Two visions for LeBreton Flats unveiled

Two visions for LeBreton Flats unveiled

The competing visions for LeBreton Flats are now on full public display, with two teams jostling to pour billions into the downtown Ottawa parcel of land to draw people with ambitious plans for landmark attractions. Developers Devcore Canderel DLS Group asked people to imagine a linear park the length of the development.

CBC News – Ottawa Citizen – Ottawa Citizen – CTV News

Biggest urban renewal for Ottawa in 50 years

Canadian cities are no strangers to boneheaded urban planning decisions — the Gardiner Expressway blocking access to Toronto’s waterfront, Montreal’s crumbling Turcot interchange, space-sucking viaducts in Vancouver. But imagine hiding a magnificent waterfall in your downtown core. Take a bow, Ottawa.

Globe and Mail

Ottawa tower projects receive height approval

Two separate tower projects received height approval at planning committee on Tuesday, reflecting Chair Jan Harder’s comments 2016 will be a big year for downtown Ottawa development. Both projects aim to revitalize forgotten areas in the downtown core, one at Rideau Street and Chapel and the other at Sparks Street and Bay Street.

Ottawa Business Journal

Growing company hits Target in search for new HQ

Target Corp.’s hasty retreat from Canada turned into a strategic opportunity for a fast-growing organization that had outgrown its offices. PointClickCare Corp., a software company that serves senior-care providers, had staff scattered across Mississauga in temporary spaces. From 300 employees three years ago, the full-time contingent is now 1,000, with many more on contracts.

Globe and Mail

Petronas taking two floors at Park Place tower

Petronas, the Malaysian oil and gas giant behind a planned multi-billion-dollar liquefied natural gas plant in Prince Rupert, confirmed it has leased two floors of office space at the 35-storey Park Place tower in downtown Vancouver. That gives the company a total of 34,000 square feet.

Business In Vancouver

Vancouver car dealership goes vertical

The redevelopment of one of Vancouver’s rare downtown car dealerships will see it stacked and layered inside a tower, much like the vast majority of the city’s downtown homes and office spaces. Jim Pattison Toyota Downtown Vancouver will move back into an eight-storey vertical dealership as part of the new Burrard Place redevelopment.

Vancouver Sun

Mixed-use project coming to Langford, B.C.

A massive mixed-use development will play a big role in establishing Langford as a vibrant community, says the city’s mayor. Stew Young said the Belmont Market Shopping Centre Sobeys (EMP.A-T) will be building on the triangular 8.5-hectare site adjacent to Westshore Town Centre completes the downtown core and helps set the tone for the area.

Victoria Times Colonist

Saskatoon planning retail power centre

The City of Saskatoon is working with an American consultant to plan a new “retail power centre” on the city’s west side. Blairmore Station — the name is tentative until approved by city council — is part of the city’s forthcoming Growth Plan to Half a Million.

Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Calgary airport enjoys record passenger traffic

Passenger traffic at Calgary International Airport reached new heights in 2015 despite concerns economic headwinds in Alberta would weaken travel demand. The Calgary Airport Authority said Tuesday a record 15.48 million passengers accessed YYC last year, a modest but welcome 1.4 per cent increase over 2014.

Calgary Herald

Second-busiest year for EIA

Despite the slumping economy, 2015 turned out to be a banner year for the Edmonton International Airport. Canada’s fastest-growing major airport recorded its second-busiest year, serving 7.9 million passengers in 2015, down 2.7 per cent from 2014’s record numbers.

Edmonton Journal

Hotel real estate acquisitions reveal trends

Recent hotel acquisitions reveal two trends: hotel management company consolidation and targeted real estate buys by businesses that own niche hotels. Marriott International Inc. (MAR-Q) CEO Arne Sorenson explained the first of the trends is driven largely by a desire for a bigger bang for the buck in technology spending.

