Good morning, and welcome to the twenty twenty one Annual Meeting of Unitholders for First Capital Real Estate Investment Trust. I'm Bernard McDonnell, and I serve as the Chair of First Capital REIT's Board of Trustees. Each year, we look forward to the opportunity to speak with our unitholders at our AGM. Although we are unable to meet in person due to the physical distancing measures in place, we have attempted to replicate, as best we can, our regular meeting in a virtual environment. As in previous years, after the formal portion of the meeting, management will provide a comprehensive update on the Trust's business and operations.
Members of management, who you will hear from later in the meeting, have also joined us this morning via webcast, including Adam Paul, our President and Chief Executive Officer Jordan Robbins, our Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Neil Downey, our Executive Vice President, Enterprise Strategies and Chief Financial Officer Michelle Wachow, our Senior Vice President, Brand and Culture and Alison Harnick, our Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Members of First Capital's Board of Trustees and the balance of the executive leadership team are also attending remotely. I will chair the meeting, and Alison Harnik will act as secretary. First, we would like to discuss how voting and questions will be addressed in this virtual format. Usually, and this year is no exception, the vast majority of unitholders submit proxies or voting instructions in advance of the meeting with only a small number of unitholders opting to vote their units at the meeting.
Under normal circumstances, unitholders or proxy holders who wish to vote at the meeting would be required to attend the meeting in person. Instead, voting during today's meeting will be conducted through the online platform. We will conduct the votes on the matters before us by a poll. On a poll, every unitholder entitled to vote has one vote in respect of each unit held by that unitholder. The poll will be open for all resolutions at the same time.
This will allow you to choose to vote on each resolution immediately or wait until the conclusion of discussion on each resolution prior to casting your vote. If you have voted in advance of the meeting and do not wish to revoke your previously submitted proxies, then you do not need to do anything. Another manner in which this virtual meeting will be different is with respect to questions, which will be accepted from registered unitholders and proxy holders through the online platform. To submit a question, click on the Q and A icon at the top of your computer screen. When submitting a question, please identify if it relates to a motion being considered as part of the formal business of the meeting or whether it is general in nature.
We will address questions relating to a particular motion at the appropriate time in the meeting and save general questions until after the formal business has been completed. Questions with common themes may be grouped together for efficiency. We will read the questions aloud prior to our response. We'll make every effort to answer all your questions during today's question and answer period. However, in the interest of time, we will limit that portion of the meeting to twenty minutes, and we'll address any unanswered questions in a timely manner afterwards.
In the unlikely event of a serious technological failure that prevents the meeting from continuing, the meeting will be rescheduled. Please note that only registered unitholders or their proxies are entitled take part in and vote at this meeting. To make the best use of our time, certain unitholders have been asked to move and second the proposals, which are called for in the notice of the meeting. Before we start, I would ask Alison to provide the necessary caution regarding forward looking statements.
Good morning. On behalf of those speaking today, I would like to note that their comments may include forward looking information and forward looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, and they may refer to non IFRS financial measures. Details regarding forward looking statements and non IFRS financial measures are on screen and can be found in the REIT's various securities filings, including its most recent MD and A and current annual information form and annual report to unitholders. These can be found on SEDAR and on the REIT's website. Actual results could differ materially from the forecast, projections and conclusions in the forward looking statements made today.
All of the forward looking information and statements that we may provide, which includes all information other than statements of current and historical fact, is qualified by the cautionary statement posted on the screen.
The meeting will now come to order. Representatives of Computershare Trust Company of Canada, the REIT's transfer agent, have been appointed to act as scrutineers. Notice of the meeting, including the agenda for today, was mailed to unitholders on or about 05/21/2021. The scrutineer has confirmed that proxies representing over 77% of the units entitled to vote at the meeting have been properly deposited prior to the meeting and that a quorum is present. I now declare that the meeting is properly constituted for the transaction of business.
The first item of business is the presentation of our 20 '20 audited consolidated financial statements, together with the auditor's report. These are included in the annual report, which was provided to unitholders and can also be retrieved from the Investors section of the First Capital website or SEDAR. Please note, we will address any questions respecting the financial statements in the question period. I will now proceed with the next item of business, the election of trustees. Nine trustees are to be elected, and detailed information regarding each of the nine trustees is set out in the circular.
This year, we have two new trustee nominees, Sheila Boddy and Ian Clark. John Hagen, who has served on the Board for eighteen years and Dori Siegel, our Founder, who has served on the Board for over twenty years, including as its Chair and before that, as President and CEO, are not standing for reelection as trustees of the REIT. On behalf of the board, I would like to thank them for their significant contributions during their tenure. The Board has adopted majority voting policy that permits unitholders to vote in favor of or withhold from voting separately for each nominee. Details concerning the policy are available in the circular, and the full policy is available on our website.
