CBRE Sells 95 Wellington St. W. in Toronto to BGO

CBRE’s National Investment Team has sold Cadillac Fairview’s 95 Wellington St. W., a Class A office tower in Toronto’s financial core, to BGO.

Jaysen Smalley, who led the deal for CBRE NIT, says the sale of the 333,000 sq. ft., 23-storey building – steps from Union Station and connected to the PATH network – reflects strengthening investor sentiment toward premium office towers across Canada and Toronto in particular. “Leveraging CBRE’s proprietary investment, leasing and debt financing data was central to BGO’s conviction in acquiring 95 Wellington."

BGO – a global real estate investment management advisor that CBRE had helped dispose of ~$700 million in office product across Canada before bond rates doubled in the second quarter of 2022 – noted in a release that the 95 Wellington purchase marks the firm’s re-entry to the downtown Toronto office market.

“The acquisition of 95 Wellington aligns with our strategy of investing in high-quality assets in top-tier markets at attractive points in the cycle,” said BGO’s Canadian Chief Investment Office Simon Holmes. “The building’s irreplaceable location, connectivity to transit and the PATH network, and significant recent capital investment reinforce its appeal as an investment poised to deliver long-term value.”

Extensive Capital Improvements

Completed in 1988, 95 Wellington has undergone extensive capital improvements in recent years courtesy of CF, including a full lobby renovation, complete exterior recladding, curtain wall replacement, HVAC modernization and technology upgrades. It also holds WELL Core Platinum and Zero Carbon Building certifications, reflecting best-in-class sustainability performance.

95 Wellington was 43% vacant at the time of its sale, and BGO says that its in-house property management, operations and leasing platform, BGO Properties, will “deliver an integrated management approach aimed at immediate leasing of the available space and enhancing long-term performance of the property.”

The building is anchored by a roster of tenants across financial services, insurance, investment management, and consulting firms. Its efficient floor plates, averaging ~17,000 sq. ft., are well-suited to boutique and mid-sized organizations.

Toronto’s financial core “remains one of the tightest and most sought-after submarkets, positioning well-located Class A buildings as a compelling option for tenants seeking premium workspace,” BGO said in the release.

Smalley says it sends a strong signal that BGO bought 95 Wellington with the confidence that it would be able to lease it up fully. “From a risk-return perspective, having institutional capital believe in the leasing demand in Toronto gives the entire market a big boost.”

Office Deals Aplenty

The sale of 95 Wellington is the latest in a wave of office deals brokered by CBRE over the past year.

CBRE NIT led the return of institutional-quality office sales in Canada beginning in mid-2025 with the blockbuster $730 million acquisition by Oxford Properties of CPP Investments’ 50% interest in their jointly held portfolio of seven office towers across downtown Vancouver and Calgary. “That transaction signaled a clear turning point in institutional appetite for high-quality downtown office in Canada,” says Smalley.

He notes that Oxford’s acquisition coincided with RBC’s announcement of a 4-5 day in-office work week, citing materially higher productivity from in-office employees. “This was a key pivot point,” Smalley says, and other major Canadian banks, financial institutions, technology firms, and government departments followed suit, driving unprecedented leasing demand, particularly in downtown Toronto.

The result: in 2025, Toronto posted record-breaking leasing activity totaling 2.6 million sq. ft. of positive absorption, with overall leasing volumes up more than 75% year-over-year.

CBRE NIT followed the Oxford acquisition with a series of marquee transactions across Canada. This included the $134.5 million sale of 70 York Street in Toronto, the $340.5 million sale of Deloitte Tower / Windsor Station in Montreal; the $150.0 million sale of 150 Slater St. in Ottawa, and the $1.30 billion sale of The Post in Vancouver.

In addition CBRE NIT recently co-led the fully marketed sale of 123 Front St. W. (Citigroup Building), which received significant institutional interest. 

CBRE’s Debt & Structured Finance team has been highly active in sourcing compelling financing terms for recent NIT sales, including 70 York. “Improved debt terms have supported higher levered returns and increased loan-to-value ratios,” Smalley says. “Financing for high-quality office towers is now drawing multiple lender bids and aggressive credit spreads in the 130 to 150 basis points range.”

Bifurcated Market

The Canadian office market has become “increasingly bifurcated” since the pandemic and more recently amid the rise of artificial intelligence, according to Smalley. “Demand is concentrating on high-quality, transit-oriented locations with strong amenity offerings and sustainability credentials.”

Downtown Toronto and Vancouver experienced record-breaking new office construction from 2020 through 2025, he points out, including ~12.0  million sq. ft. delivered in downtown Toronto. But the supply pipeline has dried up, with no meaningful starts on the horizon.

“The combination of paused construction, structural change-of-use activity, and resurgent tenant demand sets a constructive backdrop for landlords of high-quality space,” Smalley says.

AI is emerging as a meaningful incremental driver of office demand, he notes. “Early evidence points to AI-led tenants concentrating in trophy, transit-oriented buildings with the connectivity, amenity and brand profile required to compete for scarce engineering talent.”

More To Come

CBRE NIT continues to bring core office buildings to market, including recently launching the sale of Google’s Canadian headquarters at 65 King St. E. in Toronto.

“All of these mandates we’ve had recently are reinforcing the depth of capital pursuing high-quality downtown towers in Toronto today,” Smalley says. “The top-tier office market is back.”