True North Commercial REIT announces key lease renewal in downtown Ottawa

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True North Commercial REIT announces key lease renewal in downtown Ottawa
Duffie Osental

A prominent commercial real estate investment trust has announced a key lease renewal with its largest tenant.

True North Commercial REIT has renewed the 10-year lease of the Federal Government of Canada as the anchor tenant at the 340 Laurier complex in downtown Ottawa, a 13-storey office building five blocks from Parliament Hill. Under the terms of the renewal, the lease term has been extended to March 2030, lengthening the 20-year the federal government’s occupancy at and increasing the REIT's weighted average remaining lease term to 5.4 years from 4.7 years.

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The building complex is currently 99% occupied, with the federal government occupying 98% of its rentable area. In conjunction with the lease renewal, the REIT has also extended its first mortgage financing on the property at a rate of 3.01% for a 10-year term. The REIT's weighted average mortgage term to maturity will increase to 4.3 years.

“True North Commercial REIT is pleased to have the commitment from the Federal Government for a further 10 years,” said Daniel Drimmer, president and chief executive officer of True North Commercial REIT. “This is an example of the REIT's continued focus on maintaining strong relationships with its tenants, and we are thrilled the Federal Government will continue to be a tenant of the REIT in its LEED-EB Gold property in downtown Ottawa.”

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