Business in Vancouver – Globest.com – Globest.com

Milestone REIT closes on Landmark portfolio

Milestone Apartments Real Estate Investment Trust (MST.UN-T) today announced it has completed the acquisition of a 15-property portfolio from Landmark Apartment Trust, Inc., for approximately US$502 million, including working capital estimates.

Canada Newswire

Canadian real estate feels the love from foreign buyers

Foreign investors are snapping up ski chalets and commercial properties in Canada as a drop in the nation’s sagging currency in the past two years means their money buys much more. The bargains are especially attractive in Alberta’s resort country, where home prices in the energy heartland have fallen with the price of oil.

Reuters – CBC News

Metro to test online grocery service

Metro Inc. (MRU-T) customers in Quebec will be able to order groceries online later this year as Canada’s third-largest supermarket chain begins to test an e-commerce service. Chief executive Eric La Fleche said he doesn’t believe the Montreal-based company is at a disadvantage since demand for the service offered by rivals Loblaw and Sobeys is just starting.

Montreal Gazette – Montreal Gazette

MetLife sets CRE lending record

MetLife Inc., (MET-N) the largest U.S. life insurer, loaned about $14.3 billion for commercial real estate globally last year, the most in the company’s history of more than 140 years. That’s an 18 per cent increase from $12.1 billion the year before, the New York-based insurer said Tuesday in a statement.

Crain’s New York Business – Globest.com

Market Trends and Research

Symposium tackles tall timber tower construction

The annual WoodWORKS! International Wood Symposium this year was all about tall towers. Towers constructed from timbers, that is. Among the themes: Who is building them, what are the latest materials and techniques and how are developers getting them built in a sector still geared toward concrete and steel?

Vancouver Sun

London prime retail rents soar

Rents for prime central London shops soared nine per cent in the final quarter of 2015, the fastest growth since 1988, as luxury retailers battled over a limited number of sites in the English capital’s hottest locations. Over the entire year, rents in the heart of the capital rose by an average 18%.

The Guardian

Foreign investors retreat from U.K. CRE

Overseas investors have pulled back from the U.K. commercial real-estate market, a signal weak oil prices and volatile stock markets continue to bite, according to a survey. Demand for U.K. CRE from foreign investors slowed in the last three months of 2015 for a second straight quarter, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

MarketWatch

Real Estate Companies

YouTube pays cash for office campus

YouTube has purchased a San Bruno, Calif., office park from Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc. in an off-market, all-cash transaction for $215 million, or approximately $388 per square foot. The three-building, 554,328-square-foot Bayhill Office Centre will serve as an expanded HQ for the Google division.

CoStar Group

Transcontinental closes Quebec City printing plant

Transcontinental announced Tuesday it is closing the Transcontinental Québec printing plant, which will result in 140 jobs lost by April 30. The company says it will transfer printing of marketing products — brochures and commercial flyers — to other plants, particularly Transcontinental Interglobe in Beauceville, a 92-kilometre drive away.

Montreal Gazette

Vancouver CRE company denies ‘crowdfunding’

A Vancouver commercial real estate company that specializes in attracting offshore investors said material that appeared on a Chinese-language website promising high returns and no risk was done without its knowledge or approval. Sun Commercial Real Estate said in a statement it has done nothing illegal.

Vancouver Sun – Vancouver Province

REOC Financial Reports

	REITs & REOCs – Third-quarter 2015 report
	RENX has prepared a table with a convenient list of the companies and a summary of links to their reports that will be updated quarterly. Fourth-quarter results will be available at the end of January, 2016. Canadian REITs & REOCs – Third-quarter 2015 report

 

REIT Financial Reports

Latest fourth-quarter report:

* Brookfield Canada Office Properties, (BOX.UN-T), Marketwired

Real Estate Investment Trusts

Carey Watermark buys Marriott Bellevue

Carey Watermark Investors 2 Inc. (CWI 2), a non-traded REIT focused on investing in lodging and lodging-related properties, has acquired the Seattle Marriott Bellevue. The new hotel includes 384 guestrooms and an excellent location, Carey Watermark says, noting the Seattle suburb has blossomed into a vibrant, independent city.

