Vancouver office vacancy rates to get even tighter

Vancouver office vacancy rates to get even tighter

By 2019, Vancouver is predicted to have the second-lowest office vacancy rate in the Western hemisphere, according to a new global office report by Cushman and Wakefield. Within the next two years, Vancouver will have an office vacancy rate of 6.3 per cent, which will trail only Toronto in the Americas, which is forecast to have a vacancy rate of 3.9 per cent.

Vancouver Sun

Allied, Westbank JV on Vancouver officer tower: Emory

Toronto-based Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (AP.UN-T)  has reached a deal to buy a half-stake in Westbank’s proposed Japanese lamp-inspired office tower in downtown Vancouver. “It’s a way for Allied to penetrate the Vancouver office market in a fairly material way,” Allied president/CEO Michael Emory told RENX in an interview.

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

Woodbine casino a step closer to reality

Toronto Deputy Mayor Vincent Crisanti is “fully optimistic” the operators chosen to run a casino at Woodbine Racetrack will soon be building a facility. Ontario Lottery and Gaming announced it has selected Ontario Gaming GTA LP — a partnership between the Great Canadian Gaming Corp and Brookfield Business Partners — to run its slot machines at Woodbine and two other gaming facilities for a 22-year period.

CBC – Toronto Star – Globe and Mail – London Free Press

Toronto’s CIBC Square adds BCG as second tenant

Downtown Toronto’s recently renamed CIBC Square development has added a second major tenant, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), four years before it will be ready for move-in. “We’re very excited to have them,” said Jonathan Pearce, senior vice-president of office leasing for Ivanhoé Cambridge, which co-owns the development site at 81 and 141 Bay St. with Houston-based Hines.

Property Biz Canada

Canderel-led consortium nears Constitution Square purchase

A group led by Montreal developer Canderel is close to purchasing Constitution Square, one of Ottawa’s marquee class-A office complexes. Several sources have confirmed the consortium, which also includes Toronto-based Forgestone Capital and Regina’s Greystone Managed Investments, is in the final stages of due diligence on a deal with Oxford Properties.

Ottawa Business Journal – Property Biz Canada

Edmonton airport redevelopment project finally taking off

It aims to set the bar for carbon-neutral living in Canada and Blatchford, a 217-hectare development on the site of the former Edmonton Airport, has made a promising start; diverting 27,000 tonnes of building materials from landfill during site preparation. Material included 50 hectares of hard surface consisting of two runways, taxiways, surface parking lots and foundations.

Globe and Mail – Property Biz Canada

Canadian investors see big money in airports

Airports are transforming from tired travel hubs to true destinations. The world’s best airports – Singapore is often held up as an example – don’t look much like airports at all. Instead, they resemble high-end shopping malls, offering luxe retail options, five-star hotels and restaurants where patrons actually want to dine.

Globe and Mail

Industrial land sales strong outside Calgary

A lack of large industrial sites available for purchase within Calgary has many companies locating on lands being developed in Rocky View County. There has been a huge amount of development in the Balzac area east of the CrossIron Mills shopping centre and east of Calgary, from Conrich to the south Stoney Trail ring road. The benefits are substantial.

Calgary Herald

Calgary’s multibillion-dollar Olympic calculation

About two-thirds of the money needed to renovate and build venues necessary for Calgary to host the 2026 Winter Olympics would be spent upgrading two privately controlled ski resorts and on facilities that would either be torn down or leave little benefit to the city and surrounding area after the Games.

Globe and Mail

U.S. push for freer NAFTA e-commerce meets growing resistance

A U.S. proposal for Mexico and Canada to vastly raise the value of online purchases that can be imported duty-free from stores like Amazon.com (AMZN-Q) and eBay (EBAY-Q) is emerging as a flashpoint in an upcoming renegotiation of the NAFTA trade deal. Vulnerable industries like footwear, textiles and bricks and mortar retail in Mexico and Canada are pushing back. 

Reuters

Skyline buys 13 Courtyard Marriot hotels in U.S.

Skyline International Development Inc. is expanding its hotel business in the U.S., agreeing to acquire 13 business hotels with a total of 1,900 rooms for $135 million US, excluding expenses. Skyline said the hotels were located “mostly in nine different states on the U.S. East Coast,” and were being managed by the Marriot hotel chain.

Globes – Property Biz Content – Property Biz Content – Property Biz Content

	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.

 

Wildfires fanning construction costs on Vancouver Island

A province on fire and the torrid pace of construction on Vancouver Island are driving up the cost of building materials — and there appears to be no price relief in sight, according to industry insiders. The staples of home construction have increased by 10 and 40 per cent, respectively, and the pace of price changes appears to be increasing.

Victoria Times Colonist

Lightning, dry conditions spark 28 new wildfires

A combination of lightning and tinder-dry conditions has led to more than two dozen new wildfires starting in British Columbia over a two-day period. Kevin Skrepnek of the BC Wildfire Service said the majority of the 17 fires that started Monday were the result of lightning. Another 11 fires had started by midday Tuesday, increasing the current total to 146.

Globe and Mail – CBC – CBC

Brookfield sells stake in Sydney project to AMP and EG

Brookfield Property Partners (BPY.UN-T) has sold a half stake in its landmark Sydney development project to AMP Capital and EG Funds Management for close to $998 million Cdn. Industry sources confirmed AMP Capital and EG Funds Management have each acquired a 25 per cent share in Wynyard Place. Brookfield has retained a half stake in the project, expected to be completed in 2020. 