Based on the proxies received by the scrutineers in advance of the meeting, each trustee nominated received votes in favor from a range of at least 95% to 99% of the votes cast. Pursuant to Section 6.7 of the declaration of trust at the REIT, trustee nominations were required to be received thirty days prior to the meeting. As no such nominations were received, no one, other than management's proposed nominees, as set out in the circular, is eligible to be nominated. Alison, were there any questions or comments submitted in connection with the nomination and election of trustees?
No, Bernie. We have not received any questions or comments related to this item.
Thank you. As mentioned, I've taken the liberty of asking certain unitholders to make the motions for the election of trustees and other motions today. Could I please have a motion for the election of trustees?
Mr. Chairman, my name is Elton Derbyshe. I'm a unit holder of First Capital REIT. I nominate the following persons for election as trustees of First Capital Real Estate Investment Trust to hold office as trustees of the REIT until the next annual meeting of unitholders or until their successors are duly elected or appointed. Bernard McDonnell, Leonard Abramski, Sheila Botting, Ian Clark, Paul Douglas, Annalisa King, Al Mawani, Adam Poehl, and Andrea Steven.
Mr. Chairman, my name
is Noah Parker, and I'm a unit holder of First Capital REIT. I second the motion.
Thank you. Voting through the online portal is now open for all resolutions. As a reminder, if you have already voted or sent in your proxy, there is no need to do anything unless you wish to change your vote. Once the online poll closes after all items of business have been considered, the scrutineers will tabulate the votes cast, and we will report on the results towards the end of the meeting. We will now move to the appointment of auditors and authorization of the trustees to fix the remuneration.
Alison, were there any questions or comments submitted in connection with the appointment of auditors?
No, we have not received any questions or comments.
Thank you. May I have a motion to appoint the auditors and authorize the trustees to fix their remuneration?
Mr. Chairman, I move that Ernst and Young LLP be reappointed auditors of First Capital REIT to hold office until the next Annual Meeting of Unitholders or until their successors are appointed and to authorize the trustees to fix their remuneration.
Mr. Chairman, I second the motion.
Thank you. The portal remains open for voting. Once closed, the scrutineers will tabulate the votes cast, and we will report on the results towards the end of the meeting. The next item of business is the advisory resolution regarding First Capital's approach to executive compensation, which is disclosed in detail in the circular. A copy of the resolution is set out in the circular.
Alison, were there any questions or comments submitted in connection with this matter?
No, Bernie. We have not received any questions or comments.
Thank you. May I have a motion to approve on an advisory basis First Capital's approach to executive compensation?
Mr. Chairman, I move that the nonbinding advisory resolution on the REIT's approach to executive compensation in the form set out in the circular be approved. Mr. Chairman, I second the motion.
Thank you. As this is the last item of business, the online portal will remain open for voting for a few more moments. This brings us to the end of voting on items of business before this meeting, and I therefore declare the polls closed. Thank you for casting your votes. The scrutineers will tabulate the votes cast, and then we will report back on the results momentarily.
Following this formal portion of the meeting, there will be a presentation from management concerning the REIT's strategies and operations. We would remind you that if you wish to submit a question through the online portal, that you do so before the end of management's presentation so that it may be addressed in the Q and A period that will follow. I am pleased to report that we have now received the preliminary voting results from the scrutineer on the three items of business. The formal voting results will be made available on SEDAR following the meeting. On the election of trustees, the voting results show that each trustee nominee has received votes in favor from a range of at least 95% to 99% of the votes cast.
Accordingly, I declare that the proposed trustee nominees have been duly elected as trustees of First Capital REIT to hold office until the next AGM of unitholders or until they resign or their successors are duly elected or appointed. On the election of auditors, the voting results show that approximately 99% of votes cast were in favor of the reappointment of Ernst and Young LLP as the auditors of First Capital REIT. I declare Ernst and Young LLP are reappointed auditors of First Capital REIT and that the trustees are authorized to fix the auditors' remuneration. On the advisory vote on First Capital's approach to executive compensation, approximately 83% of the votes cast were voted in favor of First Capital's approach to executive compensation. The motion is carried, and the resolution is approved.
As we have come to the end of the formal portion of the meeting, we will terminate the meeting now. May I have a motion to terminate the meeting?
Mr. Chairman, I move that the meeting terminate.
Mr. Chairman, I second the motion.
