How Morguard CEO became Canada’s real estate king

How Morguard CEO became Canada’s real estate king

Strolling through a nine-room, 6,000-square-foot penthouse apartment in midtown Toronto on a summer afternoon, Morguard Corp. (MRC-T) chairman and CEO Rai Sahi certainly doesn’t look like a flashy real estate promoter. At age 71, dressed in a conservative blue suit, Sahi (pronounced Saw-hee) looks like what he is: a prosperous accountant, investor and executive who still enjoys going to work. 

Globe and Mail

ClubLink owner unconcerned by Glen Abbey opposition

Rai Sahi, chairman and CEO of the company that owns Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont., isn’t surprised his proposal to close the golf course and redevelop it has sparked local protests, but he says he’s determined to proceed. On Monday night, Oakville’s city council voted unanimously in favour of seeking provincial heritage status for Glen Abbey.

Globe and Mail – Globe and Mail – CBC

Canadian hotel market remains strong: Colliers

The Canadian hotel industry is still firing on all cylinders, having gained strength in each year but one in the current cycle that began in 2011. “Several factors beyond regular buyer-seller-lender dynamics have come into play that have dramatically enhanced the appeal of the country’s lodging sector and provided promise for continued activity,” said Colliers International hotels senior analyst Fraser Macdonald.

Property Biz Canada

Montreal’s Olympic Stadium Tower becomes office space

Montreal’s Olympic Stadium tower is getting a new lease on life – literally – with new commercial office space inside the inclined structure being leased for the first time. It’s the first time that space inside the tower is being used for any purpose since it was completed in 1987, 11 years after the 1976 Olympic Games. (Only the base of the tower was completed for the Olympics.)

Property Biz Canada

Dream Office restructuring with smaller portfolio, new outlook

After significantly shrinking its portfolio and undergoing a challenging restructuring over the past year and a half, Dream Office REIT (D.UN-T) is looking at ways to adapt to an increasingly competitive CRE landscape, and chairman Michael Cooper says he looks forward to focusing on core properties. The value of Dream Office’s portfolio is expected to drop from $6.1 billion to $2.9 billion.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required) – Property Biz Canada

Edmonton hotel owner disappointed by pace of development

The Hyatt Place Hotel still regularly sees empty rooms, in part due to the sluggish development of eastern downtown Edmonton, owner Prem Singhmar said. Nearly a year after it opened its doors, the 255-room hotel currently sits at a 50 per cent occupancy rate, lower than a healthy 65 per cent. And the retail space on the ground of the hotel lies empty.

Edmonton Journal

Riocan makes last-minute bid for Winnipeg Sears store

Lawyers representing Sears employees and pensioners argued Tuesday a Toronto judge should allow a last-minute bid from RioCan REIT (REI.UN-T) to purchase a Sears store in Winnipeg, even though the insolvent retailer already has a deal in place with WCRE Investments Ltd. The court will decide by Friday whether to allow RioCan to bid for the Sears Outlet store location. 

CBC

The timeline of Sears Canada’s slow-motion collapse

Sears Canada should probably just install a revolving door on the corner office. Executive chairman Brandon Stranzl gave up his day-to-day duties at the company last week to work on a bid for the beleaguered retailer, which is currently undergoing a court-supervised restructuring. He became the fifth shot-caller at the company to depart in just four years.

Maclean’s – BNN

PIRET acquires two properties, sells one

Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust  (AAR.UN-T) announced it has a $24.0-million agreement to acquire a core asset in Pickering, Ont., in addition to an $8.2 million acquisition of 84 acres of land in Wilmer, Texas. It also announced the $5.2 million disposition of a non-core asset in St. Albert, Alta. The Pickering agreement was for a 190,000-square-foot, recently built, industrial asset and an adjacent 4.5-acre parcel of land.

Marketwired – Property Biz Canada

Fronsac REIT acquires Quebec service station

Fronsac REIT (GAZ.UN-X) announced the acquisition of a service station under the Ultramar banner located in Waterloo, Que. The property, which includes a Beau-Soir convenience store, was acquired from a company owned by Odacité, with who Fronsac has a partnership, for a total consideration of $2 million and was settled in cash. 

Marketwired – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada

How the Greenbergs mix business, philanthropy and sports

Roger Greenberg, the executive chairman of Minto Group, has become the most recognizable Greenberg in recent years, thanks to his co-ownership of the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group. With the addition of sports franchises, the list of things that have made the Greenberg family one of Ottawa’s eminent community builders over the past 60 years continues to grow.

Ottawa Citizen

	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.

 

Record-breaking season expected to put dent in B.C. budget

Finance Minister Carole James says the worst wildfire season in British Columbia’s history is expected to put a dent in the provincial budget as firefighters battle the largest blaze on record. “We’re tracking $389 million over the February budget estimate right now, and we’re only halfway through the season,” James said Tuesday as she released B.C.’s public accounts.

Globe and Mail

John Hancock acquires Boston’s HarborView high-rise

John Hancock Real Estate said it has acquired HarborView at the Navy Yard, located on Boston Harbor in the historic Charlestown Navy Yard. The 224-unit, Class-A high-rise multi-family property, constructed in 2007, is part of the ongoing redevelopment of the Navy Yard, once one of the oldest shipbuilding yards in the U.S. The company operates as Manulife Real Estate outside of the U.S.

