Online sales make large dent in mall activity

Online sales make large dent in mall activity

Online sales in Canada have created a large enough dent in retail sales to fill up all the shopping centres in Vancouver, Halifax, Ottawa and Victoria combined. Colliers International, in the fall edition of National Retail Report Canada, says what it calls non-retail sales drove $23 billion in activity in 2014 which represented 4.7 per cent of all retail sales. Much of these sales occur through what are called omni-channel.

Financial Post – Huffington Post

Oshawa Centre’s makeover mirrors the city’s evolution

The new food court at the Oshawa Centre has 1,000 seats, free WiFi, a vaulted ceiling bathing diners in natural light, and a nursing room big enough to accommodate a phalanx of baby strollers. Open to the public since Sept, 29, the revamped food court is the centrepiece of a $230-million expansion and redevelopment project that has added 375,000 square feet of new and redeveloped retail space.

Globe and Mail – Canada Newswire

Barrie CRE benefitting from GTA’s expansion

Just an hour’s drive north of Toronto (or 45 minutes from Toronto’s Pearson Airport on the days when cottagers aren’t clogging the 400 highway), the  City of Barrie commercial real estate is benefitting from the good times for CRE in the greater Toronto area. “Barrie is kind of a dynamic market, it is a growing market both on the business side and on the residential side,” said Max Smirnis, a vice-president with CBRE Canada.

Property Biz Canada

Ottawa to spend $81 billion over next decade on capital works

The federal government plans to top up the $12 billion it already earmarked for things like public transit and infrastructure in its 2016 budget with an additional $81 billion over the next decade. In total, the federal government plans to spend $180 billion in the coming decade on things like public transit, transportation, “green” infrastructure, and “social infrastructure” which would include affordable housing.

Business in Vancouver – BNN

Seismic rift divides B.C. governments

The provincial government has taken steps to prepare for a major B.C. earthquake, investing millions of dollars in an early warning system and spending billions to seismically retrofit schools and important infrastructure such as bridges. The province recently held an emergency exercise on Vancouver Island to test its response to an earthquake.

The Province

Birks building to be renovated to incorporate hotel, bistro

The Birks building, which houses the jewelry shop in downtown Montreal, will be transformed to include a hotel and bistro. Renovations to the building, built in 1894, should start in the spring and be completed a year later. The Birks store will also undergo a facelift, but will remain open during construction.

Montreal Gazette – Canada Newswire

DND employees won’t return to fire-damaged building

Department of National Defence employees won’t return to a building damaged by fire earlier this year and some employees tell CBC News they’ve been told the Gatineau building will be demolished. Contractors were carrying out $5-million sprinkler and fire-proofing upgrades when a blaze on the sixth floor of the Louis St. Laurent Building broke out in April, causing part of the roof and upper floor to collapse.

CBC

Workspaces at Strathcona Village blend homes with industry

Sales have begun for the commercial component of a mixed-use residential-industrial project on East Hastings Street that the developers claim is one-of-a-kind in the city and is part of a transformation taking place in Strathcona.  The WorkSpaces at Strathcona Village is a three-tower, 350-unit complex by Wall Financial in the 900-block of East Hastings.

Vancouver Sun

Mi’kmaq building in downtown Charlottetown gets business support

The new waterfront building being proposed by the Mi’kmaq Confederacy is getting the support of the Charlottetown business community. Both Downtown Charlottetown Inc. and the Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce spoke at a public planning meeting Tuesday night regarding the application.

CBC

City staff start move into new Edmonton office tower

City of Edmonton staff are getting ready to start “hoteling it” — trading permanent desks for lockers to save space in a new office tower.  At least 200 employees will work hotel-style with only lockers, a tablet and a briefcase in the new Edmonton Tower, which is nearly finished construction at 104 Avenue and 101 Street.

Edmonton Journal

Retail starts to come together at River District

Retailers are starting to sign leases to occupy space in the River District in southeast Vancouver although occupancy is not expected for at least six months. Save-On-Foods, TD Bank, Westminster Savings and Starbucks are some of the retailers to have already signed on the dotted line, Wesgroup vice-president of corporate development David Wesik told Business in Vancouver.

