Brookfield makes $14B bid for mall owner GGP

Brookfield makes $14B bid for mall owner GGP

Brookfield Property Partners L.P. announced Monday morning it is bidding to purchase all remaining shares of Chicago-based shopping mall owner GGP for an estimated $14 billion US. Brookfield currently owns about 34 per cent of the company. Brookfield is offering $23 per share, about a 21% premium on GGP’s closing price on Nov. 6, or 0.9656 of a limited partnership unit of BPY for each share.

Property Biz Canada

Credit Suisse opens landmark Vancouver office building

Credit Suisse Asset Management and its Canadian partner announced the opening of The Exchange office tower in Vancouver’s Financial District. The Exchange is a $240-million investment and the first major North American project a real estate fund of Credit Suisse Asset Management built from the ground up.  The 31-storey building is Vancouver’s tallest LEED Platinum office tower and Canada’s first LEED Platinum heritage conversion.

Canada Newswire – Vancouver Province

BTB REIT ‘definitely on track’ repositioning portfolio: CEO

A “strategic repositioning” during which BTB REIT is selling smaller, underperforming properties and buying larger, better performing assets is paying off, says president and CEO Michel Léonard. The REIT is “definitely on track” with its transformation of its portfolio, he told stock analysts in a conference call marking the release of its Q3 financial results.

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

‘Major’ acquisition for PROREIT: 19 properties in 4 provinces

PRO Real Estate Investment Trust will spend $51.6 million to purchase 19 commercial properties in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario, the majority of which are anchored by Rexall pharmacies. “This is a major transaction for PROREIT. The acquisition of this portfolio represents a significant growth milestone, bringing our total assets to more than $350 million,” said James W. Beckerleg, president and CEO of PROREIT.

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

Molson moving to new, $600-million Longueuil plant: Report

Molson Coors is planning to move to Longueuil on a piece of land near St-Hubert Airport and the Canadian Space Agency, La Presse reported. Access to highways was a major factor in the choice of location, according to the newspaper, which said the new plant would cost $600 million. Montreal had proposed a site in the east of the island, near Highway 40.

Montreal Gazette – Montreal Gazette – Property Biz Canada

Ivanhoe, RBC renovating Place Ville Marie

Ivanhoé Cambridge and RBC Royal Bank announced they have signed a long-term lease agreement under which RBC will invest in renovations to its space at 1 Place Ville Marie. RBC Royal Bank’s plans will include renovation of selected areas at Place Ville Marie, and relocation of some operations to purpose-built office space on the concourse level.

Canada Newswire – Property Biz Canada

Canadian Tire’s home delivery to challenge Walmart, Costco

Canadian Tire released a bullish outlook for the next three years as the company pushed further into e-commerce in the third quarter and posted its best sales performance in more than a decade at its eponymous retail banner. The company is also moving in on retailers such as Walmart Canada and Costco, who offer home delivery of e-commerce orders.

Financial Post – Toronto Star – Canada Newswire – Property Biz Canada

Cominar REIT seeking Sears replacements

After making good progress filling empty retail spaces left behind by Target Canada, Quebec’s largest commercial property owner is yet again facing the challenge as Sears prepares to vacate all its stores in Canada. “We were recovering well from Target and unfortunately we are now being hit by Sears,” incoming Cominar REIT CEO Sylvain Cossette said Friday during a conference call about its third-quarter results.

Winnipeg Free Press – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada

Calgary-area city builds new business park

One of the fastest growing communities in Canada, Chestermere, Alta., has transformed from a summer village into a vibrant urban centre in just two decades. A new light industrial park expected to generate $1 million in tax revenue when fully occupied, is among its latest initiatives. Webster Industrial Park is located on a 65-acre parcel on the south side of the lake.

