Article
CBRE Finds Wealthsimple a New HQ at The Well in Toronto
October 14, 2026 4 Minute
The office is officially back in downtown Toronto and CBRE is driving the leasing action.
CBRE’s Mackenzie Sharpe helped financial services firm Wealthsimple secure 90,000 sq. ft. across three floors at 460 Front St. W., part of Allied Properties REIT and RioCan REIT’s The Well development. It’s one of the largest downtown Toronto office leases inked over the past year, according to Sharpe.
The space, which Wealthsimple is designing from the ground up – and describes as a “future-forward” workplace that’s “built to support how teams work today and where the company is headed next” – will serve as its new headquarters and be roughly twice the size of its current HQ at 80 Spadina, also an Allied property. Move in is slated for early 2028.
The office at 460 Front, part of a mixed-use building with ground-floor retail, will feature spaces for the onboarding of new Wealthsimple workers and for collaboration, planning and team-building, as well as flexible event spaces for its people, clients and the broader community.
“They're really excited about being able to build to their own specs and encourage the connectivity with their employees across business functions and enhance the employee experience,” says Sharpe. “The design strategy is rooted in creating demand through experience, making the workplace a destination employees don't want to miss.”
Wealthsimple – with 1,500-plus employees, most of them in the GTA, plus coworking hubs in Calgary, Vancouver, New York, and San Francisco to support a distributed workforce – will eventually take a fourth floor when a current sublease expires, occupying the entire office portion of 460 Front for a total footprint of 124,000 sq. ft.
“People do great work when they have the space to connect, ask questions, and build trust with each other,” said Wealthsimple’s Chief People Officer Diana McLachlan. “This new headquarters lets us design those environments with intention - spaces that make it easier to collaborate, solve hard problems, and keep building the products Canadians rely on every day.”
How It Happened
The transaction was years in the making, with Sharpe regularly advising Wealthsimple on market conditions and potential opportunities while the company considered its next move.
“We had been in regular dialogue for several years as they evaluated their options,” he says. “Wealthsimple was closely tracking the Toronto market, and my role was to help them stay ahead of it by identifying opportunities and providing real-time market intelligence.”
In the summer of 2025 Wealthsimple issued a request for proposals (RFP) for representation, which Sharpe ultimately secured. “Knowing the market, we got out and toured immediately. Within days, we had shortlisted potential properties and issued RFPs to landlords.
“We moved quickly because we understood how rapidly the market was tightening, and we knew we needed to keep multiple options in play given the level of competition.”
After narrowing the field to four prospects, Wealthsimple ultimately secured space at 460 Front “in a very timely manner, staying ahead of the competition,” says Sharpe. He notes the transaction was completed in less than three months, aided by the fact that Wealthsimple remained within Allied's portfolio. “That really helped strengthen our position and allowed us to complete the deal so efficiently.”
Few Large Office Blocks Left
Speed was of the essence on the Wealthsimple deal, Sharpe points out, with fewer large office blocks remaining in downtown Toronto amid the return-to-office push from banks and tech firms, which are snapping up much of the quality larger blocks of space.
“In the summer of 2025 there were about 26 large blocks above 100,000 sq. ft. A year later we're now down to 12, and we expect by the end of this year that number will be in the high single digits,” Sharpe says. “It just shows how quickly those large blocks got leased and how the supply is continuing to rapidly decline.”
Deal dynamics have changed as a result. “We’re now seeing landlords start to re-trade their deal terms mid negotiations as spaces lease up,” he says. “While a few large block opportunities remain, the overall downtown Toronto market is getting more competitive and shifting toward a landlord-favoured market for top tier office.”
‘Office Is Definitely Back’
The office is definitely back in Toronto and Sharpe says it’s causing a ripple effect in our downtown office nodes.
“A lot of the mid-size companies were waiting to see what the larger tech groups and banks were doing before they made any moves. There are a number of 20,000 sq. ft. groups and hyper growth tech companies currently entering and active in the market. This is where we feel the next wave of absorption will come from.”
“Vacancy in the city's been declining,” he adds. “Things are moving fast and we're down to a very small set of large block options. The quickest new-build office that can be delivered in Toronto will be in 2032 with The Hub at 30 Bay St.”
“Toronto’s office market tends to be an indicator of where the rest of the country will be headed,” he says. “I’m looking forward to continue working with Wealthsimple to stay ahead of the curve and find great workspaces where their people can thrive.”
Recent Insights
-
CBRE’s Mackenzie Sharpe helped financial services firm Wealthsimple secure 90,000 sq. ft. across three floors at 460 Front St. W., part of Allied Properties REIT and RioCan REIT’s The Well development.
-
CBRE analysis shows FIFA World Cup brought mixed results for Toronto and Vancouver hotels, as room cancellations offset higher pricing momentum.
-
Montreal life sciences sector is stable in 2026, driven by downtown hub migration, AI integration, and demand for graduation lab space.
Stay In The Know
Subscribe today and join hundreds of professionals who get the latest blogs delivered straight to their inbox.