Giant Tiger ready to expand retail footprint

Giant Tiger ready to expand retail footprint

For 55 years, Giant Tiger’s smiling feline mascot has beckoned shoppers in small towns and those driving up to the cottage. But after years of operating under the radar amid intense competition against rivals like Walmart and the now defunct Target Canada, the company is setting its sights on becoming a household name.

Financial Post

Calgary downtown office vacancy rates top 21%

A new report from a commercial real estate company says the vacancy rate in downtown Calgary continues to climb.  In its second-quarter analysis, Cresa said 21.6 per cent of the office space in the core is currently vacant. In June the company pegged vacancies at about 20 per cent and said “ghost vacancies” could push that number as high as 25 per cent.

CBC.ca

Foreign buyer tax creates uncertainty for CRE

The roiling debate over the province’s 15-per-cent tax on foreign buyers of residential real estate in Metro Vancouver has spread to the commercial market, with stakeholders pondering the fallout of the surprise levy and the chances of a similar tax being placed on commercial sales.

Vancouver Sun

Vail Resorts invests in properties it buys

When Vail Resorts Inc. announced in January that it was buying Wilmot Mountain, a regional resort in Wisconsin favoured by Chicago skiers for US$20.2 million, some feared the Colorado-based company was only after quick profits and wouldn’t upgrade the property.

Vancouver Sun

Vancouver’s Olympic Village details emerge of “tax loss” sale

As controversy continued to swirl around the 2016 Rio Summer Olympic Games in the lead up to the event’s August 5 opening ceremonies, a divisive legacy of the 2010 Winter Olympics remains six years after athletes departed Vancouver’s billion-dollar Olympic Village: a residential and retail complex forced into receivership that was later sold by the City of Vancouver.

Business in Vancouver

Simons says Rideau Centre is the place to be

From his vantage point overlooking the ByWard Market in what will soon be the Rideau Centre’s newest department store, Peter Simons sees a different Ottawa than the one he used to know. Simons is opening its first Ottawa location on the site of the old Ogilvy building at the corner of Rideau and Nicholas streets.

Ottawa Business Journal – CF Rideau Centre redevelopment now complete

Toronto heritage building gets a MOCA makeover

The tallest building in early 20th century Toronto is getting a makeover to house the city’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). The 10-storey Tower Automotive Building, a landmark in the west-end neighbourhood of Lower Junction since it was erected in 1919, served mostly as an aluminum foundry and auto manufacturing plant until it was closed in 2006.

Daily Commercial News – Toronto Junction Triangle’s community-friendly makeover

Queens Quay redesign proves popular though ‘friction’ remains

Beautiful. Confusing. Expensive. Dangerous. Those were some of the conflicting descriptions Torontonians applied to Queens Quay when it reopened in June 2015 after an extensive renovation.  The $128.9-million, three-year construction project was intended to transform the 1.7-kilometre stretch of the lakeshore into a “showpiece waterfront boulevard,”

Toronto Star

Customer service brought back Westin Nova Scotia

Two decades ago the hotel that became the Westin Nova Scotia was a boarded-up, crumbling hulk. Today, the smart-looking red brick Westin is home to a thriving business in the heart of a revitalized south end of Barrington, a neighbourhood that grew as the hotel slowly roared back to life.

The Chronicle Herald

OREA names Tim Hudak as next CEO

The Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Tim Hudak as Chief Executive Officer, effective later this year. Hudak joins OREA from Queen’s Park where he has represented the people of Niagara for twenty-one years.

Marketwired

Top ten global offices by rental growth: JLL

Oakland East Bay, Stockholm, Dublin and Dubai (DIFC) took the top spots for annual office rental growth, according to JLL‘s latest Global Office Index. All four cities saw growth of 20 percent or more, with Oakland East Bay reaching 35.4 percent and topping the ranking. 

Marketwired

US banks clearly tightening CRE lending standards

Second quarter bank earnings results and early third quarter lending numbers clearly show U.S.-based banks have tightened their underwriting standards for CRE loans as they face increased scrutiny of their commercial real estate lending from bank examiners. In fact, loan officers at domestic banks reported that the current standards are tighter now than they have been on average since 2005.

CoStar Group

Freddie Mac issues Dodd-Frank stress test results

Freddie Mac (FMCC-OTCQB) issued the company’s stress test results for the severely adverse scenario conducted under FHFA’s rule implementing the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Dodd-Frank requires certain financial companies with more than $10 billion in assets to perform annual stress tests to assess capital adequacy.