Thank you. I declare the meeting terminated. Before I pass things over to Adam for the management presentation, I would like to pay tribute to our departing directors, Dory Siegel and John Hagen. Dory is widely and rightfully regarded as the founder of First Capital REIT. Ever the consummate entrepreneur, Dory took the helm at First Capital in 2000 and proceeded to build a first class business grounded in solid real estate practices and forward looking in trends and best operational practices.
Whether as CEO, the Chair or since 2019 as a Director, Dore has always guided himself by what he believes is right for FCR. A tenacious debater, Dore enjoys the challenge of defending his beliefs and is able to draw on a wide range of experience, both Canadian and global, in order to do so. His insights and accomplishments over his twenty one years with the company have provided the solid foundation upon which First Capital will continue to build in the years to come. John Hagen's career with First Capital actually started before he joined the Board in 02/2003. John's strong business acumen was called upon by Chaim, Katzmann and Dori to help navigate the sale of First Capital's U.
S. Portfolio to a Gazit related company in The States. John is a true student of the real estate industry. Despite his vast real estate experience, John never misses a chance to update himself on trends, regulations and the successes of other real estate ventures. In his eighteen years as a director, John has participated on several committees, but the one which stands out are his services of Chair of the Audit Committee.
John's commitment to detail, his strong analytical mind and his penchant for keeping abreast of accounting requirements ensured that this entrepreneurial company always provides best in class reporting. The relentlessness with which John reviews our financial reporting has provided great comfort to his fellow directors over the years. First Capital has greatly benefited from the Board services of these two directors. As they step aside as part of our Board renewal process. We wish them well, knowing fully they will be rooting for our future success.
I know that once the pandemic restrictions are over, the Board is looking forward to the opportunity to meet for drinks and a meal to properly pay tribute to their services over the years. I will now pass things over to Adam.
Thank you, Bernie. Good morning, fellow unitholders, and thank you for joining us. We hope you're keeping healthy and well. Today, for the second year in a row, our AGM is taking place virtually. But we look forward to the day, which we hope will be next year, when we can once again hold this meeting in person at one of our properties as we had done prior to the pandemic.
2020 was a year like no other. For individuals, businesses, and global economies, the impact of the pandemic has proven to be one of the most difficult periods in a generation. But over one year later, there is reason for optimism. Economies are now opening up, and consumer mobility and confidence continues to improve. But there will be lasting effects.
The pandemic has imposed the greatest physical and mental health impacts on some of the most vulnerable. The resulting economic impact has also been disproportionate to those who can least afford it. Collectively, these dynamics have highlighted some of the inequities in our society. This has only reinforced our longstanding commitment to sustainability, social responsibility, and strong governance. One of our key corporate accountabilities in 2020 was to develop a long term ESG strategy.
Through the work of our ESG task force, we created an extensive ESG roadmap to align these efforts right across the organization. The roadmap identifies 15 priority subjects, spanning climate resilience to equity, diversity, and inclusion, and outlines our five year vision, along with an action plan to get us there, including departmental accountabilities and targets at all levels of the organization. An important measure of progress I'd like to highlight is FCR being recognized for the second year in a row as a leader in gender diversity by the Globe and Mail on the Women Lead Here list, a designation recognizing very strong gender diversity metrics at the senior levels. But we know there is much more to do to address workplace inequities. We have all witnessed the acts of racism targeted at various minority groups.
To be clear, we believe there is no place for discrimination of any kind in our workplace or communities. As a leader in the Canadian real estate industry, we have a responsibility to proactively address and eliminate acts of bigotry, discrimination, and prejudice to create a safe and trusted environment that will elevate opportunities for all employees, both current and prospective. To that end, we have done a number of things so far. Signing the Black North Initiative Pledge was one of them. More importantly, we established our own Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Council to develop an action plan that will sustain a culture of belonging, where all employees have an equal opportunity to thrive, love what they do, and grow their careers.
Consistent with this priority, we are also focused on further improving diverse representation at the senior leadership and board levels. I'm very proud of our progress thus far in these key areas. However, there is much more to do, as we aim to uphold our position as an industry leader in ESG practices. Michelle Walcott will discuss this further during today's presentation. We are emerging from the pandemic, confident in our strategy and the choices that guided us in 2020.
First Capital's portfolio is built on a solid foundation of well located, open air retail centers in urban markets that offer services and everyday essentials, such as grocery, liquor, pharmacy, government and medical services, among many others, to best meet the needs of the people who live in the neighborhoods in which we operate. This asset class performed very well before the pandemic and continued to do so during it. One of our competitive advantages is the ownership and management of these types of retail properties. Simply put, they are more valuable in our hands than anyone else's. So we will continue to selectively add centers in primary markets, in many cases alongside some of our key institutional relationships, where SCR is the managing partner and is compensated accordingly.
