Brookfield buys TO’s Sheraton hotel in record deal

Brookfield buys TO’s Sheraton hotel in record deal

The Sheraton Centre Hotel in Toronto’s downtown core has been purchased for $335 million by an arm of Brookfield Asset Management Inc, which says it sees potential for more hospitality acquisitions in Canada. The landmark deal is the largest-ever single hotel transaction in Canadian history, says CBRE Canada, which acted as the broker for seller Marriott International.

Financial Post – Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Amazon to build massive Calgary-area distribution centre

The Calgary area will soon become home to Amazon — not as the base for the U.S. company’s second corporate headquarters, but hosting a massive new distribution centre for the e-commerce giant. The Seattle-based firm announced Thursday it will open up a “fulfilment centre” in the Calgary area, creating 750 full-time positions.

Calgary Herald – CTV – Calgary Herald – CBC

GTA office sales bolster record CRE investment

Commercial real estate investment in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is on pace to set a record this year after $4.6 billion in transactions took place in the third quarter. Avison Young, in Third Quarter 2017 Commercial Real Estate Investment Review – Greater Toronto Area, says the level of CRE activity, bolstered by strong investor interest in office buildings, was 12 per cent higher than the previous quarter.

Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada

‘Compelling investment offering’ for Bay Adelaide Centre

One of the most compelling investment offerings ever to come to market in Canada is available for Toronto’s Bay Adelaide Centre. A brochure says the offering comprises 2.2 million square feet of class-AAA office space, consisting of the Bay Adelaide West office tower, Bay Adelaide East office tower, a PATH-connected retail concourse and a 1,000-stall parking facility, but excludes the Bay Adelaide North office development.

Property Biz Canada – Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

WeWork’s NYC deal sends waves through Van. CRE sector

The $1-billion deal that saw WeWork buy the Hudson’s Bay Co.’s flagship Lord and Taylor store in New York will spark a transformation of downtown Vancouver’s office and retail sectors. “The fact (WeWork) is coming into our marketplace is a positive because it’s validation for our economy and local talent pool,” said CBRE executive V-P Norm Taylor. “And secondly, it shows the tightness of the downtown (Vancouver) market.”

Vancouver Sun

Vancouver investment in CRE outpacing Toronto: AY

Despite having a much smaller population, for the first time Vancouver surpassed Toronto in terms of investment activity by more than $1 billion in the first six months of 2017. In the first six months of this year, Vancouver posted a record-setting $7.8 billion in commercial investments, while Toronto posted $6.5 billion in similar spending, according to Avison Young.

Business In Vancouver

Slate buys four retail portfolios in Germany

Toronto-based Slate Asset Management, following through on its European expansion strategy, Thursday announced the acquisition of four retail portfolios in Germany. The portfolios the company has agreed to purchase have 47 grocery-anchored real estate assets totalling approximately 607,880 square feet. 

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

Real estate sector remains resilient: PwC Canada

The Canadian real estate industry is still performing well, according to the 2018 Emerging Trends in Real Estate report by PwC Canada and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). Despite the industry’s steady performance, interviewees shared a concern of potential headwinds resulting in some real estate investors rebalancing their portfolios, and others taking a more defensive posture.

Canada Newswire

Canadian CRE market poised for record year: Morguard

Canadian commercial real estate activity continued at a robust pace in Q3 2017 with signs now pointing to a record year for investment, according to a research report issued Thursday by Morguard Corporation. “Investors are continuing to exhibit confidence in Canadian commercial real estate, with projected sales for 2017 surpassing 2016 levels,” said Keith Reading, director of research at Morguard.

Canada Newswire

Morguard REIT, HOOPP JV on Chicago high-rise

Morguard North American Residential REIT announced the completion of a joint venture with Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) of Coast at Lakeshore East, a 515-suite urban rental high-rise in Chicago. The REIT completed the acquisition of Coast in July for a purchase price of $287.5 million. The REIT and HOOPP will own the property on a 51/49 basis, respectively.

Canada Newswire – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada

Pure Multi-Family buys Phoenix apartment community

Pure Multi-Family REIT LP announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire a multi-family apartment community located in Phoenix for a purchase price of US$59 million. Developed in 2016, the property is an institutional quality multi-family asset comprising 230 units with an average unit size of 934 square feet.

Canada Newswire

Starlight to acquire stake in Atlanta apartment complex

Starlight U.S. Multi-Family (No. 1) Value-Add Fund announced today it has entered into an agreement to acquire a 50 per cent interest in Landmark at Coventry Pointe, a 250-unit, garden-style, value-add multi-family property completed in 2002, that is located in Atlanta. The purchase price for the 50 per cent interest is US$17.65 million.

Canada Newswire

Ericsson searching for tech firm for Vaudreuil property

The bad news is the $1.3-billion Ericsson facility in Vaudreuil-Dorion, which opened in December, will close up shop sometime in 2018 as a result of sagging sales and cost-cutting measures. The good news is the facility will remain a vital source of industrial property-tax revenue while Ericsson searches for another high-tech firm to take over the property, assured Mayor Guy Pilon.

