786 
The Edmonton commercial real estate market picked up steam in 2017 following a lacklustre performance in the previous two years, according to software and data solutions provider Altus Group. Cumulative investment results for commercial real estate in 2017 indicate 745 transactions over $500,000, totalling nearly $2.9 billion, and representing a 25 percent jump from 2016.
Investment activity was almost equally divided by asset class, with contributions of 15 to 20 percent from the apartment, industrial, office, retail and ICI land sectors. The hotel and residential land categories performed relatively poorly, taking in a respective $98.7 million and $240 million, compared to the $426.3 million and $586.6 million recorded in the office and retail asset classes.
Dream Office REIT's $187 million disposal of 13 office properties, mostly centred in the core, was the main driver of the 200 percent growth in office market capital flow. Nine of the properties, all in the Sherwood Park area, were acquired by KingSett Capital. AIMCo's $60 million investment into Enbridge Place and HSBC Bank Place further contributed to the strong office performance.
The City's possession of MacEwan University's infamous Orange Hub for $36 million — a transaction Altus Group classifies as retail — boosted the sector's transactions by 13 percent to $586.6 million. The $191 million sale of the purpose-built rental complex Edgewater Village by Regency Developments to Greystone and Timbercreek supported the bulk of the 73 percent growth in the apartment market.
Most improved was the industrial sector with 165 transactions worth a total of $519 million. While overall investment fell 14 percent from 2016, the posted result last year was 47 percent higher than 2015.
"2017 was a year of significant opportunity for investors to enter the market or build on their existing portfolio," said Paul Richter, Director, Data Solutions at Altus Group. "Movement in the downtown office market will continue as tenants shuffle space into newer buildings, while current landlords may investigate the opportunity to dispose of key assets given the market’s appetite for those that came to market in 2017."
