Amazon on verge of closing office leases

Amazon on verge of closing office leases

Amazon.com Inc. is close to finalizing deals to expand its office footprint substantially in both Toronto and Vancouver, moves that indicate its growing presence in the Canadian marketplace. Cresa Vancouver Commercial Real Estate Services‘ Ross Moore said sources indicate Amazon has a deal to take 147,000 square feet downtown Vancouver and is finalizing details on space in Toronto’s Scotia Plaza.

Financial Post – Reuters – Globe and Mail

PSP, Macquarie acquire Australian land registry

Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) and Macquarie Infrastructure & Real Assets (MIRA) have bought the land registry business of the South Australian government for $1.6 billion Cdn. MIRA and PSP Investments have formed Land Services SA to provide land titling and valuation services in the state of South Australia.

IPE Real Estate

Winnipeg’s Chief Peguis Trail extension a road to development

Major infrastructure projects in Canada’s big cities usually take a number of years to complete. Winnipeg’s proposed inner ring road has been decades in the making. Even today as the final planning touches are being put on a key piece of the city’s transportation plan, the completion of Chief Peguis Trail remains more than a decade away.

Property Biz Canada

How B.C. developers are building the world

As a Neil Young live album jangles on the stereo, slender Westbank Projects Corp. founder Ian Gillespie sits in a corner of his roomy downtown Vancouver office, North Shore Mountains at his back. Launched in 1992, luxury residential and mixed-use specialist Westbank is known for local landmarks such as the Woodward’s redevelopment, Telus Garden and the Shangri-la Vancouver hotel. 

BCBusiness – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada

Abbotsford industrial displacing agri-food sites

A local investor is set to acquire the former Brookside Foods Ltd. plant in Abbotsford, which Hershey Co. shuttered last year as it consolidated Brookside’s production at plants in Saint Hyacinthe, Que., and Robinson, Ill. The property was listed for $9 million earlier this year, with food processors a key target buyer. However, a shortage of industrial properties in Abbotsford meant wide-ranging interest.

Business In Vancouver

Triovest keeps faith in Saskatoon office market

Blair Sinclair isn’t listening to all of the bearish bluster about Saskatoon’s downtown office vacancy numbers. The executive vice-president of investments and development at Triovest in Calgary is going full speed ahead with the first phase of a project that will transform Saskatoon’s skyline. Work has already begun on a 20-storey condominium tower and a 155-room Alt Hotel.

Western Investor

Edmonton CRE sales show signs of market rebound

Transaction dollar volumes within the City of Edmonton are up 39 per cent for the first half of 2017, demonstrating optimism toward the city’s commercial real estate outlook.  A new mid-year report from local real estate investment data firm The Network shows sales volumes are enjoying an upward trend, led by an increase in retail building values.

Western Investor

The Waterworks coming to King-Spadina

The King-Spadina neighbourhood has been overrun by development over the past 20 years, adding nearly 20,000 people in increasingly tall high-rises. The city is exploring the billion-dollar Rail Deck Park just to create some open space. So where do you put the things a neighbourhood needs, affordable housing, a rec centre or community gathering space: The Waterworks development, about to start construction.

Globe and Mail

Does credit-rating downgrade spell doom for Cominar?

Credit-rating agency DBRS Limited downgraded Cominar REIT’s (CUF.UN-T) senior unsecured debentures credit rating from investment grade BBB (low) to a speculative rating, BB (high), on Aug.  4. The REIT’s units responded by falling 4.69%. It was a bad Friday for Cominar REIT investors, who were still digesting the news of a 22.45% monthly distribution cut from $0.1225 to $0.095. 

Motley Fool – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada

Summit to acquire GTA industrial property

Summit Industrial Income REIT (SMU.UN-T) announced it has waived conditions and will acquire a 116,818-square-foot light industrial property well-located in Oakville. The property is a modern class-A logistics facility is 100 per cent occupied. The REIT will pay $15.3 million for the property and expects to close the transaction on or before Aug. 15. 