Business in Vancouver

What could the office of 2030 look like?

Fixed, immovable and in many cases illiquid, real estate is traditionally slow to respond to change. Technology is not. The way people communicate, work, shop, travel and think has changed dramatically as technology advances and becomes more widely adopted.

JLL Real Views

Tory keeps multibillion dollar transit plans on track

Mayor John Tory is pushing ahead with a multibillion transit agreement with the province, despite claims that it saddles the city with a disproportionate amount of the costs of expanding the transit network, and will compel the municipality to foot the bill for Ontario’s regional rail plan. At a special meeting of Tory’s executive committee Tuesday afternoon, councillors in the mayor’s inner circle voted to approve the deal.

Toronto Star – Toronto Star

Appraisal Institute of Canada and European Group of Valuers’ Associations welcome CETA

The Appraisal Institute of Canada (AIC) and The European Group of Valuers’ Associations (TEGoVA) applaud the Government of Canada, the European Council and the European Commission on the signing of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the European Union (CETA). This historic agreement will enhance the existing agreement between AIC and TEGoVA.

Canada Newswire

Blackstone to buy 64 Brookdale Senior Living Assets from HCP

HCP Inc. (HCP-N) has agreed to sell a portfolio of 64 properties totaling 5,967 housing units leased to Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (BKD-N) to affiliates of Blackstone Real Estate Partners VIII L.P. for $1.125 billion, or $189,000 per unit. The planned sale is the largest in a flurry of announcements Tuesday involving Irvine, CA-based HCP and Brookdale, HCP’s major tenant and the largest seniors living operator in the U.S.

CoStar Group

Market Trends and Research

Big Halifax projects to put shine on dull 2017

The sound of bulldozers and front-end loaders will soon be followed by the whoosh of cash registers opening and closing at big retailers Cabela’s and IKEA in Dartmouth Crossing. IKEA alone is a $100-million construction job and the mega-store is expected to employ 350 people when it opens in 2017.

The Chronicle Herald

Alberta retailers may enjoy merrier Christmas after flat 2016

Hard-hit Alberta retailers could receive a little something extra in their Christmas stockings this holiday season, says a new report by Colliers International Consulting. Owners of shops and other outlets in the province are likely to see total 2016 sales decrease by 0.9 per cent from last year, the only Canadian jurisdiction facing a retail revenue reduction.

Calgary Herald

Ottawa’s industrial real estate market softens in Q3

Ottawa’s historically steady industrial property market is projected to weaken further as 2016 draws to a close after vacancy rates jumped nearly a full percentage point in the third quarter, a local real estate firm says. In a report released Tuesday, Cushman & Wakefield Ottawa said the citywide industrial vacancy rate climbed 90 basis points from 6.8 per cent in the second quarter to 7.7 per cent at the end of September.

Ottawa Business Journal

Real Estate Companies

Park Lawn Corporation announces bought deal offering

Park Lawn Corporation (TSX:PLC-T) has entered into an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters led by National Bank Financial Inc., pursuant to which the Company will issue, on a “bought deal” basis, 2,500,000 common shares at a price of $16.00 per Common Share for gross proceeds to the Company of $40,000,000. 

Marketwired

Real Estate Investment Trusts

Allied Properties REIT announces third-quarter results

Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (AP.UN-T) announced results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2016. “In many respects, 2016 has been a better year than expected,” said Michael Emory, President & CEO. “Our operating environment has remained supportive, and our rental and development portfolios have met expectations for the most part. Our acquisition activities materially exceeded expectations, and our debt metrics remain rock solid despite our extraordinary level of investment this year.”

Marketwired

American Hotel Income Properties REIT acquires hotel in Nashville, Tennessee

American Hotel Income Properties REIT LP (HOT.UN-T) acquired a 104-room hotel located in Nashville, Tennessee. The property features a multi-year, rail crew lodging contract with a large national U.S. railway and is being acquired for an aggregate purchase price of approximately US$8.7 million, including US$950,000 for planned capital expenditures and excluding closing and post-acquisition adjustments.