One of the things the pandemic has done, at least in the shorter term, is stretched the geographic boundaries of some of our urban markets. In addition to the high quality, grocery anchored shopping center part of our business, we are making great progress on our super urban assets, which Jordy Robbins will provide an update on today. Despite the narrative by some concerning the exodus from cities, we have seen a very narrow impact of this phenomenon in our business. And we have reason to believe the little we have seen will be short lived. Our conviction in our super urban strategy, which is focused on established, high growth neighborhoods situated in Canada's largest cities, is based on the multi century evolution of cities as the principal place of preference for the majority of people to live, work, socialize, educate, and so on.
Our 24,000,000 square foot density pipeline, which is largely residential, is situated predominantly in super urban markets in which housing demand continues to exceed supply, most notably in Toronto, which comprises over half of our pipeline. So our portfolio is exceptionally well positioned in this regard, offering significant benefits and opportunities ahead for both FCR and the neighborhoods in which we operate. Thanks to the incredible effort and creativity of our leasing team, supported by their colleagues in operations, development, and legal, to name a few, 2,800,000 square feet of lease transactions across the portfolio were completed last year. This contributed to a strong year end occupancy exceeding 96%. Add to that an average rent increase on lease renewals, which exceeded our long term average, and it's clear that twenty twenty's leasing statistics were a solid outcome for a normal year, much less one that was impacted by a global pandemic.
Neil Downey will review our capital deployment activities, which included new investments and dispositions, all consistent with our strategy. Considering regional lockdowns and significant economic uncertainty through much of the year, the dispositions specifically were no small feat for our investments team, particularly given pricing exceeded our IFRS values for these sales. Overall, these capital allocation activities advanced our portfolio demographic metrics, allowing us to achieve our population density target ahead of schedule. Throughout 2020 and into 2021, we have also continued to advance construction on our active development projects and progress our density pipeline, with numerous submissions progressing through the zoning and entitlement process. We expect this pipeline to be a meaningful source of value creation and realization in 2021 and beyond.
Turning to our balance sheet. It remains strong and flexible, as Neil will outline. However, we aspire to make it even stronger. Therefore, we will continue to prioritize strengthening our balance sheet this year and next. This will come from additional asset sales, including development density to strategic partners, a normalization of our NOI as our restricted tenants reopen, and some retained capital from our reduced distribution.
As we convene today, the province of Ontario's stay at home order has only recently been lifted. That was our third lockdown in Ontario, and it impacted more than half of our portfolio by value. Notwithstanding the dark clouds that have been lingering in 2021, we see bright skies ahead. We see that people in certain other parts of the world are now going about their daily lives in a manner that is much more consistent with pre pandemic ways. And today, our tenant roster is stronger, more flexible, more digitally adept, and far better equipped to adapt to changing operating conditions than a year ago.
These dynamics provide us with an optimistic eye to the future. With the passage of time, the major challenges and outcomes of the past year have ultimately reinforced our confidence in our real estate strategy, in our tenant base, and in our purpose of creating thriving urban neighborhoods to generate value for businesses, residents, communities, and our investors. Before I close, I'd like to take a moment to thank our departing trustees, Dory Siegel and John Hagen, for their dedication to First Capital and many years of service, positioning us well for the future. I'd also like to welcome Sheila Botting and Ian Clark to the board. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the tremendous efforts of the entire First Capital team.
Our group's never been stronger. In the face of working physically apart for months on end, the team remains focused, cohesive, and results oriented. As I've stated in the past, this is a testament to the culture that we have built and continue to build over many years. And with that, I will now turn things over to Neil.
Thank you, Adam, and good morning to our viewers, and thank you too for joining us today. 2020 was a difficult year. We are, however, pleased with how the FCR team navigated and adapted to the difficult and ever changing environment and how the team assisted and supported our tenants, our communities and each other through the many challenges. In terms of bottom line results, our 2020 funds from operations per unit of $1.01 was down 18% from twenty nineteen's record $1.23 Due to the process of reducing our debt and improving our portfolio quality through property dispositions, we knew our 2020 FFO was very unlikely to match the 2019 figure. What we could not have planned for, however, was the significant economic effects of the pandemic and extended lockdowns.
