Zara’s billionaire owner to buy Royal Bank Plaza

Canada’s hot commercial real estate market stays sky high.

Zara’s billionaire owner to buy RBC Plaza

The iconic Royal Bank Plaza in downtown Totonto has found a buyer. Amancio Ortega, the billionaire behind the Zara clothing chain, has agreed to buy Toronto’s RBC’s Plaza skyscraper from two Canadian pension funds for about C$1.2 billion.

The sale of the iconic, gold-clad tower in the heart of Canada’s financial capital is among the biggest transactions for an office building globally since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s being sold by Oxford Properties, the real estate arm of Ontario’s pension fund for municipal workers, and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

A representative for Ortega’s family office confirmed the transaction to Bloomberg News. The funds put the property up for sale last year and had been seeking at least C$1 billion.

The Plaza

Royal Bank Plaza

Royal Bank Plaza is one of North America’s preeminent core office complexes, totaling close to 1.5 million square feet across two iconic, award-winning office towers and an urban retail concourse. The Complex features 1.35 million square feet of Class AAA office space, a 34,100 square foot bank branch at street level and a two-storey concourse with 90,500 square feet of complementary retail.((Bloomberg))

Located at the corner of Bay Street and Front Street West, the Complex spans a 3.15-acre site in the heart of Toronto’s Financial Core and benefits from a prominent, strategic location immediately adjacent to Union Station—Canada’s busiest transit hub.((RBC))

Differentiated by its striking architecture and gold façade, the Complex is one of Toronto’s most recognizable landmarks. Over the past 10 years, the institutional owners have overseen a $76.4-million modernization program that has delivered award winning updates.