Canada Newswire

Bentall Kennedy enters Portland MOB market

Bentall Kennedy purchased The Oregon Clinic Gateway Medical Office Building on behalf of its U.S. core fund. The 101,299-square-foot asset marks the firm’s first medical office building investment in Portland, bringing its U.S. portfolio of managed MOBs to 23 properties and 1.8 million square feet. CBRE represented the seller, The Oregon Clinic Gateway Medical Office Building LLC, which executed a lease with Bentall Kennedy.

CP Executive

Quirky Home Hardware battling the big-box chains – and winning

In the summer of 2004, in his mid-50s, Bob Collins became a minority owner in an all but derelict Home Building Centre in Gravenhurst, Ont. He describes his operation of the era as “a dirt-cheap-fence-and-a-mean-dog sort of place” in a (mercifully) hidden corner of the town.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Walmart partners with Google to introduce voice-activated shopping

Walmart is diving into voice-activated shopping. But unlike online leader Amazon, it’s not doing it alone. The world’s largest retailer said Wednesday it’s working with Google to offer hundreds of thousands of items from laundry detergent to Legos for voice shopping through Google Assistant. The capability will be available in late September. It’s Google’s biggest retail partnership.

Globe and Mail

Market Trends and Research

Shopping binge reaches new heights in first half

Canadian retailers posted a fourth-straight monthly sales gain in June, closing off a half-year performance that was one of the best for the sector on record. Retail sales increased 0.1 per cent during the month to $49 billion, Statistics Canada reported. Retailers generated $291 billion in sales in the first six months of 2017, a record.

Bloomberg – CBC – Financial Post – CBC

Vancouver CRE sales dip below 2016 record high

Vancouver CRE sales in the second quarter of 2017 have decreased 32 per cent, returning to more traditional values following a record-setting 2016. There were 595 commercial sales across the Lower Mainland this quarter versus 875 sales in Q2 2016, according to Commercial Edge, the real estate data system operated by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV). Total dollar volume has also decreased from $4.6 to $2.8 billion.

Western Investor

Real Estate Companies

Wanda pulls out of London project as Chinese rules tighten

Chinese conglomerate Wanda has pulled out of a $758-million Cdn investment in a London development site at a time of heightened restrictions by Chinese regulators. UK listed developer St Modwen announced on Monday it had completed the sale of Nine Elms Square, but it has since transpired Wanda had transferred its ownership to other investors.

IPE Real Estate

Trinity/Oaktree Capital form hotel investment JV

Just over three months after acquiring the leasehold of the Westin Maui Resort & Spa from Marriott International Inc. for $317 million, Trinity Investments LLC and Oaktree Capital Management, LP have announced a joint venture to invest up to $3 billion in Trinity’s core markets of Hawaii, California, Mexico and Japan.  The venture is seeking to invest alongside other institutional groups and high-net-worth investors.

CoStar Group – IPE Real Estate

Real Estate Investment Trusts

At close to a 50 per cent discount, Melcor a strong buy

Last week, shares of Melcor Developments Ltd. (MRD-T) climbed above the $15 mark and began what might be an incredible run with upwards potential to return more than 100%. Although the company is not well known by many investors and has only 33 million shares outstanding, the market capitalization is now more than $500 million, making this a very attractive investment opportunity for many long-term investors. 

Motley Fool

Should you stick with largest REITs or buy Canadian REIT Index?

An exchange-traded fund (ETF) that broadly covers the REIT market is a great way to diversify an investment portfolio and earn dividend income. Vanguard FTSE Canadian Capped REIT Index ETF (VRE-T) was created in 2012 and holds 18 stocks in its fund. The management fee is 0.38 per cent. Its ability to tracking the underlying holdings is very good, with only a 0.06% tracking error. 

Motley Fool

Legal Corner

Quebec developers claim disguised expropriation

A trio of developers who are suing Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue for $35.6 million for what they describe as disguised expropriation remain undeterred by a recent Quebec Superior Court decision in a similar case involving another municipality and another developer.

Montreal Gazette

Retail

Sugarfina secures first standalone Canadian retail space

Los Angeles-based luxury “grownup” candy retailer Sugarfina has secured its first freestanding Canadian retail location, with plans for more as the brand expands with the help of a newly announced $35 million growth equity financing from private equity firm Great Hill Partners. Sugarfina’s first standalone Canadian location, of 1,098 square feet, will open at Metropolis at Metrotown in Burnaby on Nov. 1.

Retail Insider

Lowe’s misses earnings estimates, forecasts slower growth

Lowe’s Companies Inc (LOW-N) Wednesday reported lower-than-expected quarterly earnings and warned of slower growth in profit margins, as it spends more on marketing to boost sales in a robust home improvement market. Shares of Lowe’s, the No.2 U.S. home improvement retailer, dipped more than five per cent to $71.78 in pre-market trading. 

Reuters

Infrastructure

Gordie Howe bridge project faces another delay

Construction of the long-awaited new Windsor-Detroit border crossing bridge has been set back by a year because of the complex bidding process, meaning it likely won’t be completed until 2023. The three consortiums vying to build the Gordie Howe International Bridge were informed in the last week by the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority their detailed bids will not be required until next year.

Windsor Star

Ontario to build roads into Ring of Fire region

Development of the chromite-rich Ring of Fire region in northern Ontario is one step closer after the premier announced agreements with First Nations are in place to start road construction. The provincial government has been talking with the chiefs of the Matawa First Nations for years, since it pledged $1 billion in 2014 to fund infrastructure into the area about 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, Ont.

Globe and Mail – CBC – Canada Newswire

Other

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