Halifax port boom tops all in North America

Halifax port boom tops all in North America

Container traffic at the Port of Halifax is spiking this year as it grabs a growing share of the market due to its newfound ability to receive bigger cargo ships coming through the new Suez and Panama Canals. Halifax has the highest percentage growth (19%) in container traffic for the first half of this year compared to other North American ports.

The Chronicle Herald – The Chronicle Herald

North Van approves hotel in ambitious Shipyards project

The City of North Vancouver has green-lit a waterfront hotel as part of an ambitious mixed-use development on the final parcel of city-owned property in the centre of the Shipyards District.  Called Lot 5, the parcel is slated to become an interactive, year-round, mixed-use centre. In addition to the hotel, the site will have 64,000 square feet of commercial space, including a restaurant and other retail spaces.

Vancouver Sun

REITs downgraded amidst weakening Alberta market

Real estate executives overseeing extensive operations in Alberta — where commodity prices remain in flux, unemployment is peaking and the impact of the Fort McMurray wildfires are still felt — can’t be having much fun these days. Since Friday, multiple analyst downgrades for real estate investment trusts Boardwalk REIT (BEI.UN-T) and Northview Apartment REIT (NVU.UN-T).

Financial Post

‘Transit renaissance’ for GTA if funds found: report

The Toronto region is in the midst of what politicians are billing as a “transit renaissance,” which will see a major build of badly needed public transportation across the GTHA for the first time in decades. But according to a new report, unless governments find more funding to pay for those planned lines, the money will run out before the renaissance is even halfway completed.

Toronto Star

Freeze urban boundaries for two years: Greenbelt group

An environmental charity dedicated to protecting the Greenbelt around Toronto is recommending the province freeze the development boundaries of regional municipalities for two years. That’s how long it will take to update population growth projections using this year’s census and develop new guidelines around the way communities assess the amount of land they need to accommodate that growth.

Toronto Star

Veritiv consolidating three Mississauga locations

Veritiv Corporation’s new Canadian headquarters at 125 Madill Road will soon trigger a business culture change that the regional vice-president expects will give some extra zip to the recently named Fortune 500 company. The 350 employees are currently spread out over three Mississauga locations by summer of 2017 will be under one roof.

Brampton Guardian

Ernst & Young Tower to join Toronto’s skyline

PCL Constructors Canada Inc. is on track to achieve substantial completion early next February on a 40-storey office tower in downtown Toronto.  The construction giant is acting as construction manager on the LEED Platinum Ernst & Young Tower located at 100 Adelaide St. W. between Bay and York streets owned by Oxford Properties Group.

Daily Commercial News

Surf park proposed for False Creek

Reviver Sport+Entertainment has floated the idea of building a surf park in northeast False Creek, next to Telus World of Science, by launching the website CitySurfPark.com. Concept drawings show the site, complete with manufactured waves, a beach, a park (which nearby residents have been waiting for Concord Pacific to build for decades) and a redesigned walkway at Science World.

Business in Vancouver

Westhill on Duke development at Scotia Square further delayed

Haligonians likely will need to wait at least a couple of years before they can move into the proposed shiny glass-and-steel Westhill on Duke apartment building at Scotia Square.  Municipal staff say it’ll take at least a year to get through the required planning and design, public consultation and development processes before the developer can even start construction.

Chronicle Herald

Builders battle new Winnipeg development charges.

Groups representing home builders and developers in the city have hired consultants, lawyers and lobbyists for what will likely be a protracted battle over city hall’s plans to impose new charges on the building industry. City hall hired a consulting firm to conduct what it called a “growth study” but what it’s actually doing is preparing a plan on how city hall can levy new fees on developers and builders.

Winnipeg Free Press

Merrittville Speedway’s co-owners want to sell track

Drivers were informed in a mandatory meeting whether racing returns next April depends entirely on getting new ownership and putting a new management team in place. They were told in a meeting also held to reiterate racing rules and underscore the need to treat track officials with courtesy that the Bicknell and Williamson families, the owners for the past 14 years, are determined to sell an operation that has been on the market for the past five to six years.

Well and Tribune

Canadian retailer Aritzia on brink of an IPO

Canadian retailer Aritzia, which specializes in women’s fashion, is on the cusp of going public. The Vancouver-based retailer has already lined up investment banks for its IPO, and is likely to file the paperwork this week, according to people familiar with the matter.

Globe and Mail

Couche-Tard in lead to acquire Texas-based CST Brands: report

Canadian convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (ATD.A-T, ATD.B-T)is in the lead to acquire CST Brands Inc, a U.S.-based convenience store retailer, according to two sources familiar with the matter. San Antonio, Texas-based CST owns and operates convenience stores and gas stations in Canada and the United States, and it controls the general partner of gas station company CrossAmerica Partners LP.

Globe and Mail – Montreal Gazette – Globe and Mail (Sub req’d) – The Motley Fool

Brookfield to buy Brazil’s Odebrecht Ambiental: report

Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management Inc (BAM.A-T) has signed a preliminary contract to buy Brazilian engineering conglomerate Grupo Odebrecht’s 70 per cent stake in water and sewage group Odebrecht Ambiental.  The deal was done at an equity value of $1.65-billion U.S.