Montreal Gazette – Montreal Gazette

A&W CEO retiring in February; COO to take over

A&W Food Services of Canada Inc. will get a new CEO next year when its current top executive retires after 13 years. The company says president and COO Susan Senecal will take over the role on Feb. 16, 2018 — the same day current CEO Paul Hollands retires. Senecal, who has been with the burger chain for 25 years, will also replace Hollands as CEO of the A&W Royalties Income Fund.

National Post

Wal-Mart launches shelf-scanning robots

Wal-Mart Stores Inc is rolling out shelf-scanning robots in more than 50 U.S. stores to replenish inventory faster and save employees time when products run out. The approximately 0.61-meter robots emerge with a tower fitted with cameras that scan aisles to check stock and identify missing and misplaced items, incorrect prices and mislabelling. The robots pass that data to store employees.

Reuters

Market Trends and Research

Southern Ontario’s CRE is in demand, but is cap rate compression over

Canada experienced tremendous economic growth in the first half of 2017, however, this growth is expected to slow in the second half of the year. How will this impact commercial real estate?  Learn more about this impact on the commercial real estate market in this CoStar Group Whitepaper.

CoStar Group

Asian investors flock to downtown L.A.

Downtown Los Angeles remains a hot market for investment, particularly attracting Asian capital. Investors from several Asian countries are deploying billions of dollars in some of the city’s tallest, most luxurious projects currently underway, hoping to bring a variety of uses and high-quality amenities to the city. 

CP Executive

Calgary readies agriculture pilot project

The city’s launch of an agriculture pilot project on plots of unused land is long overdue but could plant the seeds for a local food revolution, says a well-known Calgary urban farmer. Operators who’ll farm two plots of land on a two-year lease — one in the northeast and the other in the southeast — are being sought by the city, with a tour of the sites scheduled for Friday.

Calgary Herald

Real Estate Companies

Morguard honoured for ‘sound risk management’

Real estate company Morguard has been recognized for the fifth consecutive year as one of Canada’s Safest Employers in the Retail and Services category by Canadian Occupational Safety. The company manages more than three million work hours annually across more than 300 commercial and development projects in Canada.

Insurance Business Canada

	RENX 2018 media kit now available
	A blended ad program, take-over advertising, writing services and a second weekly edition of Property Biz Canada in 2018. Advertising that reaches thousands of professionals in the commercial real estate industry every business day. Contact sales@renx.ca, 1-855-569-6300

 

Real Estate Investment Trusts

Could Cominar see another cut to its dividend?

Cominar REIT already cut its dividend once this year by a whopping 22 per cent. Cominar’s eight per cent yield presents a lot of uncertainty, and investors are best to look at other dividend stocks for a more reliable stream of income. Although Cominar’s new payout ratio was comparable to Canadian REIT when looking at EPS, the free cash flow approach told a much different story.

Motley Fool

PIRET a top performer

Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust has been a solid performer for investors. Year-to-date, PIRET is the top performing real estate investment trust in the S&P/TSX composite index (based on price return). In 2016, PIRET delivered a total return (including the distribution) of 36 per cent, well above the 17.6 per cent total return for the S&P/TSX composite REIT index.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

CAPREIT is right at home in any portfolio

Not everyone can afford to buy a home. That, in a nutshell, is why I included Canadian Apartment Properties REIT in my Yield Hog Dividend Growth Portfolio. CAPREIT is Canada’s largest multi-unit residential landlord, with a portfolio of about 50,000 apartment units, townhouses and land-lease sites spanning eight provinces and targeting consumers across the “affordable,” “mid-tier” and “luxury” segments.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Retail

Amazon shares soar on Whole Foods acquisition

Amazon posted third-quarter earnings that far surpassed Wall Street expectations, helped by the acquisition of organic grocer Whole Foods and an increase in sales during its summer “Prime Day” promotions. The company also said Thursday it expects sales to rise during the busy holiday-shopping season. Its shares soared eight per cent in extended trading after releasing the results.

Toronto Star – Bloomberg – Business Insider

Demise of Sears Canada should be catalyst for change: Opinion

Suddenly jobless after two decades, Rose Dalessandro could blame the demise of the once-mighty Canadian retail giant on the usual suspects — poor management, globalization, the rise of internet shopping. But it might be more accurate to blame Eddie Lampert, the billionaire U.S. financier who is the company’s largest shareholder as chairman of Chicago-based Sears Holding Corp.

Toronto Star – Financial Post – Financial Post

Nordstrom doubles down on discount format

With its buyout plans on hold, Nordstrom Inc. is under intense pressure to find answers to the department-store slump. Key to that effort is reviving what was once a long-time bright spot for the chain: Nordstrom Rack. The discount stores had been helping the company cope with a slowdown at its full-price formats, but now they are in need of their own jump-start. 

Bloomberg

Restaurants and Eateries

RBI’s quarterly earnings up six per cent

The parent company of Tim Hortons says its latest quarterly earnings increased nearly six per cent despite an ongoing battle over the coffee chain’s management with an unsanctioned franchisee group that’s resulted in multiple lawsuits. “It’s never helpful to have, you know, negative media attention for the brand,” Daniel Schwartz, Restaurant Brands International CEO, said in an interview.

CBC – Globe and Mail

Other

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