KingSett Capital’s $193.5-million purchase of Ivanhoe Cambridge’s stake in the Bayshore Shopping Centre highlighted a “robust” second quarter for commercial real estate investment in the capital, CBRE said Monday.

Investors spent a total of $767-million on Ottawa commercial properties from April to June, the real estate firm said in its latest report. 

That’s the third-highest quarterly figure in the past three years and puts the city on pace to top the $2.2-billion mark in 2021, which would represent the third-largest annual investment figure in Ottawa’s history, CBRE said.

“After declining somewhat in Q1 2021 due to persistent COVID lockdowns, investment activity made a robust improvement in Q2 2021,” the company said, noting deals were split evenly between smaller transactions valued at less than $20 million and larger deals.

Retail deals accounted for the largest share of investments in the second quarter at $248-million, followed by multi-family transactions at $143-million.

Other significant deals in the second quarter included the $44-million sale of the Carleton Suite Hotel to a private investor and another private investor’s $43.8-million purchase of a 200-suite multi-residential complex at 324 Cambridge St. N.