First Nations now a first stop in industrial land crunch

First Nations now a first stop in industrial land crunch

Hemmed in by mountains, an international boundary, protected farmland and water, B.C.’s Lower Mainland faces significant constraints on growth. It can’t grow out like Calgary; it has to grow up, and that often favours residential development, meaning industrial projects get pushed to the margins – south into farmland or farther up the Fraser River to New Westminster, Surrey and even Langley.

Business In Vancouver – BCBusiness

Windsor’s former industrial sites touted for redevelopment

A package of City of Windsor incentives approved seven years ago to spur cleanup and redevelopment of 559 acres of potentially contaminated, former industrial properties has been little used, until now. In the last several months, applications to the Brownfield Redevelopment Community Improvement Plan have been steadily streaming in.

Windsor Star – Windsor Star

Timbercreek buys six Calgary apartment buildings

Toronto-based Timbercreek Asset Management is eyeing the Alberta apartment rental market and is using the acquisition of six Calgary buildings as a launchpad to future Western growth in its portfolio. Timbercreek recently purchased a six-building, multi-family portfolio for $142.48 million from  Har-Par Investments, consisting of 685 suites at about $208,000 per suite, according to Bradley Gingerich, senior vice-president of CBRE’s National Apartment Group based in Edmonton.

Property Biz Canada

Development runs in family for Toronto Marlin Spring

Marlin Spring is a relative newcomer to the residential development scene, but its principals have impressive pedigrees and the recent groundbreaking for Toronto’s Canvas Condominium is just one project it has on the go. Chief operating officer Zev Mandelbaum’s grandfather started H&R Developments in 1952 and his father Mark later co-founded Lanterra Developments. Zev headed Lanterra’s commercial division before co-founding Marlin Spring three years ago.

Property Biz Canada

812 Ontario government buildings sit empty

They are the ghost buildings of Ontario, and there’s a lot of them. The provincial government owns 812 vacant buildings, Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk revealed this week. Maintaining the empty sites is costing Ontario taxpayers $18.9 million a year, Lysyk found. But she’s even more concerned about the slow pace of the government’s efforts to dispose of the unused properties.

CBC

Whistler Blackcomb ski resort to get $66-M upgrade

Whistler Blackcomb’s proposed $66-million upgrade, which adds a gondola and makes it easier for skiers to travel between the two mountains, is expected to attract more global skiers. But it’s a scaled-back version of a $100-million investment Vail Resorts (MTN-N) announced last year that was supposed to add a water park and roller-coaster.

Vancouver Sun – Winnipeg Free Press

TOBY winner profile: Cloverdale Mall in Toronto

Etobicoke’s Cloverdale Mall marked its 60th anniversary this year and also celebrated a Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Canada TOBY Award for best retail building. “Since 2009, we have continuously held a Platinum BOMA BEST certification, which is the most prestigious designation available through the program,” said Anne Vit, retail services general manager for Bentall Kennedy.

Property Biz Canada

Toronto’s new Airbnb rules will ban basement apartments

Toronto council has crafted short-term home rental rules that will ban homeowners from offering self-contained “secondary suites” on Airbnb. Some councillors pushed Thursday to include basement apartments and other secondary suites in the lucrative nightly rental market, as originally recommended by city staff and applauded by Airbnb.

Toronto Star – CBC – Globe and Mail – CBC

$100M-plus returned as downtown Toronto condo exits

Building and Development Mortgages Canada Inc. (BDMC) announced lenders in a syndicate mortgage that funded a Fortress/Lamb high-rise residential development have exited the project well ahead of the loan term. More than 300 lenders in the syndicate received an estimated annualized return of 9.2 per cent. Lenders were paid out through a refinance of the project prior to the start of construction.

Canada Newswire

Genesis sells two Calgary sites

Genesis Land Development Corp. (GDC-T) has entered into an agreement with a third-party builder for the sale of lands in the community of Sage Meadows in northwest Calgary. The lands are part of Phase 3 of the Genesis Sage Meadows development and will consist of two sites of 8.18 acres and 1.4 acres, zoned for multi-family and commercial development, respectively. The aggregate sale price of the lands is $10,497,700. 

