REITs under pressure as interest rates rise

REITs under pressure as interest rates rise

As central banks inch up their benchmark interest rates, REITs are coming under pressure. “The moment you see more volatility on interest rates, or sentiment shifting on interest rates, REITs will automatically be affected. That’s for sure,” says Frederic Blondeau, director of real estate research at Eight Capital.

Globe and Mail

Canopy Growth to double capacity with B.C. greenhouses

Canopy Growth Corp. says it will develop up to three million square feet of greenhouse growing capacity in B.C., more than doubling Canada’s biggest licensed marijuana producer’s production footprint. The Smiths Falls, Ont.-based company said in a statement it has entered into a definitive joint venture agreement with a large-scale greenhouse operator.

Ottawa Business Journal – CBC – Ottawa Citizen – Motley Fool

PSP Investments, AIMCo JV with Starlight on $1.3B venture

Starlight Investments announced Tuesday morning it is partnering with PSP Investments and the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) on a program to purchase US$1.3 billion of American residential properties. The partnership also has made its first purchase, the newly-constructed Parkhouse Apartment Homes in Denver, one of its target markets.

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

Vancouver experiencing unprecedented retail boom: CBRE

Retail investment in Vancouver surpassed $2.8 billion in the first half of 2017, eclipsing the previous record of $1.6 billion in all of 2016, says a new report by commercial real estate firm CBRE Canada. The market is being driven by major international brands setting up shop in the West Coast city and sparking a renaissance in the retail sector.

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

Sears’ real-estate exodus could hammer small towns

The downside of a Sears Canada windup appears to be minimal for some of Canada’s largest retail landlords, but the story could end up being a lot different in small towns where retail tenants are hard to find. RioCan REIT CEO Ed Sonshine says Sears provides about 0.5 per cent of his company’s revenue and he expects to lease any vacated space at higher rents.

Financial Post – BNN – Financial Post – Globe and Mail

Metro selling bulk of Couche-Tard stake

Canadian grocer Metro Inc. is selling off most of its stake in Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. to help fund the purchase of pharmacy chain Jean Coutu. Metro said it struck three separate deals to parcel off the bulk of its 32.3-million-share stake in convenience store operator Couche-Tard, confirming previous plans to sell the asset.

Globe and Mail – Globe and Mail – Globe and Mail (Subscription required) – Financial Post

True North buys 5 Canadian office properties for $106.1M

True North Commercial REIT is adding almost 500,000 square feet to its office inventory with the purchase of five properties in three provinces – British Columbia, Ontario and Nova Scotia. The trust will spend about $106.1 million to make the acquisitions. “These properties not only meet our core acquisition criteria, but also position us for growth by establishing a presence in new markets,” said president/CEO Daniel Drimmer.

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

Ontario’s waterfront Hearn site subject of sales talks

Provincially owned Ontario Power Generation is in talks to potentially sell the hulking, long-decommissioned Hearn Generating Station on Toronto’s east waterfront, city councillors were shocked to hear Thursday. “I’m gobsmacked,” Councillor Paula Fletcher said after her intense questioning of two OPG representatives appearing before a city committee confirmed negotiations to sell the landmark publicly owned waterfront site to private owners.

Toronto Star

Genesis group buys 319-acre parcel of Alberta lands

GP LPLP 2007 Inc., as general partner of Limited Partnership Land Pool (2007), and Genesis Land Development Corp., as nominee, have entered into an agreement with an arms-length third party national developer for the sale of 319 acres of undeveloped lands located in the City of Airdrie, Alta. The sale price will be $41 million and closing is scheduled for Dec. 15.

Canada Newswire

Proposed Calgary mid-rise aims to bring density

A modern, mixed-use development proposed for a prominent corner lot in Calgary’s Marda Loop has divided the rapidly densifying community with some claiming its intended six storeys is too high, while others praise its architectural ambition. RNDSQR says it has been developing in Marda Loop for a decade and, they believe, the site needs “more than just another mid-rise.”

Globe and Mail

Regina office tenants in the driver’s seat

Western Investor

CPPIB invests $436M in Singapore data centre fund

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has committed $436 million Cdn to the Alpha Data Centre Fund (ADCF), based in Singapore, with an option to lift that to $623 million. CPPIB is co-investing with Alpha Investment Partners and Keppel Data Centres – both part of the large Singapore conglomerate, Keppel Group.

IPE Real Estate – GlobeNewswire

Bid for Amazon’s second HQ spurs N.A. frenzy

Don Cunningham was in a meeting in his Bethlehem, Pa., office when a colleague texted: “Amazon is looking for a new location. Let’s get it.” This wasn’t just any new location, but a second headquarters. As CEO of the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp., a state-funded agency that lures businesses to the region, Cunningham huddled with his staff to read Amazon’s criteria.

Bloomberg – Ottawa Citizen

Hotels offer unique experiences in attempt to one-up Airbnb

With competitors like Airbnb nipping at their heels, hotels are rolling out experiences to their most faithful customers that go far beyond extra nights and room upgrades. Want to improve your cooking skills? How about a class with a Michelin-starred chef? Or snorkeling in Hawaii with Jean-Michel Cousteau? Or basketball tips from NBA standout Dwyane Wade?

