Resort retail portfolio changes hands

Resort retail portfolio changes hands

CNL Lifestyle Properties has sold a seven-property portfolio of trophy retail assets located within luxury resorts in the U.S. and Canada including retail at Whistler Creekside Village in B.C.  and Blue Mountain Resort in Ontario. A private real estate consortium  The Imperium Cos., MMG Equity Partners and Blue River Family Office Partners purchased the assets for $103 million.

CP Executive

Retail plaza sales fuel ReDev growth plans

ReDev Properties Ltd. has closed its second sale of an Edmonton retail plaza to an undisclosed Western Canadian private development firm in two months. “We were approached by the same purchaser and we made it a bundle for them,” ReDev president Richard Crenian said of the recent sale of Parkdale Square and the September disposition of Trail South Corners. CBRE Edmonton was the broker for both sales.

Property Biz Canada

Property-tax rates higher in Eastern Canada: report

Commercial property owners in Eastern Canadian cities faced far higher tax rates than those in the West in 2016. Montreal, Halifax, Ottawa and Toronto have the highest commercial tax rates while Vancouver, Calgary, Saskatoon and Edmonton have the lowest according to Altus Group data prepared for the Real Property Association of Canada (REALpac).

Globe and Mail

Toronto Hydro eyes ending $60M yearly payout to city

Facing tough questions about a privatization push, Toronto Hydro’s directors are poised to vote on scrapping a dividend that pumps about $60 million a year into the City of Toronto budget. City councillors who have received no warning from the Hydro board expected to vote Nov. 23 say it would blow a hole in the 2017 budget.

Toronto Star

City of Edmonton’s wins property tax assessment appeal

Canada’s Supreme Court ruled in Edmonton’s favour Friday in a contentious tax case that could have cost the city big time. The split 5-4 ruling was about whether the city’s Assessment Review Board has the power to increase assessments when property owners appeal, and whether the courts should trust that board as the experts in determining the value of a property.

Edmonton Journal

CRE industry must make more use of data

The commercial real estate industry can do a much better job of utilizing technology, data and analytics, and companies that don’t embrace them risk falling behind both indirect and direct competitors that maximize their use. “Real estate is competing for investment with stocks, bonds and derivatives,” said Raj Singh, executive vice-president of Altus Group.

Property Biz Canada

National Bank isn’t investing in Lending Club

Deep breaths for National Bank of Canada. The news this morning that the bank is doing a $1.3-billion deal with troubled online loan company Lending Club isn’t what it seems. As part of its quarterly earnings, Lending Club revealed that National Bank’s U.S. consumer finance subsidiary, Credigy, “has approved investing up to $1.3-billion (U.S.) to be deployed on the Lending Club platform over the next twelve months.”

Globe and Mail clarifies deal – Globe and Mail

Shopping malls making food greater part of the menu

Food courts were once enclaves of ketchup-stained tables where menus featured greasy fast-food offerings, and little else. But shopping malls are upping their culinary game, increasingly making it a focal point as they compete for consumer time and money.

The Chronicle Herald – Ottawa Business Journal

Investors look to regional markets to build portfolios

Morguard Corporation (MRC-T) released its third quarter 2016 Economic Outlook and Market Fundamentals Report – a behind-the-scenes look at the trends and activity in the Canadian investment real estate market. Despite uncertainty in Canada’s economy, the Canadian real estate market continues to attract high levels of domestic and foreign investment.

Canada Newswire

Judge OK’s sale of Toronto’s Trump hotel-condo tower

A judge has given his approval for a receiver to supervise the sale of the Trump-branded hotel-condo tower in Toronto after the company that built the 65-storey building failed to make payments on its loans.  Justice Glenn Hainey of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has named FTI Consulting Canada Inc. as the receiver for a sale of the building.

CBC

Microsoft, other large companies renting WeWork’s spaces

WeWork Cos. built its brand on the hustling energy of small startups, but the company is finding that boring corporate giants may be finally ready to embrace the idea of renting a desk next to a stranger. In the last year, WeWork has established a new team that caters to the needs of large companies.

Toronto Star

GIC buys logistics parks from TPG, Ivanhoé Cambridge

Singapore’s GIC has agreed to purchase P3 Logistics Parks, a leading pan-European logistics business, from TPG Real Estate and its partner, Ivanhoé Cambridge for €2.4bn. P3 Logistics is one of Europe’s largest fully integrated logistics platforms and developers, with a 3.3m sqm portfolio located across nine countries in Europe.

