Vancouver office tower being built on spec

Vancouver office tower being built on spec

GWL Realty Advisors has $6 billion worth of development across Canada. But until recently, the company had never added to its portfolio by building an office tower on spec. On a downtown site in Vancouver, it is tearing down a parkade near the central intersection of Georgia and Granville Streets to construct a 33-storey, nearly half-million-square-foot office tower.

Globe and Mail – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada

iA Financial Group buys HOOPP’s Victoria office properties

A Quebec company has paid $131.5 million in a blockbuster purchase for three downtown Victoria office properties, each holding long-term leases with B.C. government tenants. iA Financial Group (IAG-T),  founded in 1892 and among the largest insurance and wealth-management companies in the country bought the buildings. The buildings were sold by HOOPP Real Estate, part of the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan. 

Victoria Times Colonist – Property Biz Canada

Dream Alternatives sheds ‘burden’, looks to future

Dream Alternatives Trust is finally where it wants to be – ready to focus on its core assets while exploring new acquisition and development opportunities. “We believe that the third quarter of 2017 marks the new beginning for Dream Alternatives, as we can now execute without the burden of certain assets and partnerships that we inherited from the predecessor funds,” said senior manager of investor relations Kim Lefever.

Property Biz Canada

CT REIT buys 7 shopping centres from RioCan

RioCan REIT (REI-UN-T) has begun the selloff of up to $2 billion in properties in secondary Canadian markets, and the first buyer is fellow retail real estate holder CT Real Estate Investment Trust (CRT-UN-T). The companies announced Tuesday morning CT REIT will purchase seven properties, all anchored by Canadian Tire stores, for a purchase price of $200 million.

Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada

Yorkdale mall could be getting hotel, condos

Shoppers are familiar with the ins-and-out of  Yorkdale Shopping Centre, but the shopping centre could look drastically different over the next two decades. Residents in the vicinity of the mall received a first look Thursday night at the mall’s conceptual master plan, which includes possible condos, offices and even a hotel.  

CBC – Property Biz Canada

Allied announces sale of Winnipeg, Edmonton properties

Allied Properties REIT (AP-UN-T) Wednesday announced it has entered into an agreement to sell its portfolio of five properties in Winnipeg and has sold the Metals Building in Edmonton for aggregate proceeds of $30 million. The Winnipeg portfolio is comprised of 343,083 square feet of GLA. The Metals Building is comprised of 22,503 square feet of GLA. 

Marketwired – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada

TOBY winner profile: Barrington Place in Halifax

Halifax’s Barrington Place might not be the biggest or newest building in Canada, but as the winner of this year’s Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Canada TOBY Award in the mixed-use category, it’s one of the best.  The five-storey building at 1903 Barrington St. was built in 1980 and includes 19,173 square feet of office space, 32,985 square feet of retail space and 138,556 square feet of hotel space

Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada

Reseau Selection acquires three Quebec retirement homes

Réseau Sélection announced today is has acquired the Cherbourg I and Cherbourg II in Brossard and Le Graham in the Town of Mount Royal, three retirement homes previously owned by Prével Retraite and the Fonds immobilier de solidarité FTQ. This transaction brings the number of Réseau Sélection residences in operation or under construction to more than 40. A purchase price was not disclosed.

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

Brad Lamb cancels long-planned Edmonton condo project

Toronto developer Brad Lamb has cancelled plans to build a major downtown Edmonton condo project. The 37-storey Jasper House Condominiums On The Park (on 106 Street north of Jasper Avenue) was supposed to start construction by fall, but a statement from the Lamb Development Corp. said it couldn’t meet critical dates in the purchase and sale agreements.

Edmonton Journal – Property Biz Canada

Regulator ignored warnings on Fortress mortgage investments

In June 2014, regulators were investigating syndicated mortgages linked to Fortress Real Developments, a major force in Canada’s multi-billion-dollar market for the risky investments. Fortress is the company behind Winnipeg’s St. Regis Hotel redevelopment and SkyCity — the 45-storey mixed use condo building that’s planned to be built on Graham Avenue between Smith and Garry Streets. 

Reuters – Property Biz Canada

Ivanhoe sells stake in German shopping centre

AXA Investment Managers-Real Assets has completed the acquisition of a joint-controlling stake in Paunsdorf Center in Leipzig, Germany for $202 million Cdn. AXA IM-RA said it bought the interest from Ivanhoé Cambridge, the real estate subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ). The shopping centre will be jointly owned by AXA IM-RA and property group Unibail-Rodamco Germany.

IPE Real Estate – IPE Real Estate – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada

Mobley named Cushman & Wakefield CEO for Americas

Cushman & Wakefield Thursday announced Tod Lickerman, who was named CEO of the Americas in a major realignment of the brokerage’s senior leadership just over a year ago, has left the company and will be replaced by Shawn Mobley, who most recently served as president of the company’s East Division. The Chicago-based CRE services company also announced the promotion of John Forrester to global president.

CoStar Group

SpruceLand sells last remaining real estate asset

SpruceLand Properties Inc. today announced the sale of its Edmonton owner-occupied office, its last remaining real estate asset, for $750,000, in a sale which closes immediately. Spruce Land Developments Ltd., was founded with the construction of a single multi-family project in Slave Lake, Alta., in 1969. The corporation grew consistently and, prior to the sale of the vast majority of its real estate assets, had a diversified portfolio of revenue-producing properties.

