The pain is getting worse for Alberta REITs

The pain is getting worse for Alberta REITs

Commercial-property owners in Alberta are reeling from the energy crash, a phenomenon that is accelerating as the economic pain from weak oil and gas prices spreads throughout the province. The problems are spelled out in the latest batch of quarterly earnings from publicly traded real estate investment trusts with heavy exposure to the province.

Globe and Mail (subscription required)

CAPREIT cuts rents on its Alberta portfolio

A prominent Canadian landlord has lowered the rent in its Alberta multi-family properties to hold and attract tenants as the vacancy rate soars to the highest level in 25 years. Canadian Apartment Properties REIT (CAR.UN-T) has reduced rents across its entire Alberta apartment portfolio“in order to increase occupancies and reduce turnovers,” according to the company.

Western Investor

Suburban Calgary should expect property tax increases

A city councillor is warning of significant property tax increases for suburban businesses, as the downtown vacancy rate reaches a high never before seen in Calgary. The ongoing economic downturn has emptied office buildings in the core, pushed the downtown vacancy rate to 22.1 per cent and lowered market values downtown.

Calgary Herald – Western Investor

Regency and Equity One Shopping Center REITs merge

Regency Centers Corp. (REG-N) and Equity One, Inc. (EQY-N) have agreed to combine to form one of the largest shopping center REITs in the country with a portfolio of primarily grocery-anchored properties, jumping ahead of rivals Kimco and Federal Realty with a total market capitalization expected to exceed $15.6 billion.

CoStar Group – IPE Real Estate

Hungerford Properties raises CAD170m for Western Canada fund

Hungerford Properties has raised CAD170m for a fund focused on Western Canada. The Vancouver-based company said its second Hungerford Properties Western Canada (HPWC) vehicle was backed by existing institutional, family office and high-net-worth investors.

IPE Realestate

Saskatoon’s Scotiabank office tower draws multiple bids

If you want a sign that Saskatoon’s real estate market is rock-solid, Tom McClocklin believes the recent purchase of the downtown Scotiabank building is all the proof you need. Local firm Pillar Properties Ltd. recently purchased the five-storey tower, at the corner of Second Avenue and 22nd Street for $18 million.

Western Investor

Shindleman and Harvey honoured by CCIM Institute

Two Winnipeg real estate veterans have been honoured by Chicago-based CCIM Institute for their vision, dedication and efforts to promote the organization and its “Certified Commercial Investment Member” (CCIM) designation globally.

Property Biz Canada

Theme park creator’s HQ its most thrilling design yet

Fantastic and colourful designs for thrill rides are everywhere in the Toronto headquarters of Forrec Ltd., one of the world’s most prolific creators of theme parks and resorts. On a designer’s desk, an architectural model features a flying saucer slicing through two buildings.

Globe and Mail

In 1953, Edmonton’s annex building was ahead of its time.

Let me take you back to the Edmonton of the early 1950s, a city on the brink of the future. It was just a few years after the Leduc No. 1 oil strike of 1947. Edmonton was in the grip of a boom, filling up with postwar immigrant and refugees streaming into Alberta, looking for a new life.

Edmonton Journal

CRE’s analytics gap

The data are out there; the problem is bringing them all together. A recent survey by Toronto-Based Altus Group, which provides advisory and data solutions to the commercial real estate industry, reports that 89% of owner-operator and owner-investor firms globally face major impediments to collecting and utilizing data to drive improved asset and investment management decision making. The figure rises slightly to 91% across US firms.

Globe St. – Property Biz Canada

Irving joins UK firm on new ship building bid

Irving Shipbuilding has partnered with UK-based defence company BAE Systems to bid on a the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships and Joint Support Ship In-Service Support contract, worth up to $5.2 billion. BAE announced last week in a press release that the two companies had joined forces under the name Canadian Naval Support Ltd.

The Chronicle Herald

Canada Infrastructure Bank gets boost from investors

The Canada Infrastructure Bank is a centrepiece of the federal government’s highly touted $180 billion, 12-year infrastructure plan. But for now at least, it’s also one of the more mysterious. In a speech in Toronto Tuesday, Amarjeet Sohi, Canada’s Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, described the bank as one of the “innovative solutions” that is needed to come up with ways to finance construction of the myriad infrastructure projects.

Financial Post – Edmonton Journal

About that $1T infrastructure plan Trump promised

One of the promises Donald Trump made on the campaign trail was an investment program for infrastructure. To be sure, Hillary Clinton had a similar plan as well — but not nearly as encompassing as Trump’s. It was, in the beginning, a 10-year, $1-trillion-plus plan to rebuild highways, tunnels, bridges and airports as well as make investments in clean water and a modern and reliable electricity grid.