Canada Newswire – Property Biz Canada

Street-front businesses strive to rebuild ‘authentic’ Edmonton

Edmonton’s unique business zones are celebrating several key wins in their efforts to make more funky, local and Edmonton-specific spaces. Old Strathcona just saw its first two businesses — a Sugared & Spiced bakery and The Holy Roller restaurant — open in what had been dingy alleys, a creative way to add density to a provincial heritage district. 

Edmonton Journal

Brookfield acquires Houston Center complex

Continuing to add to its Houston holdings, Brookfield Asset Management (BAM-A-T) has closed on its purchase of Houston Center, a 4.2 million-square-foot office and retail complex in downtown Houston from J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Houston Center is billed as the largest commercial property in Houston’s central business district. News reports pegged the sale price at $875 million US. 

CoStar Group – CP Executive

Five bosses transformed Brookfield into major player

Bruce Flatt looks out the window of the London tower known as 99 Bishopsgate and says: “It’s all Paul’s fault.” Flatt is the CEO of Brookfield Asset Management (BAM-A-T), and the Brookfield companies clustered beneath it are London’s top office landlords, as well as some of the world’s top investors in the burgeoning market for high-return hard assets such as pipelines, hydro dams and toll roads. 

Globe and Mail (Subscription required) – IPE Real Estate

CPPIB increases exposure to Hong Kong logistics

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is buying a stake in Goodman Hong Kong Logistics Partnership (GHKLP) for $320 million. GHKLP was established in 2006 by Goodman, an Australia-headquartered global logistics specialist. CPPIB said the partnership had experienced strong performance and was benefiting from limited supply of quality industrial real estate in Hong Kong.

IPE Real Estate – Financial Post – Globe Newswire

Canada looks to Amsterdam for a little night magic

An old school building is leading the way in how the Dutch are rethinking the night. Amsterdam felt it wasn’t keeping up with the growing 24-7 nature of nightlife in the city. The city started thinking creatively about how buildings can be used for different purposes during the day and at night. This is something larger Canadian cities could consider, proponents say.

Globe and Mail – Globe and Mail

Featured Column

Community plazas thrive when they look good

“Don’t judge a book by its cover” is a phrase you’ve heard many times, but when it comes to plazas appearances do make a difference. For potential tenants, few things raise a red flag quite like seeing litter in a car park, or over-filled garbage containers. First impressions are important and can have lasting consequences.

Read more

Market Trends and Research

Mortgage crisis Laurentian Bank CEO’s biggest test yet

Playing catch-up with its much bigger peers has been the story of Laurentian Bank‘s life since it was founded 171 years ago as the Montreal City and District Savings Bank. Since taking over as CEO two years ago, François Desjardins has seemed to be winning the race. Laurentian (LB-T) has been closing the performance gap with the Big Six banks and rationalizing its branch network ahead of schedule. 

Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Ottawa OMB hearings drop 68% over two years

The number of contested hearings at the Ontario Municipal Board involving the City of Ottawa has dropped significantly since 2015. While the city chalks up the sharp decrease to improved relations between the municipality and developers, industry stakeholders say there’s been less development lately, and therefore, less to appeal.

Ottawa Business Journal

Real Estate Companies

Vancouver investment companies bullish on Arizona

A Vancouver investment company has confirmed the acquisition of its 24th Phoenix multi-family building, making a trend among Vancouver companies looking to Arizona investment properties. Western Wealth Capital (WWC) it will purchase Marble Creek, a 244-unit rental building, for US$16.75 million. WWC’s multi-family portfolio now includes 5,370 units across 32 rental buildings, 4,500 of which are located in the Greater Phoenix area.

Western Investor

Canopy Growth plans pot production facility in Denmark

Ottawa-area pot producer Canopy Growth Corp. (WEED-T) plans to establish a 430,000-square-foot cannabis production facility in Odense, Denmark to cater to the Scandinavian country’s medical marijuana patients. The new facility comes under a joint venture between Canada’s largest licensed marijuana producer and European hemp producer Danish Cannabis ApS, called Spectrum Denmark.

