"The total purchase price of approximately $62 million will be funded by existing cash and the assumption of an existing first mortgage providing solid FFO accretion to the REIT," Thomas added. The City of Pointe Claire, located on Montreal's West Island, has a thriving population base with strong demographics and household income. "We have the potential to add additional density to this centre which fits perfectly with our strategy to intensify our portfolio with additional retail as well as residential, seniors' housing, and even storage in selected locations, expanding each centre's offering to meet the needs of its community. By leveraging the capabilities of our extensive development platform, we are now working on adding value to a number of our existing retail sites as well as developing major urban mixed-use projects such as the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre," further added Thomas.

About SmartREIT

SmartREIT is one of Canada's largest real estate investment trusts with total assets in excess of $8.6 billion. It owns and manages in excess of 31 million square feet in value-oriented, principally Walmart-anchored retail centres, having the strongest national and regional retailers as well as strong neighbourhood merchants. In addition, SmartREIT is a joint-venture partner in the Toronto and Montreal Premium Outlets with Simon Property Group. SmartREIT's core vision is to provide a value-oriented shopping experience in all forms to Canadian consumers and to create high quality mixed use developments in urban settings.

With SmartREIT's 2015 acquisition of SmartCentres, SmartREIT has transformed into a fully integrated real estate provider. SmartREIT and SmartCentres have had a long and successful alliance, helping to provide Canadians with value-focused retail shopping centres across the country. Now, the alliance has grown even stronger, the result is a fully integrated real estate provider with expertise in planning, development, leasing, operations and construction - all under one roof. For more information on SmartREIT, visit www.smartreit.com.