The family of late entrepreneur Joseph Kracauer is selling the last five buildings in his Montreal commercial real estate portfolio, CoStar reported.

All of the assets are office properties.

Joseph Kracauer built Colonia Development after immigrating to Canada in 1948. He died in 2023 and left his properties to his three sons. But the property-ownership arrangement did not work.

“When that reality occurred, I was hoping I could work with my brothers to keep the property and make it a family business, but it was not possible,” Benjamin Kracauer, one of the sons, told CoStar. “Very quickly, we determined we had no choice but to sell the buildings to get out of the Montreal real estate that we owned and go our separate ways.”

Benjamin Kracauer, who was born in Montreal and now lives in New York and works as an architect, is co-ordinating the divestments.

The first building to be sold is located at 1130-1140 Sherbrooke Street West, which is 30% vacant.

“This building was a turning point,” Benjamin Kracauer said in his interview with CoStar. “My father started his career by building housing in the ’50s in Chomedey, suburban Montreal, he then moved into industrial buildings on the Plateau. By the time he built 1130 Sherbrooke in 1975, he had already developed over a million square feet.”

The sale of the building is expected to close soon, he told CoStar.

Benjamin Kracauer was stoic about the coming end of his association with his hometown, according to CoStar.

“I’m not indifferent, but I accept the situation,” he told his interviewer. “I have a thriving architectural office in New York with employees, and I welcome the chance to eventually focus on my architectural career which has been quite successful considering I’ve been doing it part-time. I have a good partner that allowed me to be absent for half the week [while in Montreal.] And, we managed to build a business.”

The remaining assets for sale are located at 5650 Iberville, 1415 Jarry East, 6850 Sherbrooke East and 11401-11451 Lacordaire.

All are slated for sale in early 2026, according to CoStar.

Pictured: 1130-1140 Sherbrooke Street West in Montreal.

Photo: Colliers