Canada Newswire – Property Biz Canada

How Canadian REITs stack up on safety and value

Rising interest rates have sparked a sell-off in the Canadian REIT sector recently. This pullback prompted my associate, Allan Meyer, and I to be opportunistic and take a closer look at the sector using our investment philosophy focused on safety and value. We started with Canadian-listed real estate investment trusts with a market capitalization of $1 billion or more.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

	B.C. wildfires’ impact on real estate, residents
	The following section of the RENX newsletter is dedicated to news about the wildfires in British Columbia and their impact on real estate.

 

Evacuation order issued for areas near Anahim Lake

More than 1,000 people have been ordered to evacuate their homes near Anahim Lake, B.C., due to “immediate danger” posed by wildfires, say regional officials. The area is approximately 300 kilometres west of Williams Lake. The Cariboo Regional District Evacuation order includes areas surrounding Anahim Lake, Nimpo Lake, Charlotte Lake and all of Ulkatcho First Nation territory.

CBC – Globe and Mail – CBC

Edmonton researchers create AI robot to predict wildfires

Scientists at the University of Alberta hope to harness the powers of artificial intelligence to protect Alberta communities from the ravages of wildfires. A computer model inspired by the human brain, programmed by forest science researchers at the University of Alberta and the University of Oklahoma, is designed to predict extreme fire weather in northern Alberta.

CBC

OSC approves Home Capital settlement

The Ontario Securities Commission has approved a settlement with Home Capital Group Inc. (HCG-T) and three former senior executives the watchdog says will send a strong message regarding the importance of timely and accurate disclosure. Investors will be paid a total of $11 million as a result of the deal. Home Capital will pay $10 million of that total. 

Globe and Mail – CBC – Globe and Mail (Subscription required) – Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Canadian Tire posts strong Q2 earnings

Automotive and outdoor goods giant Canadian Tire Corp. (CTC.A-T) beat analyst expectations in the second quarter amid strong sales in sporting goods and apparel, with earnings surging nine per cent. “I am very pleased with our topline results, given the challenges posed by the slow start to the spring and summer season,” said Stephen Wetmore, chief executive. 

Financial Post – Globe and Mail – Canada Newswire

E-commerce giant Alibaba courts Canadian sellers

E-commerce giant Alibaba (BABA-N) is increasing its drive to enlist Canadian businesses to sell into China’s US$5 trillion retail market. The Chinese online marketplace and billionaire founder Jack Ma will host a ‘Gateway Canada’ business summit in Toronto on Sept. 25 to encourage small- to medium-sized businesses to offer their wares to Alibaba’s more than half a billion Chinese customers. 

Financial Post

Walmart wants to monitor shoppers’ facial expressions

In the future, Walmart (WMT-N) shoppers may not have to ask for help. Just a simple scowl could summon a helpful worker ready to assist. A recent patent filing suggests new ways the United States’ top retailer wants to get even closer to its customers: a video system that keeps tabs on customers’ facial expressions.

Winnipeg Free Press

Market Trends and Research

RE debt becoming institutional investor ‘superfood’

In the first half of 2017, TH Real Estate, an affiliate of asset manager Nuveen, reported that it had closed and committed 43 transactions in its commercial debt portfolio totalling $3.8 billion. The real estate debt investments span the industrial, office, retail and multifamily/student housing sectors in the U.S. and U.K. .