Canada Newswire – Property Biz Canada

How Richard Baker plans to transform HBC

Richard Baker strides through the recently remodelled designer-fashion floor of the flagship Saks Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Suddenly, he slows down, pulls out his iPhone and snaps a picture. “I didn’t like the way the carpet looked,” says Baker, executive chairman of Saks’s Toronto-based parent, Hudson’s Bay Co. (HBC-T). He points to the culprit – a traditional-looking area rug amid the modern renovation. 

Globe and Mail (Subscription required) – Financial Post

Metro sells $1.2B in bonds to finance Jean Coutu buy

Metro Inc. (MRU-T) priced $1.2 billion of bonds in a three-tranche sale to partly finance the $4.5 billion purchase of pharmacy chain Jean Coutu Group Inc.  (PJC-A-T). Montreal-based Metro sold $300 million of five-year, $450 million of 10-year and $450 million of 30-year senior unsecured notes. The bond offering followed a fixed income roadshow and a meeting of Jean Coutu shareholders that approved the acquisition on Wednesday.

Bloomberg – Globe and Mail – Canada Newswire

Featured Column

Those special people we’re privileged to encounter

From time to time, we get to work with individuals who leave unforgettable impressions on us. Take a moment, think back and recall someone whom you would have liked to have spent more time with. It could be for many different reasons.

Read more

Market Trends and Research

Germany No. 1 among CRE investors: Report

As the U.K. continues to deal with Brexit and its uncertainties, Germany has gained popularity among real estate investors. According to BrickVest’s fourth-quarter commercial property investment barometer, 33 per cent of professional real estate investors have suggested Germany is their preferred region. This marks the first time that Germany has been chosen as the No. 1 region and ahead of the U.K.

IPE Real Estate

Real Estate Companies

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Real Estate Investment Trusts

KBS REIT sells $804M portfolio to new Singaporean REIT

KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT Inc., a non-traded REIT based in Newport Beach, Calif., sold 11 properties totalling a net leasable area of about 3.2 million square feet to subsidiaries of Keppel-KBS US REIT for $804 million US, the seller announced Tuesday. The buyer is a newly formed Singaporean REIT that recently listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

CP Executive

Northview a diversified apartment REIT

Investors looking to benefit from a growing rental market are eyeing Northview Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust (NVU-UN-T) – a REIT analysts say is cheap relative to its peers and well poised to benefit from a recovery in the energy market. Units of Calgary-based Northview, one of Canada’s largest and most diversified publicly traded multi-family REITs, have risen by about 33 per cent over the past year. 

Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Allied Properties, Dream Global solid investments

Allied Properties REIT (AP-UN-T) focuses on the office space in Canada’s biggest cities. It transforms light industrial structures into modern office facilities, featuring high ceilings, natural light, brick, and hardwood floors. Investing in Dream Global REIT (DRG-UN-T) means getting exposure to Europe’s strongest office rental markets. Dream Global’s portfolio of office buildings consists of 151 properties in Germany, Austria, and Belgium. 

Motley Fool

Retail

Sears Holdings’ shares soar as loss narrows

Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD-Q) cut its third-quarter loss by almost $200 million compared to a year ago, benefiting from lower operating costs as it shut scores of Kmart and Sears outlets. The company, whose warning of the risk of bankruptcy earlier this year was symbolic of the troubles of America’s biggest traditional retailers, racked up its 24th straight quarter of sales declines. 

Reuters – Toronto Star

The 10 most expensive retail streets in the U.S.

SLIDESHOW: Retail landlords may be struggling, but it doesn’t mean rents in swanky retail corridors have suddenly become dirt cheap. Real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield has just published its annual “Main Street Across the World” report and New York’s Fifth Avenue has once again claimed its spot among the most expensive retail streets globally.

National Real Estate Investor – GlobeSt.com

New Development

Council adopts new TOD vision for B.C.’s Moody Centre

Port Moody council wants to turn the area around the Moody Centre SkyTrain station into a vibrant, high-density urban neighbourhood that could be home to thousands of people. Now it just needs developers to make it happen. Tuesday evening, council adopted an amendment to the city’s official community plan to turn six square blocks to a transit-oriented development area. 

Tri-City News – Tri-City News

Halifax Convention Centre to open Dec. 15

The Halifax Convention Centre, one of the biggest pieces of the massive one-million-square-foot Nova Centre in downtown Halifax, will open its doors on Dec. 15. “We are absolutely thrilled and I know the downtown business community and the Nova Scotia tourism industry are also tremendously excited,” said Carrie Cussons, president and CEO of the Halifax Convention Centre.

CBC

International

Online giants creating new sweet spot in U.K. real estate

Money managers are flocking to a new spot in the U.K. real estate market. Traditional office spaces are losing their attractiveness to investors, but the appetite for industrials and logistics spaces is on the rise. Industrials and logistics are offering the highest returns “due to the shift from physical stores to online shopping, as retailers are looking for more space,” James Carswell, analyst at the stock broker Peel Hunt, told CNBC.

CNBC

Other

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