Calgary landlords scramble to fill skyscrapers

Calgary landlords scramble to fill skyscrapers

Near-empty skyscrapers and rising vacancy rates are pressuring landlords to offer big incentives – such as a year of free rent or money for renovations – to keep a shrinking number of tenants in their downtown Calgary towers. And with more than two million square feet of new construction set to become available, the soft market for Calgary landlords is expected to last for as long as a decade.

Calgary Herald

Converting existing buildings: Part one

With land in urban areas becoming harder to come by and municipal development charges driving up new construction costs, converting existing buildings is destined to become even more prominent than it is today. Seven people with experience in the field discussed such projects at the North American New Apartment Construction and Mixed-Use Symposium and Expo at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on June 21.

Property Biz Canada

Death by digital: CEOs pay the price for tech trouble

The heat is on CEOs this summer, as recent changes in the executive suite at Canadian Tire, Sobeys and Torstar show there’s little tolerance for a boss who lacks a smart strategy for an increasingly tech-driven marketplace and fails to deliver on digital promises. Let’s start with Canadian Tire a case study in what’s expected of today’s CEO.

Globe and Mail

CEO says e-commerce a “friend” to retail REIT

Dennis Gershenson is president and CEO of Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust (RPT-N) which owns and manages multi-anchor shopping centers primarily located in about a dozen of the largest metropolitan markets in the United States. The REIT is celebrating its 20^thanniversary as a publicly traded company this year.

REIT.com

City of Calgary marketing potential development sites

An updated affordable housing strategy presented to city council last week indicated Calgary has only half the amount of low-cost residences as the national average. No affordable housing units have opened in the past three years, although the city’s real estate division has released its first non-market housing/mixed commercial development opportunity, which will provide a number of units in the Parkdale area.

Calgary Herald

Effects of the GICS re-classification for U.S. REITs

Since last year, Aug. 31, 2016, has been circled on the calendars of REIT professionals and dedicated REIT investors. However, what many consider the biggest development to hit the sector in 15 years may have a greater impact on those investors that previously overlooked REITs than anyone. 

REIT.com – REIT reclassification good news, BMO says

OSC launches Office of the Whistleblower

The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) today launched the Office of the Whistleblower, the first paid whistleblower program by a securities regulator in Canada. The OSC also published OSC Policy 15-601 Whistleblower Program, which outlines the program’s eligibility criteria and reflects input received from stakeholders on the program.

Canada Newswire

Fengate acquires interest in Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital

Fengate Capital Management Ltd. has reached financial close on the acquisition by certain funds that it manages of Carillion Canada’s 40% equity interest in the Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital project as well as the rights to oversee the provision of facility management services at the hospital for the term of the contract. This acquisition brings the total investment by Fengate-managed funds in OTMH to 90% of the equity.

Canada Newswire

What does the future hold for GM’s Oshawa plant?

Eleven years ago, General Motors Co.’s then-chairman Rick Wagoner announced plans to shut down an assembly plant in Oshawa, Ont., calling it “tough medicine.” Today, however, the Oshawa consolidated plant, as it’s known, received a fifth lease on life last year and continues to turn out the popular Chevrolet Equinox crossover.

Financial Post

Retirement community to be built in south Edmonton

Construction is underway at a $60-million southwest Edmonton retirement community set to open at the end of 2017. Located in the MacTaggart subdivision of Terwillegar Heights, the 180-suite luxury MacTaggart Place Retirement Residence will generate construction jobs for 140 workers.

Edmonton Journal

Edmonton mayors vote down higher density housing targets

A set of new housing density targets passed Thursday at the Capital Region Board won’t affect most municipalities for at least 30 years. Despite that, the mayors were unwilling to accept tougher targets.

Edmonton Journal

Massive land swap by Google, LinkedIn in California

Google and LinkedIn have reached an agreement to swap properties totaling more than 1 million square feet of existing buildings and 2.54 million square feet in potential development, hitting the reset button on Google’s ambitious plan to expand in Mountain View, CA’s North Bayshore area — and eventually allowing LinkedIn to develop Shoreline Commons, a mixed-use headquarters expansion.

CoStar Group

Self-Storage consolidation in U.S. driven by scale benefits

Arlen Nordhagen, chairman, president and CEO of National Storage Affiliates said the company’s decision to increase its quarterly dividend by 10 percent reflected strong growth in funds from operation (FFO) per share. Nordhagen also discussed National Storage’s recruitment of “participating regional operators”.

REIT.com

Four Seasons to manage resort on Desroches Island

Desroches Island Developments Limited and Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, the world’s leading luxury hospitality company, announced that Four Seasons will manage the only resort offering on the remote tropical island of Desroches in the Seychelles. After undergoing extensive renovations, the existing property will re-open in 2017 as Four Seasons Resort Seychelles at Desroches Island.

