The CPP Investment Board and Osmington Inc. today announced it will invest $100 million in the redevelopment of Centre Mall in Hamilton, Ont.

Co-owner and operating partner Osmington Inc. will be leading the redevelopment plans for the shopping centre. Construction will begin in this fall and will be completed in phases by fall 2008.

Centre Mall is one of five shopping centres purchased jointly by the CPP Investment Board and Osmington Inc. in 2003 and was among the first real estate investments made by the CPP Investment Board.

It first opened in 1955 as an open-air mall. Centre Mall contains 750,000 square feet and is located near the city’s downtown and serves a large regional area.

“Real estate offers attractive risk-adjusted returns that are a good match for the inflation-indexed benefits provided by the CPP,” said Graeme Eadie, vp real estate investments, CPP Investment Board. “Shopping centres are a favourable investment as they help balance our Canadian real estate portfolio.”

Together, CPP Investment Board and Osmington Inc. own 9 shopping centres across Canada.

The CPP fund’s $4 billion real estate portfolio contains mostly office and retail commercial properties located in major centres across Canada including Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, London, Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Sherbrooke and Quebec City.

As at December 31, 2005, the CPP fund held $92.5 billion in assets including government bonds, publicly traded stocks, private equities, inflation-linked bonds, infrastructure and real estate.