GlobeSt.com

Prologis CEO not afraid of China

Prologis (PLD-N), the largest warehouse REIT in the U.S, reported strong fourth-quarter funds from operations on Tuesday. Revenue of $643.2 million was up 43 per cent from one year ago. “The dynamics of the business are very positive,” said Prologis CEO Hamid Moghadam. “Rental growth is by far the biggest driver . . .”

CNBC

Retail

Nordstrom pleased with move to Ottawa

Seattle-based Nordstrom’s (JWN-N) expansion into the Ottawa market in April was one of most anticipated retail debuts in the capital in years. Store manager John Banks says “the customers’ feedback to our Rideau Centre store has been really positive.”

Ottawa Business Journal

Brick closing Edmonton, Montreal-area call centres

Furniture and appliance retailer The Brick is closing customer care centres in Edmonton and a Montreal suburb as part of a restructuring designed to improve service. An Internet customer care centre in Edmonton and a larger call centre in Kirkland, Que., will close by March 12.

Edmonton Journal

Restaurants and Eateries

McDonald’s sets sights on Russia

McDonald’s (MCD-N) plans to increase investment in Russia and open 60 more restaurants this year after a focus on local suppliers and affordable menus helped it to weather an economic crisis. Russia’s economy, hit by weak oil prices and sanctions over Moscow’s role in the Ukraine crisis, contracted by 3.7 per cent in 2015.

Reuters – Reuters – The Street

Association News

Real Estate Forums 2016 – Winter / Spring Program
Quebec Investment Apartment Conference	Montreal	February 9, 2016
RealCapital	Toronto	February 23, 2016
Vancouver Real Estate Forum	Vancouver	March 30, 2016
Montreal Real Estate Forum	Montreal	April 5, 2016
Quebec City Real Estate Forum	Quebec City	April 27, 2016
Land and Development	Toronto	May 10, 2016
Edmonton Real Estate Forum	Edmonton	May 12, 2016
Winnipeg Real Estate Forum	Winnipeg	May 17, 2016
Calgary Real Estate Strategy and Leasing Conference	Calgary	June 2, 2016

 

New Development

B.C.’s new building act in place

On Dec. 15, provisions of the new Building Act came into force, initiating British Columbia’s transition toward a more unified, provincial regime for construction and development regulation. The act’s primary purposes are the centralization of regulatory authority with the province and the standardization of professional qualification and training for building officials.

Canadian Real Property Law Blog

Sports Venues

Blues seek St. Louis arena upgrades

The St. Louis Blues want local governments to renovate their city-owned downtown arena as part of a project that will also upgrade the city’s convention centre and former home of its recently departed NFL Rams. Blues officials met with city and St. Louis County leaders last week.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Infrastructure

OMERS buys into Spanish pipeline operator

An OMERS investment arm has agreed to buy a 24.15 per cent stake in Spain’s largest operator of oil storage facilities and pipelines. Borealis Infrastructure is acquiring a 9.15 per cent stake in Compania Logistica de Hidrocarburos from Cepsa and a 15 per cent stake from Global Infrastructure Partners.

Winnipeg Free Press

Human Resources

Layoffs coming to Jean Coutu warehouse

An estimated 127 employees at the Jean Coutu (PJC.A-T) distribution centre in Hawkesbury, Ont., will lose their jobs this spring, a company spokeswoman said Tuesday. Hélène Bisson said the company is moving distribution operations to its main centre in Varennes, Que.

Ottawa Citizen

Technology

Wendy’s probing ‘unusual activity’ on payment cards

Wendy’s (WEN-Q) says it is investigating reports of “unusual activity” on payment cards that had been used at some of its restaurants. The company says it learned from payment industry contacts this month of reports indicating fraudulent charges may have occurred on cards used legitimately at some of its locations.

Winnipeg Free Press

Other

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