In 2020, these factors hurt our variable revenue sources and they were responsible for nearly $23,000,000 or $0.10 per unit of charge offs related to forgiven and uncollectible rent. In the face of lower year over year FFO, several of our key 2020 operating metrics were however above their historical averages, including our solid leasing velocity, a key component of which was lease renewals covering 2,100,000 square feet. These renewals achieved a strong average rent increase of 9.3%. This rent growth exceeded the 8.4% average increase over the prior five years and it was slightly above our ten year average of 9%. Our portfolio also achieved a year end twenty twenty average net rental rate of $21.89 per square foot.
This represented growth of 3% for the year, which was achieved through higher rents on lease renewals, contractual rent escalations and new tenant openings at higher rental rates. Growth in our average rent was also generated by newly developed space coming online and the continued high grading of our property portfolio through dispositions, which further increased our super urban neighborhood concentration. Thirdly, we made progress on several demographic metrics that we believe are important to our long term performance. Specifically, our portfolio carries an aggregate walk score of 72, which is considered very walkable. More than 99% of our properties are located within a five minute walk to public transit.
And finally, by the third quarter of twenty twenty, we reached an average population density of 304,000 within a five kilometer radius of each of our properties. This latter measure improved by nearly 50% over the four prior years. It was achieved earlier than our year end 2021 target, and it makes First Capital a North American leader on this basis. Our portfolio occupancy rounded out 2020 at 96.2%. Understandably, this was down 70 basis points for the year from an all time high occupancy of 96.9% achieved at the end of twenty nineteen.
However, our year end 2020 occupancy was still slightly above our five year average of 95.9%. Turning back to the subject of leasing for a moment, we're pleased to report that 2020 was a super year for Yorkville Village. Yorkville was the top destination for international retailers entering the Canadian marketplace. Last year, 13 international retailers were new to Canada and almost one quarter chose Yorkville Village for their first Canadian location. These new entrants included Bash, a contemporary women's fashion brand from France.
Couples diamonds from The United States, focusing on lab grown sustainable diamonds and engagement rings. And Polestar, a high performance electric car brand from Sweden. Yorkville Village's leasing momentum continues in 2021. This year, the Webster, a multi brand luxury retailer from The U. S, also chose Yorkville Village for its first Canadian location.
As we do every year in 2020, we continue to invest in the business to the tune of $282,000,000 in total. This investment activity included $77,000,000 of property acquisitions, all of which added to our presence in super urban neighborhoods $50,000,000 in property improvements, capital expenditures and leasing costs and $155,000,000 of development activities, where our single largest project spend was in West End Toronto at our Dundas and Auckland sites. Recently named Station Place, this 40 storey tower is located adjacent to the Kipling TTC and GO Transit hub. And my colleague, Jordy Robbins, will tell you more about this new development in a few moments. While 2020 was a difficult time in which to operate commercial real estate, it was also a challenging time to transact on the buy and sell front.
However, over the course of 2020, the FCR team was able to complete $251,000,000 of property dispositions. The aggregate value realized from these dispositions was slightly above our carrying values, and the transactions brought our two year sales total to GBP 1,100,000,000.0, pushing us through the 70% marker on the GBP 1,500,000,000.0 property sales objective we established in 2019. FCR rounded out 2020 in a strong financial position, which it maintains today. At year end, approximately $7,000,000,000 or 70% of the REIT's assets, including many of its best properties, were unencumbered. The REIT's liquidity position consisting of cash and undrawn credit exceeded $900,000,000 With a rapidly spreading second wave of the pandemic in late twenty twenty followed by a significant round of lockdowns across many regions, in January 2021, we announced a 50% reduction in our monthly distribution.
This move creates an additional $95,000,000 of retained cash annually, giving us significant additional financial flexibility. Over time, this enhanced cash retention will allow for higher FFO per unit and higher net asset value per unit than would otherwise be the case. Owing to the stability in our operating metrics, the profile of our debt ladder and our strong liquidity, we were able to make this early twenty twenty one distribution decision on our own terms and timing. And with the added flexibility accruing to the REIT within the context of ongoing lockdowns, the move appears to have been both positively received by our debenture holders and our unitholders. Unfortunately, through much of the first half of this year, several of our largest markets remain subject to extended restrictions.
This includes the Greater Toronto Area, which represents more than 50% of our portfolio by value. While these circumstances have weighed upon our performance, they have also shown that our business is resilient in the face of challenging conditions. In this regard, the highlights of our first quarter results included: FFO of $55,000,000 or $0.25 per unit, an increase of 2% over Q1 twenty twenty's results owing in large part to our reduced distribution, a Q1 FFO payout ratio that was an industry leading low 43%, down from eighty eight percent one year prior. Q1 same property NOI growth of plus 0.4%. While this was a modest growth rate, it was indeed growth, and it was produced in the face of restricted lockdowns while being comped against the quarter that was our last pre pandemic set of financial results.