Calgary Herald

Edmonton developer proposes hotel, towers

A local developer aims to build a new seniors’ assisted living complex, a hotel and two mid-rise condominium buildings next to the Eaux Claires transit centre in north Edmonton. Entrepreneur Sadru Nazarali’s numbered company purchased land at 9503-157 Ave. 12 years ago with the intent of building seniors’ housing that would allow older adults to age in place, he said.

Edmonton Journal

Invest in Canada, Tory urges pension funds

Toronto Mayor John Tory has issued a plea to decision-makers at Canada’s major pension funds who have been investing billions in overseas projects to start looking in their own backyards for infrastructure investment opportunities. Tory made the remarks on Day 2 of the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships (CCPPP) annual convention held in Toronto recently.

Daily Commercial News

Making mixed-use developments work in Ottawa

Ottawa’s urban landscape is on the cusp of getting a bold, new look. There is a growing trend by developers and urban planners to create more mixed-use buildings that combine work and home life while attracting a new demographic of city dweller to the core. One of the largest of these planned projects is just west of the central business district at the Bayview light-rail station.

Ottawa Business Journal – Property Biz Canada

When mixed-used condos aren’t so mixed

When realtor Alexandra Cote bought an apartment in the Carnaby, Streetcar Development’s mixed-use condo at Gladstone and Queen West, the company’s sales pitch made a point of enticing buyers with a promise of a new Metro supermarket in the podium, on the ground floor. “It was a selling point,” Cote says. Indeed, like almost all condo projects, the marketing materials included renderings showing vibrant ground-floor shops.

Globe and Mail – National Real Estate Investor

London office leasing lowest in a decade: Brookfield

Firms are continuing to delay decisions about leasing space in London’s main financial district after the U.K.’s vote to leave the European Union, says Brookfield Property Partners LP CEO Brian Kingston. “The leases that are getting done, rents are still holding in pretty well. But the level of activity I think is probably the lowest it’s been in over a decade in the City of London,” Kingston said. 

Bloomberg

Plan to build Saudi Arabia megacity will never be realized

Recently, following a wave of arrests, 32-year-old Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman revealed the political lengths he’s willing to go to consolidate power in Saudi Arabia. Just two weeks ago, he exposed the practical realities he will face when he becomes king by announcing plans to develop a $500-billion megacity in the northwestern corner of the kingdom.

Globe and Mail

Market Trends and Research

Manhattan office rents see biggest decline in three years

Manhattan office asking rents in October saw their biggest monthly decline in three years as prominent Plaza District landlords lowered pricing on some of the city’s ritziest trophy towers. Average asking rents dropped 1.2 percent to $72.03 in October, according to Colliers International. That was the biggest monthly drop since May 2014.

The Real Deal – Commercial Observer

E-commerce driving record industrial development in U.S.

U.S. industrial real estate development hit an all-time high in 2017, with more than 208 million square feet completed so far, and another 277 million currently under construction, according to research firm CoStar. JLL is seeing similar trends, according to senior research analyst Mason Mularoni.  Last year, a total of about 164 million square feet of new industrial space was completed in JLL’s calculations.

National Real Estate Investor – National Real Estate Investor

Redeveloping malls an $8B industry

Examining 90 major malls across the country,  a new JLL report found the majority have undergone a makeover, including at least common area improvements, rebranding or tenant upgrades over the last three years. Other malls have gone further, adding new uses, design elements or expansions to entice shoppers. In total, these malls have undergone more than $8 billion in renovations since 2014.

CP Executive – CoStar Group

Real Estate Companies

CPPIB boosts stake in new residential investment corp.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in New Residential Investment Corp. by 327.6 per cent in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 470,800 shares of the REIT’s stock after purchasing an additional 360,700 shares during the quarter.

Week Herald

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REOC Financial Reports

Latest financial results:

* Dream Hard Asset Alternatives Trust, Globe Newswire

Real Estate Investment Trusts

U.S. REITs outperform in pension fund allocations

Listed equity REITs outperformed all other asset classes over an 18-year period, according to a study charting the performance of 200 public and private pension funds with a total of $3.5 trillion in assets under management. The CEM Benchmarking study also found pension funds continue to favor hedge funds in their allocations, although only “Other US Fixed Income” had poorer returns during the study period.