Globe and Mail

Jacob Frydman: The history of zoning in New York City

As the first state to enact zoning laws, New York City set a precedence for protecting property values, reducing congestion and making businesses more productive and safe. The Big Apple was proactive when it came to implementing rules and regulations for building restrictions, adjusting the accepted methods to prevent future degradation caused by poor planning.

Marketwired

Market Trends and Research

Canada’s banks should share some mortgage risk

Canadian bank executives love citing one fact when short sellers bet that a housing market crash will crush the country’s largest lenders. Their mortgage books are largely insured, they argue, so the Big Six aren’t likely to endure much pain in a downturn. This line of defence could come back to haunt the banks, now that the federal government is studying whether mortgage lenders should share some housing risk.

Globe and Mail

Unregulated Canadian mortgage lenders market share surges

Ottawa is monitoring the growth of unregulated mortgages in Canada as non-bank lenders see their market share surge amid frothy housing conditions in Toronto and Vancouver. Redacted government briefing notes released under the Access to Information Act show unregulated mortgage lenders – such as firms that do not take deposits – now control about 15 per cent of mortgage originations in Canada.

Globe and Mail

Real Estate Companies

Parkit Enterprises Inc. announces change of management

Parkit Enterprise Inc. (PKT-X) announces the appointed of Bryan Wallner as its President and Chief Executive Officer and Nigel Kirkwood as its Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately. Bryan Wallner has over 27 years of parking industry experience across North America and was ultimately appointed President and Chief Operations Officer of Imperial Parking (Impark).

Marketwired

Trez Capital closes Trez Capital Finance Fund VI LP

Trez Capital is pleased to announce the successful initial closing of Trez Capital Finance Fund VI LP with $110 million of committed capital.  Trez launched TCFF VI to address the strong institutional investor response to its five predecessor institutional fund offerings.  The five predecessor offerings raised a combined total of $520 million between 2008 and 2015.

Canada Newswire

Global Real Estate Dividend Growers Corp. announces normal course issuer bid

Global Real Estate Dividend Growers Corp. announced that it has filed a notice with the Toronto Stock Exchange and received its approval to make a normal course issuer bid.

Canada Newswire

BCSC panel sanctions real estate developer, two companies

A British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) panel has sanctioned Alfredo Miguel “Michael” Yong, Inverlake Property Investment Group Inc., and Wheatland Business Park Ltd. for illegally distributing securities. Inverlake and Wheatlandwere incorporated to raise money for the purposes of acquiring and holding land in Alberta.

Canada Newswire

Real Estate Investment Trusts

True North Commercial REIT announced equity offering

True North Commercial REIT (TNT.UN-T) announced that, due to strong demand, it has entered into an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters led by CIBC Capital Markets and Raymond James Ltd. to increase the size of its previously announced public offering to 4,840,000 units of the REIT at a price $6.20 per unit for gross proceeds to the REIT of approximately $30,008,000.

Marketwired

Retail

Making in-store experiences memorable easier said than done

Some retailers mistakenly offer too much service, not realizing their irritated customers have already done plenty of online research. Others visibly hesitate to allow customers to touch the merchandise. Saddest of all are the earnest storytellers who endeavour to engage politely bored customers with the exact pedigree of that locally reclaimed, hand-polished, lovingly assembled, wood display table.

Vancouver Sun

Lowe’s profit and sales fall short of estimates

Home improvement retailer Lowe’s Cos Inc (LOW.N) reported lower-than-expected quarterly sales and profit and cut its full-year earnings forecast, sending its shares down in premarket trading on Wednesday. Analysts had expected a stronger performance due to the strength in the housing market and higher spending on home renovations.

Reuters

Home Depot rides U.S. housing boom to record sales, profit in Q2

Home Depot (HD-N) posted record sales and earnings during its second quarter and raised its profit expectations for the year as the U.S. housing market continues to warm up. The Atlanta home improvement retailer’s profit jumped 9 per cent to $2.44 billion, or $1.97 per share.

Montreal Gazette – Globe and Mail

Target beats 2Q profit forecasts

Target (TGT-N) cut its profit and comparable-store sales outlook amid stiffer competition and its own stumbles in areas like grocery sales. The discounter’s second-quarter net income fell nearly 10 per cent, though that was better than what most had expected.  Sales at stores open at least a year fell 1.1 per cent, reversing seven straight quarters of gains.

Montreal Gazette

New Development

St. Joseph’s hospital contracts went to firms with ties to executives

A Toronto hospital awarded the family business of its former chief executive, Vas Georgiou, $223,000 in renovation contracts after his departure. Almost all of those invoices were approved by St. Joseph’s Health Centre’s then-director of redevelopment, Suman Bahl – whose husband was a subcontractor on a third of those renovation jobs.

Globe and Mail

Editorial: Size matters for downtown bars

When it comes to alcohol, size definitely matters. Responsible consumption on a personal level involves making sound decisions on how much booze an individual can tolerate based on factors such as body weight, physical condition and the stiffness of the chosen drink. In much the same way, the City of Edmonton’s sustainable development department made a sensible choice last week in rejecting two proposed downtown mega-bars.

Edmonton Journal

Sites for new West Island light-rail stations selected

Now that the proposed light-rail system is a sure thing, mayors of West Island municipalities with a light-rail station in their future have been meeting with the company managing the project.  Station locations and parking are key issues currently being hammered out.

Montreal Gazette

Other

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