IPE Real Estate

Slate Retail purchases Georgia’s Duluth Station

Slate Retail REIT (SRT.U-T), an owner and operator of U.S. grocery-anchored real estate, announced it has entered into a binding agreement to acquire Duluth Station for US$9.75 million ($103 per square foot). The property is 81 per cent occupied, is Publix-anchored and is located in the Atlanta Metropolitan Statistical Area. Closing is expected to be completed in Q3 2017.

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

Fear Canadian REITs when rates rise: Timbercreek

REITs shouldn’t be avoided as interest rates rise – except in Canada, where lower cash-flow growth and higher leverage make them riskier bets, says Timbercreek Asset Management‘s Corrado Russo. “If you look at the empirical evidence, REITs actually outperform in a rising-rate environment,” Russo said. “They tend to do better both on a relative and on an absolute basis.”

Bloomberg

Sacred to secular – religious buildings reborn

Business owners of all kinds are being drawn to Canada’s religious real estate as these pious properties present both square footage and charm. “It was huge for us to find a real character building,” says Chris Pontsioen, owner of Silversmith Brewing Co. in Virgil, Ont. “We had searched for ages and there wasn’t much coming up.”

Globe and Mail

Real Estate Companies

Capstone announces upcoming launch of Real Estate Pool

Capstone Asset Management has announced the upcoming launch of its new non-traditional equity fund, the Capstone Real Estate Pool. The Capstone Real Estate Pool is an equity fund focused on residential property development in North America. The pool will provide an opportunity for investors to access a diversified portfolio of residential real estate projects.

Canada Newswire

Tricon launches third single-family rental securitization transaction

Tricon Capital Group Inc.  (TCN-T), a principal investor and asset manager focused on the residential real estate industry, announced its Tricon American Homes subsidiaries have launched the offering of a securitization transaction. The transaction involves the issuance and sale of single-family rental pass-through certificates representing beneficial ownership interests. 

Canada Newswire

REOC Financial Reports

Latest financial results:

* Firm Capital Mortgage Investment Corp., (FC-T), Canada Newswire 

* Mainstreet Health Investments Inc., (HLP.U-T), Canada Newswire

* Temple Hotels Inc., (TPH-T), Canada Newswire  

REIT Financial Reports

Latest financial results:

* BTB REIT, (BTB.UN-T), Canada Newswire 

* Inovalis  REIT, (INO.UN-T), Canada Newswire    

Real Estate Investment Trusts

U.S. self-storage REITs slow buying spree

The self-storage sector has been riding high for several years, outperforming most others in terms of revenue growth. However, growth in occupancy and revenue has slowed for its major REITs, along with their stock prices. “Growth has slowed from a breakneck pace to something more normal,” says Marc Boorstein, a principal with self-storage firm MJ Partners.

GlobeSt.com

NY REIT sells first office property since liquidation

New York REIT (NYRT-N) has sold an office condo at 50 Varick Street for $135 million, the first deal to close since the company started liquidating. Italian real estate firm Est4te Four purchased the 150,000-square-foot unit, which spans the fifth through seventh floors of the building, representatives for the REIT confirmed. Est4te actually led the renovation of the Tribeca building in 2012. 

The Real Deal – Commercial Observer – GlobeNewswire

Retail

The stubborn survival of the retail catalogue

Legend has it that after the Bible, the second-most popular book found in homes around the world is the Ikea catalogue. This year, between Aug. 14 and Aug. 25, Ikea will distribute almost seven million copies of its latest volume in Canada alone. The Sweden-based furniture retailer’s catalogue has been around since 1951, when the company was operating as a mail-order business.

Globe and Mail – The Saskatchewan Edge

Weston strikes back against minimum wage ‘sabotage’ claim

Loblaw Cos. Ltd. (L-T) is catching heat from advocacy group Leadnow after disclosing the company could incur $190 million in additional labour expenses in 2018 as a result of minimum-wage increases in Ontario and Alberta. Loblaw chief executive Galen Weston disclosed the possible costs to the company’s bottom line during a recent earnings call with analysts.

Globe and Mail – Toronto Star

Latest financial results:

*  Indigo Books & Music Inc., (IDG-T), Canada Newswire 

Restaurants and Eateries

Wendy’s franchising plan reaps benefits

U.S. burger chain Wendy’s Co (WEN-Q) reported better-than-expected quarterly profit and sales, helped by higher franchise revenue. The company, like a few other fast-food restaurant operators, is focused on refranchising its restaurants in order to insulate from wavering commodity and labour costs. Wendy’s said franchisee royalty and franchisee rental revenue rose 29 per cent to $159.5 million in Q2. 

Reuters

McDonald’s plans to nearly double number of restaurants in China

McDonald’s Corp (MCD-N) will nearly double the number of restaurants in China in the next five years, eventually surpassing Japan as the hamburger chain’s second-biggest market outside the U.S. The company expects to have 4,500 restaurants in China by 2022, up from 2,500. With fewer U.S. customers, it hopes to grow sales in China by double digits in each of the next five years.

Financial Post – Reuters – Marketwired

Renovation and Restoration

Windsor awards tender for Pelissier parking project

A construction price 57 per cent over budget and the pleas of residents and downtown merchants failed to dissuade the majority of councillors from trading retail space for ground-floor parking in Windsor’s Pelissier Street parking garage. Council accepted the tender from the lowest bidder on the project Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association president Larry Horwitz said will “wreck the downtown.”

Windsor Star – CBC

Infrastructure

SNC-Lavalin targets Canadian projects

SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. (SNC-T) is keeping its focus at home even as U.S. President Donald Trump pledges to ramp up infrastructure spending. SNC-Lavalin is bidding on projects such as light-rail lines in Ottawa and Toronto and a $6 billion rapid-transit system for Montreal, as PM Justin Trudeau follows through on a pledge to invest $120 billion on infrastructure over 12 years. 

Bloomberg

Other

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