Moreover, our first quarter twenty twenty one same property NOI was depressed by 2.7% due to higher bad debt expense. We have also maintained solid leasing momentum. In Q1 of this year, we renewed leases covering 450,000 square feet of area, and these renewals achieved a rental rate uplift of 8.4%. Adding in the impact of rent escalations and new development coming online, our Q1 average net rent reached $21.99 per square foot, a new all time high and equating to growth of $0.48 per square foot or 2% on a year over year basis. And finally, FCR's leverage and liquidity measures also remained steady.
At 03/31/2021, the REIT's net debt to total assets ratio of 47% was unchanged from year end 2020. FCR maintains $739,000,000 of liquidity and total remaining twenty twenty one debt maturities were only $118,000,000 representing about 2% of total outstanding indebtedness. So overall, in the face of continued restrictions, FCR's operating results and financial leverage have remained steady and its liquidity position strong. With sizable FFO retention and expected asset sales proceeds as the year progresses, it is clear that First Capital is in a position of financial strength. In the coming weeks, I know that we all look forward to a return to greater social mobility and broad based openings for our tenants.
I will now turn our session over to FCR's Chief Operating Officer, Jordy Robbins, to provide some exciting updates on our key entitlement milestones and our development activities. Jordy?
Thanks, Neil. 2020 was a year that tested us all, personally and professionally. While we are of course very happy to have in our rearview mirror, I can say that 2020 taught us a great deal about the resiliency of our portfolio and our team in the face of real adversity. What's more, in 2020, despite COVID, we made great strides in entitling, building, and monetizing our density pipeline. I could not be prouder with how we, as a company, performed in response to this once in a generation event.
As Adam touched on, we view our strategy of creating meaningful positions in complete, high growth neighborhoods with assets that provide essential services more relevant today than ever before. So we remain focused on growing our position in these neighborhoods through strategic acquisitions and through our related density pipeline. Currently, entitlement submissions for 15 of our 24,000,000 square foot pipeline are at various stages of approval with municipalities across the country. In 2021 and 2022, we expect to submit applications for a further 1,900,000 square feet of incremental density, with applications for the remaining 7,000,000 square feet to follow. But as we've said in the past, we don't arbitrarily entitle assets simply because there exists an opportunity to do so.
Our goal is to help build inclusive and sustainable neighborhoods with unique identities, significant public realm, curated merchandising, and thoughtfully designed buildings. In 2020, we continued to move our entitlement program forward and submitted applications for an additional 2,700,000 square feet of incremental density. More importantly, we began to reap the fruits of our labor from prior years. In 2020, we obtained the approvals for over 4,000,000 square feet of incremental density, And we started or continued construction on over 800,000 square feet of new space. This is a testament to our development and construction teams, as these metrics are no small feat in any year, but particularly this past year, being subject to online statutory community meetings and work from home requirements.
I will highlight some of our key entitlement milestones shortly, but given the advances made building out our pipeline in 2020 and '21, I thought I'd begin here. In Montreal, the construction of the first phase of our Wilderton development located in Cote D'Inege continued to progress. The majority of the 110,000 square feet of retail space has been pre leased, and we are nearing completion and expect to deliver possession to Metro and Farma Pre in the second quarter of this year. With the progress we've made to date on the project, we are now in the process of selecting a residential development partner for the final phase, consisting of a 200,000 square foot, 111 unit residential rental building that we plan to begin construction on next year. In Toronto, we received our occupancy permit for the first 30 floors of Station Place, our newly named mixed use retail and rental residential project located at Dundas and Auckland, abutting the Kipling Transit hub.
Leasing of the residential component will commence later this year. Farm Boy took possession of its 26,000 square foot space in April and is currently fixturing with a planned opening date later this year. We completed the construction of a 70,000 square foot expansion to our Leaside Village Centre in Toronto, which was deemed essential given our new tenants operate in the health care sector. The centre is now 97% leased. The tenants in the new building, including Shoppers Drug Mart, PetSmart, and a collection of specialty medical office tenants, took possession of their respective premises in q one, with a plan to open later this year.
We know the addition of these new uses will broaden and enhance consumer appeal to this geothermal open air center anchored by a longo supermarket. By incorporating these new lands, it also helps the center to function better. The expanded retail center now has frontage and access from three public streets, which enhances consumer convenience and traffic flow for the entire center. Construction has commenced at our 50 unit townhome joint venture development with Green Park that is located adjacent to our Rutherford marketplace. The final units were sold in Q1 twenty twenty one, with registration scheduled to occur in June and all closings to occur before the end of the year.