IPE Real Estate

Macy’s sells five stores to GGP

Macy’s Inc. (M-N) sold the first five of approximately 100 stores it plans to close to General Growth Properties  as part of its previously-announced plan to return to profitable growth by monetizing some of its real estate portfolio and reinvesting in stores with higher sales potential and in its digital businesses.

CoStar Group

Chinese partnership to acquire stake in Welltower Seniors Care

A joint venture between China-based Cindat Capital Management Limited and Union Life Insurance has invested $930 million for a 75% interest in a portfolio of seniors housing and skilled nursing properties owned by Welltower, Inc. (HCN-N). The transaction represents Beijing-based investment management firm Cindat’s first U.S. health care real estate investment.

CoStar Group

Earthquake near Oklahoma oil storage hub

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake centred near one of the world’s key oil hubs brought down building facades and shattered windows in the latest Oklahoma town rattled by increasingly strong quakes. Cushing Assistant City Manager Jeremy Frazier told a news conference late Sunday that a few minor injuries were reported.

Montreal Gazette

Featured Column

The healing circle comes to Ontario’s Assessment Review Board

It’s possible that the single largest source of conflict between taxpayers and government is assessment for property taxes. Challenging a property assessment that you consider unfair has traditionally been a confrontational process, but it doesn’t have to be. Nor should it.

Read more

Market Trends and Research

Why the U.S. election has far-reaching market consequences

Though they might not openly admit it, many investors are intellectual snobs. They like to think they’re smarter than other folks. And why not? They’re looking for an edge over the mass-psychology engine they play in, and being smarter than the next guy or gal might just provide it.

Financial Post

Real Estate Companies

Global CRE firms pressured by investor uncertainty

By most measures, CBRE Group, Inc., Colliers International, Jones Lang LaSalle and HFF, Inc. reported solid third-quarter financial results. But despite the relatively strong performance, the firms’ share prices are getting little respect from Wall Street.

CoStar Group

Temple Hotels Inc. announces rights offering

Temple Hotels Inc. (TPH-T) today announced that it will file a rights offering notice and rights offering circular today in respect of a rights offering in order to raise up to $50 million. The rights will be offered to holders of Temple’s common shares of record as at 5:00 p.m.on November 15, 2016.

Canada Newswire

Real Estate Investment Trusts

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New Development

Major unknowns, risks in funding Tory’s SmartTrack plan

Key details fuelling the likely funding strategy for Mayor John Tory’s SmartTrack plan are being kept secret from both council and the public ahead of a critical vote. It includes moving ahead with a $3.7-billion plan for six new stations as part of expanded GO service and a new light-rail line along Eglinton Ave. W..

Toronto Star

Mississauga’s mayor questions ability to pay for LRT

With Toronto set to vote this week on funding for Mayor John Tory’s SmartTrack transit plan, Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie said her city can’t afford to kick in some $470 million to expand the Eglinton-Crosstown lightrail line into Misssissauga and Pearson Airport.

CBC

PEO responds to Elliot Lake recommendations

It’s been four years since the Algo Centre Mall roof collapse in Elliot Lake, Ont. and Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) has developed an implementation plan to address recommendations related to engineering in the commission of inquiry. In June 2012 a portion of the roof at Elliot Lake’s Algo Mall collapsed killing two people and injuring 19.

Daily Commercial News

Infrastructure

La Caisse further invests in NAPEC

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec announced today its $5-million investment in NAPEC (NPC-T). The company, whose head office is located in Drummondville, builds and maintains electrical transmission and distribution grids, as well as networks for natural gas utilities.

Canada Newswire

City eyeing federal infrastructure funds

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens says he hopes a new federal spending plan will help put a dent in the city’s $1-billion infrastructure deficit. “The more money that’s allocated is good for all communities across Canada,” said Dilkens. “Like many cities, our infrastructure deficit is huge.”

Ottawa Citizens

Other

Sakto and Waterford announce design competition winner

Real estate development firm Sakto Corporation together with Waterford Property Group announce the winner of Preston Square’s Banner Design Contest paying tribute to Canada’s 150^th birthday celebration. The winning design is by David Hook of Ottawa for his artwork titled “Coast to Coast.”

Canada Newswire

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