Marketwired

Largest CRE firms report robust leasing, sales in U.S.

CBRE Group, JLL, Colliers International and Marcus & Millichap reported strong transaction activity at mid-year 2016, with most of the publicly traded brokerages reporting solid increases in U.S. leasing and sales in spite of investor skittishness due to Brexit concerns.

CoStar Group

Chinese outbound investment second-largest in world

Chinese outbound investment reached $17 billion over the first five months of 2016, already accounting for 65.6% of the total Chinese outbound investment of 2015 at $25.734 billion, according to a new report from DTZ/Cushman & Wakefield. China was the world’s second-largest source of outbound property investment after the U.S. at $19 billion.

CoStar Group

Featured Column

Five reasons to buy a Calgary commercial condo now

Are you leasing an office or warehouse space in Calgary? With interest rates at all time lows, now might be a good time to think about buying into your own commercial condo. Commercial condos are an increasingly popular choice for savvy business owners who understand the value of building equity in their own company.

Read more

Market Trends and Research

Ontario electricity has never been cheaper, bills higher

The more the wind blows, the bigger the losses and the higher the hit to consumers. You may be surprised to learn that electricity is now cheaper to generate in Ontario than it has been for decades. The wholesale price, called the Hourly Ontario Electricity Price (HOEP) used to bounce around between five and eight cents per kilowatt hour but over the last decade it has trended down to below three cents.

Financial Post

Regina’s civic government growth outpaces city growth

A glance at how much Regina has grown over the past decade seems to indicate civic government is expanding much faster than the actual city it is running. But the story is more complex than that. In all of the city’s major spending and revenue areas, the percentage growth from 2006 to 2015 outpaces Regina’s population and physical growth.

Regina Leader Post

Real Estate Companies

Kensington Market tenants at odds with landlord

A new landlord with about a dozen residential and commercial units in Kensington Market is threatening legal action if tenants balk at proposed rent hikes of up to 50 per cent.  At least 30 residents are being affected and seven people the Star spoke to say they feel intimidated by the new owner.

Toronto Star

REOC Financial Reports

Temple Hotels Inc. second quarter 2016 results

Temple Hotels Inc. (TPH-T)

Canada Newswire

Real Estate Investment Trusts

CAPREIT second quarter 2016 results

CAPREIT (CAR.UN-T) 

Marketwired

Dream Industrial REIT second quarter 2016 results

Dream Industrial REIT –  DIR.UN-T

Marketwired

American Hotel Income Properties REIT LP second quarter 2016 results

American Hotel Income Properties REIT (HOT.UN-T)

Marketwired

Retail

Vancouver’s JJ Bean expands to Toronto

Vancouver’s JJ Bean coffee shop is to open a 2,000 square foot location on Adelaide Street West in downtown Toronto this week. Neate will open another Toronto location at St. Clair and Young in late September and intends to continue opening two to three Toronto cafes annually over the next four or five years.

Vancouver Sun

Lululemon’s most enigmatic board member

Lululemon’s (LULU-Q) “mysterious” and longest-serving board member has resigned as a director of the sportswear apparel company just weeks after media reports began questioning her very existence. Rhoda Pitcher, who had served on the board as a director since 2005, resigned on Aug. 3 “to pursue other opportunities,” the Vancouver-based company revealed in an SEC filing on Tuesday.

Financial Post

A&W sees rapid expansion after beefing up food quality

Bolstered by an ongoing strategy to beef up its food quality and customer experience, A&W (AW.UN-T) is now expanding rapidly in Canada despite the challenging environment fast-food giants face. While some market leaders appear to have stumbled navigating changing consumer demands for healthier foods A&W has continued to post record strong growth.

The Chronicle Herald

Indigo Books and Music Inc reports rise in quarterly revenue

Indigo Books and Music Inc. (IDG-T) reported Tuesday solid same-store sales growth of 7.7 per cent in the first quarter as the retailer made more headway in giftware and toys. In the first quarter ended July 2, Indigo’s year-over-year net loss was flat at $9 million, or 34 cents per share, compared with a loss of $9 million (35 cents) in the same quarter last year. Revenue rose to $193.1 million, up from $184.9 million a year ago.

Financial Post

New Development

Ottawa 2017 committee adopts RAIC’s Inspiration Village vision

The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) has announced that its plan to reclaim public space on York Street in Ottawa has been adopted by organizers for Canada’s 150th anniversary celebrations and will form part of the city’s new Inspiration Village, a hub for special exhibits and performances.

Daily Commercial News

Other

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