H&R was founded in 1996 by Thomas J. Hofstedter, through a $173 million IPO on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

[2] The original assets of the trust were office buildings owned by Hofstedter's family firm.

[2] In February 2007, H&R agreed to become the developer and owner of The Bow, Encana's new Calgary headquarters complex.

Construction was briefly halted in December 2008 due to a $400 million shortage of financing needed to finish the job.

Construction on the main tower, however, continued, having secured the remaining $475 million required for completion of the structure.

[9] Primaris had previously received a hostile takeover offer led by KingSett Capital for $26 a share.

[13] In November 2017, the company announced that it planned to sell 91 of its US retail and industrial properties, for a total of US$895 million.