Morguard acquires Ottawa industrial property

Morguard acquires Ottawa industrial property

Morguard Corporation (MRC-T) announced today it has purchased Capital East Business Centre, a two-building, small-bay industrial portfolio in Ottawa. The acquisition was completed for a purchase price of $42.5 million, excluding taxes and transaction costs, and encompasses 243,000 square feet on 15.5 acres. “With an in-demand location and market-leading features, the Capital East Business Centre is the best multi-tenant industrial facility in the Ottawa region,” said CEO K. Rai Sahi. 

Canada Newswire

Hydropothecary building huge greenhouse, raising $130M

Cannabis grower Hydropothecary (THCX-X), which earlier announced a move to more than double its Gatineau footprint and quadruple its production capacity, says it’ll soon be ready to tackle the national market after raising the largest deal of its kind in Canadian cannabis history, a $130-million IPO. The one-million-square-foot facility will cost an estimated $80 million. It’s being constructed next to the firm’s existing 65-acre facility.

Ottawa Business Journal – Canada Newswire

PIRET to be acquired by Blackstone in $3.8B deal

Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust (AAR-UN-T) announced Tuesday morning it will be acquired by an affiliate of Blackstone Property Partners (BX-N) in an all-cash transaction valued at $3.8 billion. The transaction price of $8.10 per share of PIRET represents a 21 per cent premium to the closing price of its shares on the TSX Monday and a 27 per cent premium to the current research consensus net asset value estimate.

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

CPPIB JVs on $686M of U.S. multi-family real estate

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), Cortland Partners and GIC announced they have formed a joint venture with a targeted equity amount of $686 million Cdn to acquire and renovate 8,000 to 10,000 class-B multi-family units in the U.S. CPPIB and GIC will each own a 45% interest in the joint venture and Cortland Partners will own the remaining 10% interest.

Globe Newswire – Property Biz Canada

Senior real estate analyst leaves BMO Nesbitt Burns

Yet another senior real estate analyst is leaving Bay Street, with Heather Kirk deciding to step away from sell-side research. Kirk, who joined BMO Nesbitt Burns as a managing director in 2013, has worked in capital markets for two decades, with experience in both investment banking and research. Before BMO she had worked at National Bank Financial in Toronto and Montreal.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Vancouver office tax hikes looming

Pricing for strata office space at Bosa Development Corp.’s tower continues to draw attention, but as Chuck We of Oxford Properties Group told NAIOP, it might not be kind to downtown landlords. “When BC Assessment sees that office space is now worth north of $2,000 a foot, that works back into their land valuations,” We said. “So when you go ahead and rezone they’ll happily collect taxes on that basis.” 

Western Investor – Business In Vancouver

Hotel, restaurants highlight new N. Van. development

The opening of a hotel, two restaurants, shops and the region’s largest public ice rink at a North Shore development taking shape will complete Lower Lonsdale’s transformation into one of the region’s top gathering spots, says North Vancouver’s mayor and the developers of Lot 5. Being developed by Quay Property Management Corp. (QPM), the L-shaped building will soon house a 71-room, four-star hotel run by Executive Hotel and Resorts Group.

Vancouver Sun

Commercial demand high in Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows

B.C.’s Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows region has experienced unprecedented levels of commercial, industrial, and residential demand over the past five years, making a name for itself as one of Greater Vancouver’s fastest growing municipalities. In 2017, combined housing starts for both cities grew a whopping 148 per cent year-over-year, accelerated primarily by multi-family projects in Maple Ridge during 2017. 

Western Investor

Langford, B.C., pursues more land for free parking

Langford is actively acquiring properties in its core to increase its downtown parking supply, says Mayor Stew Young. “Langford’s buying land right now to put in parking lots in our downtown core right now before it grows up,” Young said. Young said downtown parking is a council priority as developers eye the city for high-rise development. An 11-storey residential building over ground-floor commercial is already under construction.

Victoria Times Colonist

Ottawa’s first Microtel by Wyndham hotel planned for Kanata

An Ottawa boutique developer and project management firm is laying the groundwork for a new budget hotel just north of the Canadian Tire Centre. City planning documents show Glebe-based Activar has filed a site plan application for a four-storey, 108-unit Microtel hotel at 340 Huntmar Dr., just north of Highway 417 across from the Tanger Ottawa Outlet Centre.

Ottawa Business Journal

Fast-casual food chains hungry for core locations

More than 60 years after it first opened its doors to Canada, A&W has celebrated another milestone with the unveiling of its 900th restaurant. More importantly for the country’s second-biggest quick-service burger chain in terms of stores, after McDonald’s, the recently opened restaurant on Toronto’s Bloor Street West also marked the company’s 50th urban location. 

Globe and Mail

Altus Group acquires New Market Real Estate Group

Altus Group Limited (AIF-T) announced today it has acquired New Market Real Estate Group, LLC, a U.S. national real estate advisory firm. “The acquisition of New Market strengthens our real estate advisory services offerings by enhancing our depth of valuation expertise to even better serve our large institutional clients,” said Rick Kalvoda, Altus’ senior executive vice-president. 

Globe Newswire

What to expect from global REITs in 2018: Timbercreek

Our bottom-up fundamental analysis currently suggests global REITs are priced to deliver another year of positive total returns for 2018 in the range of eight to 10 per cent. This return consists of a 4.6 per cent cash flow yield and four-to-five-per-cent earnings growth driven by higher realizable rents as leases expire at below-current-market levels, completion of redevelopment and development projects currently underway and new accretive property acquisitions.

