Allied Properties REIT announced last night it's teamed up with Vancouver-based developer Westbank Projects to acquire and redevelop 19 Duncan St, a 62k SF building on the southeast corner of Adelaide Street West and Duncan in the heart of the Entertainment District. The firms paid $47M for the property, which includes an adjacent laneway. Allied and Westbank—builder of the Shangri-La hotel-condo just down the road from 19 Duncan, and purchaser of the Honest Ed’s site at Bloor and Bathurst—say the plan is to "retain and restore" a large portion of the building and integrate it with a new structure that'll have retail space, offices on the first five floors and rental apartments above that.

This isn’t the first Allied-Westbank JV. The two companies joined forces on the development of the TELUS Sky project in downtown Calgary (shown above), a 750k SF mixed-use tower with office, retail and residential space. Westbank is development manager for the 19 Duncan St revamp. Allied will manage the office component of the project when it’s completed; Westbank will handle the residential. The deal is expected to close in February 2015. Westbank principal Ian Gillespie noted the acquisition of 19 Duncan represents an opportunity to invest in a neighbourhood in which, like Allied, Westbank already has a significant stake.