Oxford Purchases Downtown Edmonton Properties

Oxford Properties Group Inc., through various affiliated entities, purchased the interests of its co-venturers in the Edmonton Centre, the Bell Tower and Staples store complexes in downtown Edmonton. On May 15, 2001, the properties were worth in excess of $125 million.

The Edmonton Centre deal involved the sale by TD Realty Limited and Cambridge Shopping Centres II Limited (o/a Ivanhoe Cambridge) of their interest in The Edmonton Centre Limited to Oxford. Oxford was the holder of the remaining one-third shareholder stake and manager of all the projects. Ivanhoe Cambridge also sold its freehold interest to Oxford in a parcel constituting a part of the project.

The Bell Tower complex (formerly known as the Canada Trust Tower) was owned by a joint venture consisting of Truscan Property Corporation (50 per cent), Edmonton Centre West Ltd. (25 per cent) and Oxford (25 per cent). Oxford’s two co-owners, both affiliates of the Toronto-Dominion Bank (following TD’s acquisition of Canada Trust), sold their co-ownership interest to Oxford.

In a related transaction, Leaseholds Ltd. ECW and ECWN (another TD Bank affiliate) sold its 50 per cent stake in Staples store site to Oxford.

The Toronto-Dominion Bank provided concurrent financing to Oxford secured against certain of the properties. Acting as lead counsel for Oxford were Bob Teskey and Rick Pabst of Field Atkinson Perraton LLP in Edmonton. Assisting on Ontario corporate law matters for Oxford was Michael Hart of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP in Toronto. John Wallace, Senior Vice-President, Legal at Oxford directed the deal. The various TD Bank subsidiaries were represented by Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP (Jim Hilton, Mia Clement and Ann McKay, Toronto and Carol Reesor, Calgary) reporting to Senior Vice-President of TD Investment Real Estate Michael Price. Ivanhoe Cambridge was represented by Jillian Shortt and Susan Jackson of the Toronto office of Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP with the assistance of Wayne Whitlock of the Alberta office of Bennett Jones LLP under the direction of John W. Comery, Director, Legal Affairs of Ivanhoe Cambridge. The Toronto-Dominion Bank looked to John Currie and Gord Sato of McCarthy Tétrault, Toronto, for representation on the loans secured by the Edmonton Centre and the Staples site.

Lawyer(s)

Wayne R. Whitlock Michael S. Hart Mia Nicole Clement Jim Hilton Robert H. Teskey Heinrich (Rick) H. Pabst Gordon S. Sato Carol L. Reesor Jillian Shortt John C. Currie