Toronto Star – Toronto Star

More than $65 billion of Calif. RE at wildfire risk

More than 170,000 homes are at some level of risk from the wildfires in Napa and Santa Rosa, which would cost over $65 billion to reconstruct, according to CoreLogic hazard risk analysis. CoreLogic said of that total, six per cent (or more than 11,000) are at significant risk, while the rest are at low to moderate risk, but noted “wildfire can easily expand to adjacent properties and cause significant damage.”

San Francisco Gate – Toronto Star – Vancouver Province

Featured Column

Will remote working trend kill the office market?

Advances in technology and networking have allowed a number of companies to offer employees the option of remote working from home. During my talks with downtown office tenants I hear this trend come up often. Will the adoption of working from home render commercial office space obsolete?

Read more

Market Trends and Research

Nine ways the best CRE properties operate differently

Even when capital markets are at their frothiest, commercial property values are still linked to the underlying net operating income (NOI) produced by occupancy and rental rates. It can be tempting to think of these factors as fixed, mere functions of market conditions and a property’s physical features. Real estate professionals intuitively know better.

CP Executive

Tech helps U.S. office market remain stable

The U.S. office market was relatively stable in the third quarter, and in many of the most active cities, the tech sector supplied the fuel, according to a new report from Cushman & Wakefield. Although dozens of markets across the US saw some negative absorption, that was off-set by big gains for top tech cities such as Santa Clara, Calif., Brooklyn, Seattle Raleigh/Durham, and San Diego.

GlobeSt.com

The top 10 biggest real estate projects coming to NYC

JEMB Realty may have dramatically scaled down its plans for a tower at 420 Albee Square, but the Downtown Brooklyn development still topped the list of biggest real estate projects filed with the city last month. The company is planning a 37-storey office tower that would include a 300-seat school. The only Manhattan project to make the list was a hotel in Chelsea from Sam Chang.

The Real Deal

Real Estate Companies

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Real Estate Investment Trusts

Columbia Property Trust on office buying spree

After a quiet first half of 2017, Columbia Property Trust, Inc. has fired off more than $1 billion in acquisitions since the July 4 holiday including a flurry of deals for buildings in New York City and Washington, D.C. totalling $935 million, the company announced Wednesday.

CoStar Group

U.S. specialty REITs raise most capital year-to-date

Year-to-date as of Sept. 29, publicly traded U.S.equity REITs completed approximately $72.8 billion through capital raising activity. Senior debt offerings comprised $40.3 billion of the total raised, followed by $26.0 billion raised through common stock offerings and $6.6 billion through preferred stock offerings.

CP Executive

Retail

Amazon would gain from push to boost cross-border retail

U.S. online retailers like Amazon.com Inc. stand to gain from the Trump administration’s push to throw open the doors for Canadians and Mexicans to buy American goods duty-free. The U.S. is demanding Canada and Mexico raise the threshold at which duties are applied to purchases crossing the border, according to sources.

Bloomberg – CoStar Group

U.S. retail sales rise most in 2 1/2 years

Americans increased their spending at retailers last month by the most in two-and-a-half years, driven by strong auto sales as residents of hurricane-ravaged areas replaced destroyed cars. Retail sales rose 1.6 per cent in September, after slipping 0.1 per cent in August, the Commerce Department said Friday. Auto sales jumped 3.6 per cent, the most since March 2015. 

Winnipeg Free Press

Latest financial results:

* Jean Coutu Group, Marketwired 

New Development

Carleton’s Sprott School of Business to get new home

Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business will soon have a new $48-million dollar home in the heart of the campus. Carleton’s board of governors officially approved construction of the 100,000-square-foot Nicol Building, named in honour of Ottawa entrepreneur, Tartan Homes founder and Carleton alumnus, the late Wesley Nicol. 

Ottawa Citizen

Reduced Hudson Place 1 would still be Victoria’s highest

Plans for what would have been the tallest building on Vancouver Island have been pared down by four storeys. Even so, it looks as though Townline, developer of Victoria’s Hudson District, is preparing to beat the capital-region record as the building with the most storeys. It is now planning a 25-storey condominium tower within the permitted height of 236 feet.

Victoria Times Colonist

Sports Venues

Mystery surrounds proposal to build Surrey outdoor stadium

An as-yet-unnamed group has proposed to build an outdoor stadium on city-owned land in Surrey for a yet-to-be-identified pro team, said Coun. Bruce Hayne, rolling out a mystery as to who that might be. It doesn’t appear to be either the B.C. Lions or the Vancouver Whitecaps as management of both teams, which play home games at B.C. Place Stadium now, expressed little knowledge of the proposed development.

Vancouver Sun

Renovation and Restoration

Major expansion of Montreal medical centre underway

The Brunswick Medical Centre in Pointe-Claire will grow from its current 50,000 to 120,000 square feet. When the major expansion is completed, it will be one of the biggest medical centres in Quebec. The estimated date of completion for the $20 million expansion is the end of summer, 2018.

Montreal Gazette

Other

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