Canada Newswire

Brookfield may invest $2 billion more in India’s CRE

Brookfield (BAM-T), the Canadian asset manager could invest over $2 billion in India over the next 2-3 years to buyout upscale offices and commercial towers, stranded roads, power and utilities infrastructure as it aims to double its existing asset base in the country.

India Times

Featured Column

The elusive turnkey space

There are a multitude of office listings for lease in our market so why is it so hard to find a glove-fit for tenants? The past use of a space can often deter future use for tenants shopping our market.

Read more

Will Brexit drive U.K. investors to Canada’s REITs?

Pundits have already been talking about how Brexit – that exercise in political gamesmanship gone horribly wrong – might fan the flames of Canada’s housing market, but what about commercial real estate?

Read more

Market Trends and Research

5 TED Talks Eevery CRE professional should watch

TED Talks are known for their incredible content and excellent delivery. While most are about science or culture, here is a collection of some of the best TED Talks for real estate folks.

Get High Tower

Don’t count banks out of CRE debt

With CMBS issuance down by half over the first half of this year, banks have largely stepped in to meet the strong demand for CRE debt financing. However, analysts are beginning to raise questions on the impact regulatory and pricing issues may have on bankers’ ability to continue providing borrowers with funds in the second half.

CoStar Group

CMBS delinquencies in U.S. trend up for third month

U.S. CMBS delinquencies rose for a third straight month in June, according to the latest index results from Fitch Ratings. Loan delinquencies increased 20 basis points (bps) during the month to 3.18% from 2.98% in May. The increase was chiefly due to the addition of three loans, each greater than $100 million.

Costar Group

Regina building permits top $117M in June

Two schools and a seniors’ housing complex helped push building permit values to $117.3 million in June, a more than fourfold increase over the $28.7 million in permits posted during the same period last year, according to the City of Regina’s monthly building permit report.

Regina LeaderPost

Real Estate Companies

Tim Callahan joins Avison Young in Tampa, Florida

Ken Lane and Clay Witherspoon, Avison Young Principals and Managing Directors of the firm’s Tampa office, announced today the strategic hiring of commercial real estate industry leader Tim Callahan. Effective immediately, Callahan becomes a Principal of Avison Young.

PR Newswire

Can’t afford to invest in real estate? Think again

Over 71 per cent of Canadians say they wouldn’t be able to afford to invest in a property worth $1 million – the average price of a detached home in Toronto – while nearly four-out-of-five (79.8 per cent) of those in the 25 to 34 age group say the investment is too much, says the Google survey conducted by NexusCrowd, a real estate investment platform.

Yahoo Finance

REOC Financial Reports

Morguard acknowledge proceeds from Target settlement

Morguard Corporation (MRC-T) and Morguard REIT (MRT.UN-T) acknowledge total proceeds in the amount of $39.3 million (inclusive of sales tax) from a settlement with Target Canada, currently under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act protection, and its parent, Target Corporation, related to lease guarantee claims at eight retail properties in Canada.

Canada Newswire

Real Estate Investment Trusts

Dream Global REIT announces equity offering

Dream Global REIT (DRG.UN-T) has entered into an agreement to sell 9,450,000 units of the Trust on a bought deal basis at a price of $9.00 per Unit to a syndicate of underwriters led by TD Securities Inc. for gross proceeds of $85,050,000.

Marketwired

Retail

Krispy Kreme opening 50 Canadian locations

American doughnut giant Krispy Kreme is expanding in Canada again after an attempt in the early 2000s. The company says it’s opening up to 50 additional stores in Ontario and Quebec, where six outlets are already located, and then aims to expand to the rest of Canada.

Financial Post

Strong U.S. retail sales point to solid domestic demand

U.S. retail sales rose more than expected in June as Americans bought motor vehicles and a variety of other goods, reinforcing views that economic growth picked up in the second quarter. The Commerce Department said on Friday retail sales increased 0.6 per cent last month after a downwardly revised 0.2 per cent gain in May.

Globe and Mail

New Development

City must remove fuel tank buried at police HQ

The latest in a long list of problems that have beset the new police headquarters is buried beneath ground, but it’s far from treasure.  The city has issued a tender for the removal of a 45,000-litre diesel storage tank at 266 Graham Ave.

Winnipeg Free Press

Infrastructure

Cash shift might revive Sheppard subway extension

City council may have ended the debate over one controversial Scarborough subway this week, but the dispute over a second one may be heating up. The Star has learned that the province has asked Ottawa to withdraw $330 million in federal funding from the Sheppard LRT project and reallocate it to the Finch West LRT.

Toronto Star

International

Post-Brexit foreign investor flight could boost U.S. office

The U.S. office market continued to record strong demand as measured in both occupancy and rent growth at midyear, and analysts even found optimism in the slowing trend in investment sales activity seen year-to-date.

CoStar Group

Other

	RENX has surpassed 9,180 Twitter followers
	Follower Pat Crosscombe Founder & CEO BoardSpace. Passionate about good governance & service to community.
	Follow RENXca, the most comprehensive news feed on Twitter for Canadian real estate professionals.