The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that Brookfield Properties has put a key piece of Toronto's financial district on the auction block. The Globe's Rachelle Younglai writes that Brookfield is seeking as much as $1-billion for a 50-per-cent stake in the Bay Adelaide Centre, as the company retools its portfolio amid a multiyear boom in commercial real estate. The sale is being offered as a passive investment, which will allow Brookfield to continue managing the property. Bids are due over the next week. Brookfield is using its financial arm -- Brookfield Financial -- as well as Royal Bank and TD Bank to help sell the interest. The Bay Adelaide Centre sale is taking place amid a prolonged bull market in commercial real estate in Toronto and Vancouver. Nine office towers are currently under construction in central Toronto, according to commercial real estate group CBRE. In the most recent quarter, the vacancy rate for offices in Toronto was 4 per cent followed by Vancouver at 5 per cent. The Bay Adelaide Centre consists of two towers and covers an entire block. It is home to tenants such as accounting firms Deloitte and KPMG and law firms Borden Ladner Gervais and Fasken Martineau.