Ottawa Business Journal – Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Cheung Kei buys second Canary Wharf tower

Hong Kong’s Cheung Kei Group has made its second real estate purchase in London’s Canary Wharf by acquiring an office building for $462 million Cdn. Cheung Kei, which is owned by property tycoon Chen Hongtian, is buying 5 Churchill Place in Canary Wharf, a major business district in London, from Saïd Holdings.

IPE Real Estate

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Real Estate Investment Trusts

Tracing New York REIT’s massive sell-offs

During the last few months, the dissolution of New York REIT (NYRT-N) and the sale of the city buildings it owns has energized a tired local investment market. CEO Wendy Silverstein was brought in late last year to oversee the sales of the buildings and maintain value for the REIT’s shareholders. The company originated in 2010 as the non-traded American Realty Capital New York Recovery REIT. 

New York Post

Retail

Demise of athleisure exaggerated as Lululemon surges

A strong third-quarter performance at Lululemon Athletica Inc. (LULU-Q) should dispel industry fears the athleisure apparel trend is dead. The Vancouver-based yogawear and athletic brand posted a 13.7 per cent sales increase in the period ended Oct. 29 to $619 million, while earnings exceeded analyst estimates. 

Financial Post

Home Depot sets $15B share buyback, investment plan

Home Depot Inc (HD-N) announced a $15 billion share buyback plan on Wednesday and said it would invest in improving its stores to hit a $120 billion annual sales target in the next three years. The retailer’s shares fell 1.4 per cent to $180.22 on the New York Stock Exchange as its latest buyback target pointed to a slowdown in the pace of repurchases. 

Reuters – TheStreet.com – Washington Post

Ontario municipalities push back against retail cannabis stores

The Ontario government says it will delay opening branches of its new cannabis retail chain in municipalities that object to having them. A handful of mayors in the Greater Toronto Area have said they do not want a marijuana store in their areas, even though they recognize they are powerless to stop Queen’s Park.

Globe and Mail – CBC – CBC – Business Wire

Walmart changing its legal name

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT-N) is changing its legal name effective Feb. 1 as it shifts away from physical stores in the age of Amazon’s (AMZN-Q) increasing dominance. The world’s largest retailer, based in Bentonville, Ark., said Wednesday it would change its legal name to Walmart Inc. from Wal-Mart Stores Inc.  

Canadian Grocer – GlobeSt.com

Restaurants and Eateries

Struggling DavidsTea evaluating options

Canadian beverage retailer DavidsTea (DTEA-Q) is evaluating its strategic options more than two years after it went public and soon after rival Teavana shut its doors. The Montreal-based company announced the move Thursday while reporting weaker than expected third-quarter results. 

Financial Post

New Development

Ashcroft plans to partially demolish convent for CRE

Another pitched development battle is brewing in Ottawa’s Westboro neighbourhood over a new proposal by Ashcroft Homes to partially demolish a 19th-century convent designated as a heritage building to make way for commercial uses. Ashcroft is proposing to modernize the stone building to attract commercial and office tenants.

CBC

Sports Venues

A downtown NHL arena: Ottawa can learn from Edmonton

Even news a major condo project near Edmonton’s new NHL rink is being scrapped isn’t enough to dampen the spirits of the arena’s point man at the city. “Ten years ago, that would have been devastating news, a condo project being cancelled,” Rick Daviss told OBJ. “But now, it’s like, ‘Oh well, there’s another six that are about to go in the ground and another six under construction.’”

Ottawa Business Journal – CBC – Edmonton Journal

Technology

Halifax tech incubator Volta Labs triples in size

A Halifax tech incubator is tripling in size to become what the province says will be one of Canada’s largest technology hubs. Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil announced $2.25 million in funding Tuesday for Volta Labs over three years. “This funding will give more entrepreneurs in Nova Scotia the support they need to start great companies,” McNeil said. “It will also help our vibrant startup community continue to grow.”

Winnipeg Free Press

Other

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