Globest.com

Retail

Nordstrom’s sales slump show it can’t sidestep retail gloom

Nordstrom Inc. posted a worse-than-expected sales decline ahead of the holiday season, disappointing investors who’d hoped the upscale department-store chain was bucking the mall malaise. Comparable sales turned negative, showing the previous quarter’s gain may have been fleeting rather than part of a sustained turnaround. The hurricanes that hit Florida and Texas also trimmed profit during the quarter.

Bloomberg

New store offers Roots’ shoppers customization options

Roots Corp. has a strategy it expects will differentiate it from other retailers while attracting milliennials and others who want to personalize their clothing. The Toronto-based chain is rolling out a series of what it calls “enhanced experience” stores, with the third one in the world launching at Vancouver’s Pacific Centre last week.

Business In Vancouver

How HBC can avoid becoming the next Sears Canada: Olive

So soon after the demise of Sears Canada and Target Canada, Hudson’s Bay Co., last of the traditional Canadian department store chains, appears to be in the same kind of trouble. The firm has posted losses of $938 million in the past six quarters. Desperate for cash, HBC has been attempting Hail Mary passes with the sale of crown jewels among its real estate assets.

Toronto Star

Tomorrow’s gas station will charge car, feed you in 10 minutes

A pit stop on a Norwegian highway in the middle of fields between Oslo and the Winter Olympics town of Lillehammer will soon offer a glimpse of the future for the global gas station industry. At the Circle K in Dal, 55 kilometres north of the capital, owners of the next generation of electric cars will within months be able to charge their battery in as little as 10 minutes – about one-third the time it now takes. 

Globe and Mail

Restaurants and Eateries

Starbucks opens first stand-alone Italian restaurant in Seattle

After years of trying to win over lunch and dinner crowds, Starbucks is preparing to open its first stand-alone Italian restaurant. The company is teaming up with Princi, a small chain of 24-hour bakeries in Milan and London, to offer customers freshly made items including focaccia sandwiches, margherita pizzas and tiramisu. The first stage of the partnership debuts in Seattle.

Toronto Star

New Development

Edmonton LRT may lose 200 parking spaces to developer

Edmonton commuters heading to the park and ride at the Century Park Transit Centre will soon have fewer parking options. Century Park Developments Ltd. is asking the city to surrender 199 parking spaces — a quarter of the total parking at the transit hub — to eventually accommodate residential and retail space. Of those, there will be 50 fewer free stalls available, according to the city’s website.

CBC

Infrastructure

New road will be Canada’s first permanent link to Arctic coast

At 6 a.m. on Wednesday, in the arctic cold and darkness of the Mackenzie Delta, Darrel Nasogaluak will fire up his vehicle and head out on Canada’s newest and most exotic road trip. Nasogaluak, mayor of the Northwest Territories hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk, will drive down 120 kilometres of brand-new, two-lane, all-weather gravel to Inuvik.

Vancouver Province

Streetcars now rule the road along King Street

TTC employees in red vests were scattered along King Street on Sunday to help explain how Toronto’s one-year pilot project aims to improve the daily commutes of more than 65,000 streetcar riders. The project will give priority to streetcars as a means of improving travel along the notoriously slow and busy artery between Jarvis and Bathurst Streets.

Toronto Star – Globe and Mail – CBC

International

Brookfield-managed funds to buy NYC office tower

New York REIT Inc. continues its stockholder-approved liquidation program with a contract to sell 333 W. 34th St., a 345,000-square-foot office building in Midtown Manhattan. The REIT will sell the asset to real estate funds managed by Brookfield, pocketing $255 million on the deal. The transaction between New York REIT and Brookfield marks the third time 333 W. 34th has changed hands in the last 10 years. 

CP Executive

Other

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