Globe and Mail – Marketwired

‘Amazonia’ turns tech giant into Big Brother

It’s no secret downtown Seattle is dominated by Amazon. With offices spread over more than 33 buildings and a Seattle workforce edging past 40,000, the area can sometimes feel like Amazon’s private city. That feeling was driven home on a recent walk through the neighbourhood. About an hour into my walk, I turned the corner where the company’s cashierless test store for employees, Amazon Go, is located.

Business Insider

London beats NYC among foreign RE investors

New York City took a double hit in an annual survey of the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate, which saw London overtake it in first place globally and Los Angeles tie it for top U.S. city. The survey asks its members, estimated to have more than $2 trillion in real estate assets under management, to rank markets by various measures, such as stability and opportunity for capital appreciation.

Bloomberg – The Real Deal – Washington Business Journal – CoStar Group

Featured Column

An open letter to utilities and service providers

Dear SaskPower/SaskEnergy/SaskTel: I am a commercial real estate agent in Saskatoon. I’ve dealt with your companies on behalf of landlords and owners over the years. Commercial hookups are different than residential services in that commercial clients will often require a number of people to be authorized to deal with the account. This isn’t new…

Read more

Market Trends and Research

Building permits fall in November on fewer non-residential plans

The value of Canadian building permits tumbled more than expected in November on fewer plans for commercial and industrial buildings, though intentions for single-family homes edged up, data from Statistics Canada showed Wednesday. The overall 7.7 per cent decrease in building permits from October exceeded economists’ forecasts for a decline of 0.3 per cent.

Globe and Mail

Calgary retail vacancy rate drops to 3.1 per cent

Following a year in which Calgary’s retail vacancy rose to the mid-three per cent range, 2017 brought a notable drop to 3.1%; back to Q1 2016 levels. This year-over-year decrease was a product of local corporate expansions by CRAFT brewery and Analog Coffee, as well as activity from high-profile, large footprint retailers such as Saks OFF 5th, Sporting Life and Zara who are opening new stores at CF Market Mall.

Barclay Street Real Estate release

Real Estate Companies

Starlight acquires interest in Atlanta apartment complex

Starlight U.S. Multi-Family (No. 1) Value-Add Fund (SUVA-A-X) announced it has acquired a 50 per cent interest in Landmark at Coventry Pointe, a 250-unit, garden style, value-add multi-family property completed in 2002 and located in Atlanta, pursuant to previously disclosed terms. The remaining 50% interest in the property will be indirectly acquired by director/CEO Daniel Drimmer. 

Canada Newswire

Business leaders want Sask. to nurture budding weed industry

Pot legalization could create an industry worth “hundreds of millions” in Saskatchewan, according to an economic development agency — especially if the province plays its cards right. David Froh, vice-president of Economic Development Regina, said Saskatchewan businesses could get a piece of every part of the industry, from research and development to wholesaling and retail.

Regina Leader-Post – Maclean’s

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Real Estate Investment Trusts

Should you dump or keep Boardwalk REIT?

Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust (BEI.UN-T) moved up nearly three per cent on Monday — a sizable jump after a difficult year. The one-day move is more than this stock typically moves in one month. How about a deeper dive on this REIT? Two-thirds of this Calgary-based REIT are properties in Alberta, where business has had downward pressures from oil producers and prices and wild fires.

Motley Fool – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada

IRET sells MOB portfolio for $368M

IRET (IRET-N) set out to remake itself as a pure-play multi-family REIT three years ago, and now the goal is within close reach. IRET recently closed the sale of its approximately one million-square-foot medical office building portfolio to Harrison Street Real Estate LLC in a $367.7 million US transaction. 

CP Executive

Legal Corner

Lawyers, accountants turning to legal technology for RE issues

Lawyers and accountants put the technology available to them to good use last year, especially when it came to real estate issues. That’s according to the review recently released by Blue J Legal, a Toronto-based producer of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered legal technology, of its first product Tax Foresight.

ITBusiness.ca

Retail

Sears Holdings raises $100 million in new funding

Sears Holding Corp (SHLD-Q) said Wednesday it raised $100 million in new funding and forecast a smaller loss in the fourth quarter, sending its shares up as much as 5.4 percent premarket. The company, which at one time was the largest U.S. retailer, has been trying to boost liquidity and save costs after warning last March that it had doubts it could continue as a going concern. 

Reuters

New Development

Council airs concerns over future of Kelowna’s Central Green

Concerns over the future of Central Green’s building site “B” ignited a lively discussion at Kelowna City Council Monday. All city councillors voiced concerns over the building’s proposed height of five storeys and were highlighted as a significant deviation from the original development plan of a tower-type building. The proposal for a five-storey, 108-unit building will go before council at a later date.

KelownaNow

International

PGIM Real Estate names Marcus next Americas head

After 36 years at PGIM Real Estate, Kevin Smith, the firm’s head of Americas, will retire in March, a plan announced in May. With Smith’s retirement just months away, PGIM has named Cathy Marcus head of the U.S. business, to go with her role as global chief operating officer. First coming to the company in 1998, Marcus has served in a range of transactions and portfolio management roles.

CP Executive

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