Considering what we're seeing both in our portfolio and in the market more broadly, we retain a positive view towards mixed use development in our super urban neighborhoods. Most of our 24,000,000 square foot development pipeline is residential. And across the country, and in Toronto specifically, where over half of this density is located, there remains a housing supply shortage. So we continue to advance our entitlement program as this shortage, coupled with low interest rates, is driving residential demand and in turn density and housing pricing higher. We know, however, that submitting for entitlements is only the first step.
Securing the required approvals and then monetizing the associated density value are the next critical stages on our path to creating meaningful positions in select, high growth neighborhoods across the country. This process requires stamina, as the municipal approval process takes time. As I had indicated, our work and our patience has begun to pay dividends. In 02/2020, we received approval for over 4,000,000 square feet of incremental density that we had applied for in the preceding years. Monetization of this density can occur in several forms and at various stages of a project cycle.
As we did in Leaside, we can elect to expand in the neighborhoods in which we have a position by building the related density ourselves. Alternatively, given the depth of demand for this density, we can monetize a portion of this value through the sale of a partial interest to a strategic and an aligned partner. The recycled capital can be used to fund our development program, and a strategic partner can help us to expand our position and realize our broader vision for the neighborhood. In 2020, we advanced a number of existing and also entered into several new relationships. I want to spend the next few minutes sharing with you some of the details of this work as it underscores our Density Pipeline strategy and its value creating potential.
Back in 2018, we entered into an agreement to sell a 50% interest in a discrete portion of our Humbertown site to Tridel and to participate with them in its development. Sales at Edenbridge, the 260,000 square foot retail condominium mixed use joint venture project to be located on these lands progressed well in 2020, with 79% of the units now sold. As anticipated, given the demographic profile of the neighborhood, purchasers are primarily owner occupants. The former LCBO that was located on the future Edenbridge site has been relocated to the main shopping center adjacent to Loblaws, and the former store has been demolished. We expect closing of the sale to Tridel for the 50% interest to occur by the end of this year, construction to commence in 02/2021, and profit from the sale of these condominiums to be realized within the next several years.
We received council approval in 2020 for 1071 King Street, our second residential rental apartment project in Liberty Village. We expect to have all required approvals in place to start construction in late twenty one. The 200,000 square foot project will house approximately 200 new rental units. The proposed flat iron building design and scale fits appropriately into the surrounding context. We believe tenants value and will pay a premium for the benefits of living, shopping, and working in an authentic and a complete neighbourhood.
So we expect strong demand and solid market rates for this new residential rental building as well. After securing preliminary approvals in 2020, in Q1 of this year, we successfully launched the sales of our 400 King Street development joint venture with Plaza Corp, which we had entered into in 2016. Located on King Street West in Toronto, this 500,000 square foot mixed use retail condominium development was incredibly well received, with over three seventy five or 60% of the units sold within the first six weeks of launch. The average price of these units is about $1,400 a foot, higher than our pre COVID pricing expectations. We anticipate the start of construction at 400 King in early twenty twenty two.
In North Vancouver, we're redeveloping our smallest property in the neighborhood with Cressy, a residential partner that we have selected. Over the course of the last fifteen months, we've been working on securing the required municipal approvals for a proposed 70,000 square foot, 75 unit, multi family residential rental development. In 02/2020, we received final approvals and demolition of the structure is currently underway with first occupancy expected in 02/2023. For the last six years, we have worked tirelessly with the city of Toronto and the many stakeholders, including the surrounding community, to advance approvals for our 2150 Lakeshore Mill. In 02/2020, we made great progress in that regard.
On May 6, Toronto City Council approved the Christie Secondary Plan and Zoning By law, which governs our 28 acre development site. The approved zoning by law contemplates permission for 7,500,000 square feet of total density on our property. This is made up of 6,300,000 square feet of residential and a further 1,200,000 square feet of commercial density. The by law further contemplates approximately 7,500 new residential units with 15 tall towers ranging in height from 28 to 67 stories. First Capital has designed the project to provide a wide range of housing options with seven fifty units of affordable housing and a minimum of 3,000 family friendly two and three bedroom units.
Considering our broader strategy, our master plan for the property has been carefully designed to create a complete community. It includes the dedication of three acres of parkland for the creation of two public parks. There are also two civic squares, a provision for two elementary schools, a covered retail galleria, a public library, a community recreation centre, and public daycares. Our master plan also includes a multimodal transit hub integrating TTC and a new Go Train service for the broader community. There are still a few procedural steps for the zoning bylaw to become enacted and in full force, which we expect will occur by the end of this year.
