The construction of CIBC SQUARE phase II at 141 Bay St., in Toronto will be financed by Canada’s largest green loan, $780 million. (Courtesy Ivanhoé Cambridge)

Ivanhoé Cambridge and Hines have secured the largest green construction loan in Canadian market history, $780 million, to finance construction of phase II of the massive CIBC Square development at 141 Bay Street in the heart of Toronto’s downtown financial district.

CIBC is acting as the administrative agent and green structuring agent for the funding, while Desjardins Capital Markets and HSBC Bank of Canada are co-leads on the financing.

“For us, finances and corporate social responsibility are now inseparable. More than ever, sustainable financing is decisive in achieving our overall CSR commitments,” said Simon Lauzier, chief financial and business performance officer, Ivanhoé Cambridge, in the Tuesday morning announcement. “After being the first Canadian real estate company to issue green bonds in 2019, we are committed to drive innovation forward once again by implementing the largest green construction loan in the history of the Canadian market,”

CIBC SQUARE 141 Bay is designed to attain LEED Platinum as well as WELL certifications to align it with the most up-to-date sustainability and health standards.

“Hines continually strives to be an industry leader in sustainability. From the start, we have felt a responsibility to the future and a drive to do things better,” said Avi Tesciuba, senior managing director and country head for Hines Canada, in the release. “The green construction loan will support CIBC SQUARE in its mission to meticulously incorporate progressive environmental and economic solutions, from concept to development.”

Some of CIBC SQUARE’s sustainability features

The CIBC SQUARE campus will be the first office complex in Toronto to reduce water consumption by capturing, filtering, and sanitizing groundwater as well as rainwater for use in on-site washrooms.

It will be directly connected to the Union Station rail hub and provide access to over 500 bicycle racks, plus shower facilities. It will also incorporate waste reduction and diversion programs such as waste and organic-sorting stations, and water dispensers to encourage the use of reusable cups.

Contractor EllisDon has experience with LEED-certified building projects and will continue to oversee phase II. It has provided technical guidance and support to over 160 green building projects in Canada and internationally, with a construction value of over $13 billion.

WSP has been appointed to monitor and report on the LEED and WELL targets. During the past 15 years, WSP has delivered over 600 energy conservation measure studies, including financial analysis, as part of 700 LEED- and WELL-certified projects.

Ivanhoé Cambridge and Hines have partnered during the last 18 years in developing several major, city-defining projects including Phase I of CIBC SQUARE; Eighth Avenue Place East and West Towers in Calgary; River Point in Chicago; Texas Tower in Houston and Duo Towers in Paris.

Construction of the 50-storey, phase II tower at CIBC SQUARE commenced in March 2021. The first tower at the site is ready for occupancy as pandemic restrictions are relaxed. When completed, the two office towers will comprise about three million square feet of mainly office space, along with a wide array of amenities.

In addition to CIBC, Desjardins and HSBC, the financing partnership also involves National Bank of Canada, The Toronto-Dominion Bank, The Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Montreal, and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Canadian Branch as participants.

About Ivanhoé Cambridge

Ivanhoé Cambridge develops and invests in real estate properties, projects and companies around the world. It invests internationally alongside strategic partners and major real estate funds.

Through subsidiaries and partnerships, Ivanhoé Cambridge holds interests in more than 1,100 buildings, primarily in the industrial and logistics, office, residential and retail sectors. It held $60.4 billion in real estate assets as December 31, 2020, and is a real estate subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.

About Hines

Hines is a privately owned global real estate investment firm founded in 1957 with a presence in 240 cities in 27 countries. Hines has approximately $160.9 billion of assets under management, including $81.7 billion for which Hines serves as investment manager, including non-real estate assets, and $79.2 billion for which Hines provides third-party property-level services.

The firm has 181 developments currently underway around the world. Historically, Hines has developed, redeveloped or acquired 1,450 properties, totalling over 485 million square feet. Its current property and asset management portfolio includes 622 properties, representing over 256 million square feet.

Since the launch of its Canadian operations in 2004, Hines has developed, acquired and/or managed over 13 million square feet of signature projects representing a wide variety of product types — from city-defining office buildings to retail, residential and mixed-use developments. It has offices in Toronto, Calgary and Edmonton and about 100 employees in Canada.

About CIBC

CIBC is a leading North American financial institution with 10 million personal banking, business, public sector and institutional clients.

Across personal and small business banking, commercial banking and wealth management, and capital markets businesses, CIBC offers a full range of advice, solutions and services through its leading digital banking network, and locations across Canada with offices in the United States and around the world.