The Department of National Defence has acquired two office and industrial properties at 1600 and 1630 Star Top Rd. from Arnon Corp. for $59 million, a DND spokesperson confirmed this week.
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The federal government has purchased another major commercial complex in one of the largest real estate transactions of the past year in the National Capital Region.
The Department of National Defence has acquired two office and industrial properties at 1600 and 1630 Star Top Rd. from Arnon Corp. for $59 million, a DND spokesperson confirmed this week.
The two-building complex at the corner of Star Top and Innes roads covers a total of 279,263 square feet.
The Department of National Defence has leased the four-storey, 223,000-square-foot building at 1600 Star Top Rd. since it opened in 2004. According to Arnon’s website, the building includes about 210,000 square feet of office space and 13,000 square feet of industrial space. DND also leases the neighbouring facility at 1630 Star Top Rd.
In an email to OBJ, DND spokesperson Andrée-Anne Poulin said that, after considering its “evolving long-term requirements,” the department decided its “needs would be best served through direct ownership of the properties.”
The facilities will “continue to support longer-term DND and Canadian Armed Forces operational requirements in the National Capital Region,” she added.
The acquisition comes as the federal government ramps up military spending as part of its pledge to spend the equivalent of five per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product on defence by 2035, up from two per cent today.
The military has also stepped up recruiting efforts in the renewed push to protect Canadian sovereignty. Defence Minister David McGuinty said in April the Canadian Armed Forces brought in more than 7,300 new members in the previous 12 months, a 30-year high.
It’s the federal government’s second significant real estate purchase in the National Capital Region in the past few months.
Public Services and Procurement Canada said in February it agreed to acquire a 14-storey tower at 131 Queen St. from Morguard Corp. for $148.2 million in a deal that’s expected to close before the end of August.
The federal government’s real estate footprint is in the spotlight this week as most of its employees are expected to return to the office a minimum of four days a week, up from the three-day-a-week minimum that had been in place since September 2024.
A spokesperson for PSPC told OBJ in late April the department “does not anticipate any challenges” finding enough room in its existing portfolio for workers who will need to be in the office an extra day each week.
However, PSPC also said its analysis of workspace needs showed that the expanded return-to-office mandate will mean certain departments will require more workstations and other space in certain locations.
The government is eyeing a number of options to boost its real estate footprint should the need arise, a spokesperson for the department said in an email to OBJ in April, including “optimizing underutilized space, renewing existing leases and potentially acquiring additional space where requirements cannot be met within the existing portfolio.”
DND is the federal government’s largest occupier of floor space, with more than 100 million square feet across the country.
