate advisor Avison Young announces the sale of 1-5 Place Laval for C$72 million, marking one of the largest office deals to date in Québec this year.

Avison Young’s Mark Sinnett, Sebastian Gatti, Guillaume Monast, and MC Laflamme-Sanders were the exclusive advisors and agents for the vendor, Cominar, which sold to developer Luc Poirier.

Place Laval is Québec’s largest mixed-use office complex, located at Saint-Martin and Des Laurentides Boulevards, with more than 853,000 square feet (SF) of gross leasable space across five office towers. Two of the towers (4 and 5) are 97% leased, yielding strong holding income and weighted average lease terms of 5.3 years.

Fifteen minutes from Montréal, the complex also offers 465,000 sf of additional land with flexible zoning and the potential for more than 1,700 residential units. Meanwhile, one of the office towers will be converted into self-storage.

“Laval offers one of Québec’s most dynamic submarkets for office – and with the added benefit of repurposing portions of this mixed-use complex for self-storage and residential, this makes the property a truly remarkable, appealing investment opportunity,” said Mark Sinnett, Principal and Head, Capital Markets, Québec. “We are proud to have worked with our client, Cominar, to identify a buyer with vision and creativity, and we look forward to what Luc Poirier has in store for this landmark site that will continue to contribute to the vitality of Laval.”

Place Laval benefits from a highly strategic location in a fast-evolving neighbourhood, featuring a wide range of essential services and retail, with proximity to downtown Laval. Des Lauretides and Saint-Martin Boulevards serve as Laval’s main arteries, connecting the area to Montréal and the greater North Shore markets. Accessibility is further enhanced by connection points to various highways and metro stations.

Avison Young is closely following the evolution of office buildings that meet the basic criteria for increasing asset value through adaptive reuse. In a post-pandemic era where office tenants are demanding top-of-line amenities, obsolescence of some assets has led developers to acquire for conversions. Avison Young research shows close to 700,000 sf of Montréal office space has been converted to residential, or is currently in progress. These projects are removing 2.5% of downtown Class B and C pre-pandemic leasing inventory. Another 1.4 million square feet is being analyzed for potential conversion or complete redevelopment, which would remove another 5% of class B and C office space downtown.