Other properties where we're making meaningful progress include 138 Yorkville, our luxury condominium development located adjacent to both Yorkville Village Mall and our Hayston Hotel and Yonge And Roselawn, our proposed mixed use development located just north of the Eglinton LRT and the Yonge Subway Line Station. We look forward to sharing our progress with you on these projects and others over the next several quarters. Reflecting, 2020 was a difficult year for everyone. However, at FCR, we learned a great deal about the strength of our portfolio and of our team, who both performed admirably. Despite the adversity, we made great progress in titling, building and monetizing our density pipeline, and in so doing, executing on our strategy.
And now I will turn it over to Michele.
Thanks, Geordie. Despite the challenges the pandemic imposed on all of us in this unprecedented year, First Capital has delivered steady financial results, and that is directly related to the quality of our real estate and the talent at First Capital. Not to put too fine a point on this, but the team rose to a marathon challenge of the pandemic for the past fifteen months. Our team demonstrated resolve, creativity, empathy, team spirit and trust in supporting our tenants and each other throughout this challenging time. Without a doubt, working apart from each other had its challenges.
And then with the added concern of childcare, eldercare, and the unknown of the pandemic itself, the blend of work and home life had never been more blurred. But we found ways to support our team's mental well-being by connecting virtually through a robust wellness program that addressed issues and provided coping tools from online yoga and mindfulness training to wealth management and nutritional well-being. This program was made available not only to FCR staff, but to their family members and friends throughout the pandemic on our online portal. We found opportunities to be a part of a solution to help our team cope with the pressures of lockdown. We are extremely grateful for the resilience of our FCR team who kept our business moving forward.
It is a testament to our staff and our progressive people practices that FCR has once again been recognized for the second year in a row by The Globe and Mail as one of Greater Toronto's top 100 and Canada's best small to medium employers. We are very proud of this recognition. As Adam mentioned in his opening remarks, First Capital has a long track record of sustainability with the clear benefits of this approach being improved risk management and operational efficiencies. And this leads to increased property values and real cost savings and healthier communities. But as performance targets elevate, so does our strategy.
Our five year ESG roadmap is yet another industry best practice that demonstrates FCR's commitment to a more sustainable future, looking ahead to achieve carbon neutrality in 02/1950. Thanks to the dedication and efforts of our sustainability and operations team to drive results, we have made significant progress in the following areas. 100% of our portfolio has been assessed for climate risk and resilience. 3,800,000 square feet is LEED certified, and we have over 160 electric vehicle charging stations at our properties. Our strength in ESG standards and disclosure was once again validated through numerous ratings and rankings agencies, including achieving a AAA rating, the highest possible in the Morgan Stanley Capital International ESG ratings assessment as well as attaining a four star rating from the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark.
First Capital has been supporting artists and investing in the communities we serve for the last thirteen years. These memorable public art pieces are gathering places for our communities. At present, FCR has 30 art installations located in public common areas of select properties, two of which are being completed this summer. FCR has sponsored several competitions giving students and emerging artists an opportunity to showcase their talent. First Capital and our employees have a long history of volunteering and giving back to the local communities in which we live and work.
And in 2020, we launched the FCR Thriving Neighbourhoods Foundation, our employee run charitable foundation. This past 2020 holiday season, our first foundation initiative focused on addressing food insecurity and poverty in Canada. We raised over $66,000 in donations in the form of food items, monetary contributions from employees and our Board of Trustees, more than tripling our target. In addition to company run volunteer and fundraising initiatives, all full time FCR employees receive one paid day off each year to volunteer for a charity of their choice. Through charitable fundraising and paid time off to dedicate to a meaningful cause, FCR empowers employees to work together to engage in a common goal of helping our neighborhoods thrive.
2020 will be remembered as a year that brought us together during an imposed time apart. Yet through it all, we found ways to keep connected, thrive, and be better. With the vaccine rollout lifting restrictions and a bright future ahead, there's a growing sense of optimism for a return to a better normal and light at the end of the tunnel. That concludes our presentation. We will now open for questions.
We have now reached the question and answer portion of the meeting. However, as we have received no questions, I'll pass it back to Adam.
Okay. No questions. That's too bad. I'd like to take this opportunity on behalf of the Board and your executive team to thank you very much for attending our annual meeting and for staying through the presentation and for your support. Hope you have a wonderful day.
Thank you very much.