Globe St.

Trump, LDI and defaulting government debt

As a self-proclaimed consummate deal maker, Donald Trump is well experienced in renegotiating debt. Some now argue that it is not only the US, but the euro-zone, the UK and ultimately most of the world’s governments that are going to default on their debt. That will certainly be a source of worry.

IPE Real Estate

Political uncertainty is back like never before

The election of Donald Trump as US president represents a sea-change in politics, and, for a second time in less than six months, following the UK’s Brexit vote, investors are left unscrambling the implications for markets over various time horizons.

IPE Real Estate

Real Estate Companies

As Honest Ed’s comes to an end …

Before the end of Honest Ed’s, or the Annex as we know it: a party. Toronto’s most famous department store will soon be host to Toronto For Everyone, a three-day community festival running Feb. 23-26, 2017. “Honest Ed’s is one of our most inclusive spaces in the city; a business that led with community-first and we resonate with that,” said Adil Dhalla, executive producer of TO4E.

Toronto Star

Real Estate Investment Trusts

Canadian REITs at risk to falling prices under Trump: analysts

Canadian utility, telecom and REIT stocks are all vulnerable to price dips now that Donald Trump has been elected president of the U.S., a new report from RBC Capital Markets says. The report, titled The Corner of Bay and Trump, dives into just how Canadian stocks might react in the coming years under a Trump presidency.

Financial Post

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Legal Corner

‘I realized … Michael Applebaum was open to corruption,’ former aide testifies

Tremblay told the court he started to work for Applebaum at age 27, when the accused was the borough mayor of Montreal’s Côte-des-Neiges – Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhood. During his testimony, Tremblay described how his boss taught him to arrange illegal fundraising and solicit cash donations from real estate promoters.

CBC

Retail

Home Depot maintains its yearly outlook

Even after posting better-than-estimated sales last quarter, Home Depot Inc. (HD-N) declined to raise its annual revenue forecast, a sign that Americans’ zeal for remodelling their homes may be cooling. While sales climbed 6.1 per cent in Home Depot’s fiscal third quarter, beating analysts’ estimates, the increase was smaller than the gains in the previous two periods.

Toronto Star

Lowe’s results miss Street expectation; cuts annual outlook

Lowe‘s (LOW-N) was beset by hefty charges and meagre traffic in its stores for most of the third quarter, and its profit suffered for it.  A day after rival Home Depot posted banner results and boosted its outlook for the year, Lowe’s fell drastically short of Wall Street expectations and cut its annual outlook, again.

Montreal Gazette

Lululemon founder is ‘long-term-driven’ for company

Lululemon Athletica (LULU-Q) founder Chip Wilson has opinions on many topics, but he shied away from answering a question about what three moves he would make were he ever asked to return as CEO. In an interview with Business in Vancouver Wilson said,  “I’m long-term-driven for Lululemon, so it would be folly for me to do that.”

Business in Vancouver

New Development

Toronto’s planners concerned over lack of resources

As Toronto continues to see unprecedented development, an overwhelming majority of city planners surveyed say a severe lack of resources is compromising their ability to properly build a livable city. And the city’s chief planner, ahead of budget talks, says it’s up to council now to grapple with investing in the resources needed to manage that growth.

Toronto Star

Sports Venues

Calgary athletic facility now the Repsol Sport Centre

You first knew the Calgary sports facility with an iconic white roof as the Lindsay Park Sports Centre and then in 2002, it became the Talisman Centre. It now has a new name: the Repsol Centre. The name change comes almost two years after Talisman was acquired by Spain’s Repsol SA in a $13 billion takeover.

Calgary Herald

International

Hearst marks 10th anniversary of Hearst Tower opening

Hearst, one of the nation’s largest diversified media, information and services companies touching more than 360 businesses, will debut a unique exhibit at its New York City headquarters tomorrow celebrating the 10^thanniversary of the opening of Hearst Tower with a collection of building design models by distinguished architect Norman Foster, and his practice Foster + Partners.

Marketwired

Human Resources

JLL names Matthew Gonterman CIO, Americas

JLL (JLL-N) today announced the appointment of Matthew Gonterman as Chief Information Officer (CIO), Americas, with responsibility for driving growth by providing innovative, integrated technology solutions for the company and its clients in the Americas markets.  Gonterman will report to Greg O’Brien, CEO, Americas, and David Johnson, Global CIO, and will partner with Eddy Wagoner, Global CIO, Corporate Solutions. 

Marketwired

Other

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