Buying the world: 6 iconic properties owned by Canadians

Canadians are taking over New York, buying a record US$3.85 billion in property on Manhattan in this year alone, according to data from Real Capital Analytics Inc.

The company, which monitors commercial real estate transactions, said Canadians have spent more than any other foreign country in the last decade on property in New York’s most expensive borough.

Canadian pension funds and other investors have extensive real estate holdings overseas, not just in our neighbour to the south. Here are some of the most iconic and interesting buildings in which Canadians have a stake:

Leadenhall Building, London, U.K.

One of London’s tallest buildings, the wedge-shaped Leadenhall Building was built by developers British Land and Toronto-based Oxford Properties. Known informally as the “cheese grater,” the tapered 46-storey building is the fourth-tallest in London and a distinctive part of the city’s skyline.

The building, at the heart of the City of London’s financial district, opened in July 2014 after seven years of construction that was delayed by the financial crisis. Oxford Properties calls the steel-framed building a “physical celebration of cutting edge design and engineering.”

Canary Wharf, London, U.K.

Other Canadian companies also have a piece of London’s business real estate. Around half of the Canary Wharf district, one of the U.K. capital’s two major financial centres, is owned by a company in which Canadian company Brookfield Property Partners LP has a 22 per cent stake.

The Canary Wharf Group, which is majority owned by the sovereign wealth fund of oil-rich Qatar, says it owns 7.9 million square feet of the roughly 14 million square feet of commercial office and retail space in the district.

21^st Century Fox headquarters, New York City

Despite the America-first posturing of the Fox News Channel, the 45-storey world headquarters of Rupert Murdoch’s 21^st Century Fox at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New York City is mostly owned by the people of Quebec. The provincial pension fund, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, bought a 51 per cent managing interest in the building in 2013 through its Ivanhoe Cambridge subsidiary. The building now houses the studios for the Fox News Channel, as well as other Fox properties, including the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post.

Xintiandi District, Shanghai

Canadians have a stake in some of China’s premiere shopping and tourist destinations. In 2013 Brookfield Property Partners spent $500 million for a stake in China Xintiandi, a company named after the popular and historically significant Xintiandi district of Shanghai where it undertook a $200-million redevelopment beginning in 1997.

The Chinese company now owns major malls and commercial buildings in other cities, but the Xintiandi project remains its crown jewel. The neighbourhood is home to top Communist Party functionaries and a museum commemorating the spot of the first national congress of the Chinese Communist Party.

Featuring modern restaurants, shops and boutiques selling high-fashion and luxury goods, as well as restored buildings demonstrating Shanghai’s Shikumen architectural style, the Xintiandi development is one of Shanghai’s biggest tourist attractions.

The 27 Club, Tianjin, China

Canadian company Pacific Links International hasn’t put its money into skyscrapers, but it does own some of the most well-manicured real estate in the world. One of the company’s golf courses, the 27 Club in Tianjin, China, was designed with the input of 27 golf champions, including Fred Couples, Vijay Singh, and Annika Sorenstam.

The course is part of a residential development and six-star resort that aims to be the Chinese answer to the famed Augusta National course in Georgia, the home of the Master’s Tournament.

Justin Bieber’s glass house, Los Angeles

While Justin Bieber doesn’t own a home after selling his Calabasas mansion in 2014 following his arrested for egging a neighbour’s house, his recent digs are still worthy of mention. The Canadian singer has lived in several ultra-luxury homes in Los Angeles, and he reportedly took up residence in what is known as the Beverly Hills Glass House in December 2014.

The circular 6,500-square-foot home in exclusive Coldwater Canyon was designed by high-profile modernist architect Ed Niles and features massive walls of glass that give residents an expansive view of Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean. The building features a large central courtyard and steel-beam construction, leading some critics to dub it the “salad spinner.” With six bedrooms, six and a half bathrooms, a seven-car garage, an infinity pool and elevator, the home features everything a hard-partying pop star needs. Bieber was reportedly spending $59,000 a month.