Marketwired

Killam Apartment REIT announces third quarter results

Killam Apartment REIT (KMP.UN-T) is pleased to report its Q3-2016 results, including diluted funds from operations per unit of $0.24, consistent with $0.24 in Q3-2015. “We made meaningful progress on our strategic priorities during the quarter” noted Philip Fraser, President and CEO.

Marketwired

Pure Industrial REIT close Alberta acquisition

Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust (AAR.UN-T) announced  the successful completion of the acquisition of a portfolio of eight industrial properties from Artis REIT (AX.UN-T) previously announced on October 3, 2016, for $171.1 million, representing a 6.3% going-in capitalization rate.

Marketwired

Slate Retail REIT buys Armstrong Plaza in South Carolina

Slate Retail REIT (SRT.UN-T), an owner and operator of U.S. grocery-anchored real estate, announced today that it has entered into a binding agreement to acquire Armstrong Plaza, a 95% occupied BI-LO-anchored centre, in the Greenville, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area. The property will be acquired for U.S. $5.25 million (U.S. $91 per square foot). Closing is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2016 and remains subject to customary closing conditions.

Marketwired

True North Commercial REIT continues growth in urban cities

True North Commercial REIT  (TNT.UN-T) announced it has agreed to acquire: (i) a 154,300 square foot office property located at 3650 Victoria Park Avenue, Toronto, Ontario; (ii) a 156,300 square foot industrial property located at 1035 Industrial Road, Waterloo, Ontario; (iii) and a 77,600 square foot office property located in Calgary, Alberta.

Canada Newswire

WPT Industrial REIT completes acquisition of Columbus, Ohio property

WPT Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust (WIR.U-T) has completed the previously announced acquisition of a 226,800 square foot distribution property located in Columbus, Ohio. The REIT has indirectly acquired the property from a third-party vendor for a purchase price of approximately US $13.9 million (exclusive of closing and transaction costs), representing a capitalization rate of approximately 6.8%.

Marketwired

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Legal Corner

Tough times call for tough management, says Calgary legal expert

Managing legal risks in turbulent times is the subject of a presentation at Buildex Calgary 2016 by the two co-founders of a Calgary-based company that acts like an in-house counsel for its clients by providing them with legal advice.

Journal of Commerce

Retail

Second Cup establishes committee for strategic review

The Second Cup (SCU-T) says it has established a special committee to review its strategic options. The formation of a committee follows comments by the company earlier this year that it was pursuing options to refinance its debt. Such strategic reviews by companies often result in a sale or other major transaction.

Toronto Star – Globe and Mail

New Development

RFP released for new Toronto courthouse project

Infrastructure Ontario (IO) and the Ministry of the Attorney General (MAG) have issued a request for proposals (RFP) to two prequalified teams to design, build, finance and maintain the new Toronto courthouse. Teams invited to submit proposals were selected based on their design and construction capability, experience, facilities management capacity and the financial capacity to deliver a project of this size and complexity.

Canada Newswire

Infrastructure

Small businesses an unintended casualty of infrastructure push

Mike Campbell says the construction of Halifax’s Nova Centre has destroyed his business. The $500-million project being built in downtown Halifax will include a convention centre, a hotel and office space. But as construction drags on – the Nova Centre’s developers announced this spring it won’t be completed until March, 2017, roughly 14 months past its original target date – small businesses near the facility like Mr. Campbell’s The Carleton Music Bar and Grill are hurting.

Globe and Mail

Infrastructure spending to rise at expense of Ottawa’s bottom line

The federal government plans to spend tens of billions more on infrastructure projects over the next 12 years and will create an infrastructure bank aimed at attracting private investment in major projects such as public transit and highways. The heightened focus on infrastructure spending announced in Tuesday’s fiscal update comes at the expense of Ottawa’s bottom line, as Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s latest plan makes no mention of when federal finances will return to balance.

Globe and Mail

Other

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