Broccolini Construction to build tallest residential tower in Montreal

Toronto

BROCCOLINI Construction Inc plans to invest as much as C$300 million (S$305.1 million) to build the tallest residential tower in Montreal.

The closely held firm will transform 600,000 square feet of downtown city space into a 56-storey mixed-use tower, said Roger Plamondon, president of real estate development and acquisitions at Broccolini.

Eight stories will be allocated to office and retail space; the rest of the building will contain about 400 condominium units.

The new tower will dethrone Broccolini's recently completed 50-story mixed-use building, dubbed L/Avenue, as the tallest tower of its kind in the city.

"It's the future of real estate as a rule," Mr Plamondon said in an interview at Bloomberg's Montreal office.

"By necessity, you are moving into mixed-use. We have been very successful and we have a very good ear to what the market is looking for so we've adapted our mix."

Developers are racing to Amazon-proof their businesses by reducing mall exposure and turning to a mix of retail, condos and offices.

The tech sector has helped drive tenant demand for office space to a record in Montreal in 2017, according to CBRE Group.

The city, with its mix of old cobblestone charm and relaxed vibe, is the country's third-hottest commercial market with C$3.5 billion in transactions in the first three quarters of last year.

The housing market is also heating up as capital is shifting from over-priced markets in Toronto and Vancouver.

Broccolini plans to start marketing the building this fall and complete construction at the start of 2023, Plamondon said.

The residential tower will be located next to the largest office tower to be built in Montreal in 25 years - the new headquarters of National Bank of Canada which is slated for occupancy in 2022.

National Bank will invest more than C$500 million in the building which will also be built by Broccolini. The plan so far is to build a park between the two sites as well as an underground path. BLOOMBERG