CoStar Group

REOC Financial Reports

Latest financial results:

* Brookfield Asset Management Inc., (BAM.A-T), Marketwired    

* Firm Capital Property Trust, (FCD.UN-X), Canada Newswire 

* Holloway Lodging Corporation, (HLC.DB-T), Canada Newswire 

* Melcor Developments Ltd, (MRD-T), Marketwired   

* Morguard Corporation, (MRC-T), Canada Newswire 

* Starlight U.S. Multi-Family (No. 1) Value-Add Fund, (SUVA.A-X), Canada Newswire  

* Starlight U.S. Multi-Family (No. 5) Core Fund, (STUS.A-X), Canada Newswire 

* Tricon Capital Group Inc., (TCN-T), Canada Newswire  

REIT Financial Reports

Latest financial results:

* American Hotel Income Properties REIT (AHIP), (HOT.UN-T), Marketwired       

* Automotive Properties REIT, (APR.UN-T), Canada Newswire  

* Boardwalk REIT, (BEI.UN-T), Canada Newswire  

* Crombie REIT, (CRR.UN-T), Canada Newswire  

* Dream Global REIT, (DRG.UN-T), Stockhouse 

* H&R REIT, (HR.UN-T), Canada Newswire 

* Lanesborough REIT, (LRT.UN-T), Canada Newswire  

Real Estate Investment Trusts

Is SmartREIT a smart buy?

SmartREIT (SRU.UN-T) has been able to maintain its high occupancy rate of 98.4 per cent for the second quarter, which has even seen a slight improvement from last year’s rate of 98.2%. A big reason for the company’s strong occupancy rate is because it has many big tenants, and the top 10 make up almost 50% of Smart REIT’s revenue. 

Motley Fool – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada

Retail

Nordstrom’s surprise sales growth reassures investors

Nordstrom Inc (JWN-N) is bucking the trend of declining sales in the department-store industry. The upscale retailer posted a same-store sales gain of 1.7 per cent in the latest quarter, well ahead of the 0.5 per cent decline predicted by analysts. Nordstrom also posted earnings that topped Wall Street’s projections. 

Bloomberg

Payless emerges as rare bankruptcy survivor

Payless ShoeSource is set to emerge from bankruptcy, one of the largest retail chains to do so, and is banking on a strategy focused primarily on bricks-and-mortar sales at a time when e-commerce is casting an ever-growing footprint on retail sales. Payless’ emergence essentially gives the company a do-over after disposing of half of $847 million of debt.

Reuters

Canada Goose to continue rapid expansion

After a red hot debut in March, Canada Goose Holdings Inc, (GOOS-T) has been opening stores internationally and increasing its presence on e-commerce sites to meet growing demand. Canada Goose Thursday said it would open flagship stores in Boston, Calgary and Tokyo, and is on track to open stores in London and Chicago as planned, later this year. 

Reuters – Boston Business Journal – Business Wire

Restaurants and Eateries

Applebee’s closing up to 135 locations

DineEquity, Inc, (DIN-N) the parent company of Applebee’s restaurants, told investors Thursday it plans to close between 105 and 135 locations. The company’s executives made the announcement while sharing plans to develop between 20 to 30 new locations internationally. Prior to Thursday’s announcement, the company had planned to close between 40 to 60 Applebee’s restaurants.

NBCchicago.com

Chinese consumers switch to coffee as Starbucks pushes East

At a Starbucks in downtown Beijing, Du Beibei is getting her lunch-break caffeine fix. Like many young Chinese, she’s chosen to sip a cup of coffee instead of the more traditional tea. “I drink coffee three or four times a week and usually go to coffee shops to meet friends,” she said. “They are more comfortable than tea houses.”

Bloomberg

Infrastructure

Iqaluit’s new airport open for business

After three years, a $300-million construction project has resulted in a new Iqaluit terminal eight times the size of the original  — large enough to serve Nunavut for the next 50 years. The money was split between the new terminal building and overhauling air-side operations, including runway upgrades and new lights.

CBC

Technology

REcoin ICO a hit from the start

The REcoin ICO, the first crypto currency to be hedged by real estate, is proving a raging success. Since Monday’s launch, more than $1.5 million in direct REcoin token purchase has been reaised s. Another $2.3 million is the projected earnings from real estate deals that are on the table as a result of the REcoin ICO success.

Digitaljournal.com

Other

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