Golder Anchors Second Meadowvale Office Tower

First Gulf Corp. built the 250,000-square-foot Phase I building next door for $75 million as a headquarters for BMO Bank of Montreal. The Phase I facility was completed this year, and is 90% leased. Golder is the first tenant found for the Phase II building, says Rob Renaud, a VP with Newmark Knight Frank Devencore. His company represented the developer in the lease. He declined to discuss Golder's lease rate, but says market rates for similar buildings in Mississauga range from $20 to $22 per square foot.

Renaud tells GlobeSt.com that this location in Mississauga, the furthest west pocket of activity in the local market, has been one of the fastest growing office markets in the country. "This area has been inhabited by a number of major corporations in the past 10 years, and hasn't been affected the market downturn," he says. Baxter moved its main Canadian office to 100,00 square feet in the area, the Royal Bank of Canada has its headquarters there and Shaw Environmental has 80,000 square feet. "In 2009 when a lot of corporate decisions were put on hold, this development was able to negotiate for a committed tenant (Golder)."

The market, which includes Pearce International Airport, is part of the greater Toronto office market, which has experienced some problems in the market recovery, Renaud says. "Mississauga wasn't hit with as large a vacancy rate as downtown, which is at about 13% to 14%. There, you're seeing a lot of class B space emptying out to move into the new product," he says. The first brand new building in the Toronto CBD, Bay Adelaide Centre, announced Wednesday that it signed new tenants to 10-year leases. Thomson Reuters will take 59,000 square feet and Barclays Capital will occupy 17,000 square feet in the 51-story building.