Calgary’s CF Chinook Centre latest mall to get new dining hall

Calgary’s CF Chinook Centre latest mall to get new dining hall

As food service options become increasingly important to Canadian shopping centre owners, Cadillac Fairview says it will spend $17 million to revamp food services at its downtown Calgary’s CF Chinook Centre. The food services upgrade comes as Saks Fifth Avenue prepares to open its first Western Canada outlet in the Chinook Centre in February – the high-end retailer’s third store in Canada.

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

Canadian cities to lead N.A. industrial rent growth: C & W

Momentum picked up in the North American industrial real estate market in 2017, and strong fundamentals bode well for that continuing through the next two years. “I really think that industrial is now the darling of the real estate industry, particularly since the oil price decline,” said Stuart Barron, Cushman & Wakefield’s national research director for Canadian markets, who contributed to the new “North American Industrial Forecast Report 2018-2019.”

Property Biz Canada

Marriott introduces futurist smart suites

When you walk into a hotel room, do you expect it will know your favourite songs, your exercise routine, whether you like lots of light or very little, whether you prefer the curtains open or closed, whether you like it steamy or chilly? Some mix of smart technology will start rolling out to Marriott International, Inc.’s (MAR-Q) 1.3 million rooms under management in late 2018 or early 2019.   

Globe and Mail

Digital Footrace: Landlords need to know tech options today

As CRE tech continues its rapid advancement, landlords who haven’t done so need to make moves to bring their technological capabilities up to speed. The benefits, including revenue optimization and workflow efficiencies, are becoming increasingly clear. But perhaps more important, yet less obvious, are the risks of non-adoption. The great likelihood is technology non-adopters will find themselves facing existential business challenges in the near-term.

CRE Tech: Riding the Digital Wave

Amazon’s next mountain: B2B procurement

Over the last decade, Amazon’s marketplace has acted as the most notable catalyst for what is now touted as the retail apocalypse. Amazon (AMZN-Q) has recently set its eyes on making it easier for businesses to purchase products from one another. And this time, its weapon of choice is Amazon Business. 

Globe and Mail – Bloomberg – Bloomberg

Calgary’s odds to land Amazon HQ2 improve

The bidding war between North American cities vying for Amazon’s second headquarters continues — and while one Alberta city is a long shot, another is quickly moving up in the rankings. Edmonton’s odds of landing the marketplace juggernaut’s business are 100-to-1, while Calgary’s odds are now 18-to-1, up from an initial 66-to-1. The odds are made by Irish betting company Paddy Power.

CBC

Tridel, Rowntree planning three-tower condo project in Toronto

Developers Tridel and Rowntree Enterprises have unveiled a plan to redevelop the site of the former Inn on the Park in a three-tower complex at Leslie Street and Eglinton Avenue that will house 1,100 luxury suites. The new project seeks to enhance access to the public and private green space while taking advantage of the soon-to-be-operational Eglinton Crosstown LRT, which will include a station close by.

Globe and Mail

Ironclad plans Winnipeg luxury apartment complex

Winnipeg developer Ironclad Developments has some lofty plans to redevelop the former Norlander Inn on Pembina Highway. Ironclad plans to build a six-storey, 285-unit, luxury apartment complex with a a combination of bachelor, one-, two- and three-bedroom rental units ranging in size from 375 to 1,050 square feet. Monthly rental rates are tentatively pegged from $950 to $1,700.

Winnipeg Free Press

Ottawa architect argues for national architecture policy

With Quebec’s order of architects pushing for a provincial architecture policy, an Ottawa architect is calling on the federal government to set goals for the whole country. “It’s not so much just about ugly buildings, but really about what does the built environment say about us as a people?” Toon Dreessen told CBC Radio’s Ottawa Morning. 

CBC

Montreal’s Ste-Catherine Street to undergo massive overhaul

Montreal’s famous Ste-Catherine Street and the merchants along the busy commercial artery will be subjected to a familiar rite of passage in the metropolis: a major construction overhaul. A 2.2-kilometre stretch of road will be transformed between Atwater Avenue, the historic former address of the old Montreal Forum, all the way east to the entrance of the entertainment district.

Winnipeg Free Press – CBC

Montreal’s port eyes another record year in 2018

The Port of Montreal started 2018 with hopes of another record year for cargo traffic as the Canadian free trade agreement with Europe begins to bear fruit. Canada’s second-largest port anticipates cargo traffic increasing about four per cent after ending 2017 up almost seven per cent at a record 38 million tonnes, port CEO Sylvie Vachon said.

Montreal Gazette

What did we learn from Quebec, Ontario floods?

It was in the dead of winter one year ago Rick Blanchard, a waterfront property owner on Lake St. Lawrence – a small dam reservoir between Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River – noticed the water and ice outside his beachfront window was more than a metre higher than usual. The level downstream past the dam, he noted, was a bit lower than average.

Globe and Mail – CP Executive

Cannabis deal-making off to a hot start in 2018

The first week of 2018 has seen a number of deals in Canada’s cannabis industry — a busy start to a year that is expected to include the legalization of recreational pot and plenty of mergers and acquisitions in the sector in general. Here’s a roundup of some of the most notable transactions from the past seven days:

Financial Post – CBC

Marijuana to be sold in Saskatchewan by private retailers

Saskatchewan will allow cannabis to be sold by private retailers. The provincial government announced Monday its initial plan for retailing legal marijuana in Saskatchewan, starting in July. Where the province allows such stores will be determined by population, and municipalities will have the “right to say no to a license” if they so choose, according to the announcement from the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA).

Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Manhattan’s financial companies driving office leasing again

Manhattan office leasing is on “FIRE” again. FIRE companies — broker parlance for finance, insurance and real estate — committed to 11.1 million square feet of space in 2017, the most in four years, according to Colliers International. Such tenants made up 34 per cent of the total 37 million square feet of deals in what was Manhattan’s most active leasing year since 2003, the brokerage said.

Bloomberg

Market Trends and Research

Value of Vancouver’s Balmoral Hotel plummets

The assessed value of the dilapidated Balmoral Hotel on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside has plummeted by more than 70 per cent, reflecting the loss of rental income after the city ordered the building closed for safety reasons this past June. Although the land value ascribed to the property increased slightly, the assessed value of the heritage building itself fell from $7.7 million last year to just $139,600.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

B of C’s business survey builds case for rate hike next week

Canadian companies remain optimistic about future sales despite some moderation from highs, and signs of capacity pressures and labour shortages have picked up, the Bank of Canada said Monday in a survey that reinforces expectations for an interest rate hike. Many companies expect stable sales growth or a return to a more sustainable pace and will expand operations to accommodate demand, the central bank said in its quarterly Business Outlook Survey.

Financial Post – Calgary Herald – Financial Post – Financial Post

U.S. CRE pricing flattens out in 2017

Commercial property pricing looked much the same way at year’s end as it did at the start. Green Street Advisors said Friday its Green Street Commercial Property Price Index was essentially unchanged in December. The index, which measures values across five major property sectors, declined by less than one per cent during 2017. “Property pricing as a whole ended the year where it started it, but performance in 2017 really depended on the type of property,” says senior analyst Peter Rothemund.

GlobeSt.com

Net lease to remain active in U.S. in 2018

Cap rates in the fourth quarter of 2017 for the single-tenant net lease retail sector reached a new historic low rate of 6.07 percent. During the same time period, cap rates for the office sector increased by two basis points to 7.00 per cent and cap rates for the industrial sector decreased by two basis points to 7.25 per cent. Cap rates in the fourth quarter of 2017 represented the lowest point of the year for all three sectors

CP Executive

Real Estate Companies

Château Laurier applies to demolish parking garage

The Fairmont Château Laurier’s aging parking garage may be torn down before its proposed expansion even begins, as the hotel’s engineers have deemed the unsightly structure unsound and a risk to public safety. Larco Investments Ltd., owner of the Château Laurier, has proposed the demolition of the five-storey parkade in an application to the City of Ottawa. 

Ottawa Business Journal – CBC

New Hamilton rules would allow only 15 payday loan outlets

The city of Hamilton is drafting a new law that would cap the number of payday loan places at 15. Bylaw officials are working on a new radial separation rule allowing a maximum of one payday loan or cheque-cashing business per ward. City council will vote on it in February. Existing businesses would be grandfathered, so there won’t be an immediate difference, said Ken Leendertse, the city’s director of licensing

CBC – CBC

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Real Estate Investment Trusts

Washington REIT to buy Virginia office tower for $250M

Washington REIT (WRE-N) has agreed to buy the Arlington Tower in Virginia for $250 million and has also proposed to sell its 2445 M Street NW office building in the U.S. capital. The REIT said it will buy the 398,000-square-foot office building off-market and expects to close in the first quarter of 2018. The 19-story property at 1300 North 17th Street is situated two blocks from the Rosslyn Metrorail station. 

IPE Real Assets

Starwood snaps up another Florida affordable housing portfolio

Starwood Property Trust Inc. (STWD-N) has agreed to buy 28 properties with a combined 6,185 affordable housing units in Orlando, Tampa and other major Florida markets for $600 million US. Starwood, the nation’s largest commercial mortgage REIT, announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire the institutional-quality portfolio in an off-market transaction. 

CoStar Group

Retail

New tenants set up shop at The Forks Market

In 2017, The Forks Market – a popular Winnipeg meeting spot and historic site – welcomed a handful of new, mostly Manitoban tenants. The roster includes Fools and Horses coffee, Coal and Canary Candle Company and Winnipeg chef Scott Bagshaw’s newest project, the small-plate spot Passero. More changes are still to come, including a McNally Robinson Booksellers storefront.

CBC

Lululemon hikes forecasts on strong holiday sales

Lululemon Athletica Inc (LULU-Q) said Monday the holiday shopping season was even better that it had expected and raised its profit and revenue forecasts for the fourth quarter, sending the Canadian yoga and leisure apparel maker’s shares up. The company had said in December the holiday season had gotten off to a great start, with the company’s highest traffic and largest sales ever on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. 

Reuters – Winnipeg Free Press

Retailers need to know advertising law developments

Having just survived peak shopping season, retailers — hoping to start 2018 off on a high note — are going to start vying for the public’s attention again very soon.  As a result, it is important to be sure that what promotional materials they create are true, accurate and reliable. We can take lessons from some of the most interesting legal developments in consumer advertising in 2017.

Financial Post

Restaurants and Eateries

Tim Hortons was already a brand in crisis: Opinion

The $12.5-billion takeover of Tim Hortons (QSR-T) by Brazilian-based 3G Capital was finalized in 2014, and happiness has not prevailed. Just ask James Pickersgill, whose local Tim’s in small-town Cobourg, Ont., has become a metaphor for the fight for a living wage, in no small part due to his viral Facebook post. 

Toronto Star – CBC

Infrastructure

Fort Mac mayor ‘optimistic’ despite calls to scrap power project

Fort McMurray’s political and business leaders say they aren’t worried about calls to scrap a $370 million electrical transmission project in the area.  The Alberta Electrical System Operator (AESO) is recommending the province reverse its approval of the Northwest of Fort McMurray Area Transmission System. AESO said it no longer forecasts any need for the project in the oilsands region.

CBC

Other

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