10 ways Lower Manhattan has transformed since 9/11

10 ways Lower Manhattan has transformed since 9/11

New York City has witnessed a wealth of transformation since the 9/11 attacks. Revitalized and with renewed hope, Lower Manhattan has emerged from the ashes. On the 16th anniversary, Bisnow has rounded up the top 10 ways the area has been shaped since Sept. 11, 2001.

Bisnow – Bisnow: Interview with Larry Silverstein – Times Leader

Insurers, government back away from disaster relief

With the federal government looking to play a smaller role in covering the costs of natural disasters, and private insurers declaring some homes built in some high-risk areas are uninsurable, the question of who will pay for storm damage is becoming a more pressing issue. In the U.S.,the government will be spending billions on recovery. (PLEASE SEE FURTHER HURRICANE COVERAGE in SECTION 3.)

CBC – Bloomberg – American Journal of Transportation – Winnipeg Free Press

Are there buyers for the Cominar REIT portfolio?

Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust’s (CUF.UN-T) intention to sell its entire real estate portfolio outside of its core markets in Montreal, Quebec City and Ottawa/Gatineau raises the question as to the current investor interest in commercial properties. “The sale offering should be well-received,” says Avison Young principal Amy Erixon, who is based in Toronto.

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

Building underway at Calgary’s massive University District

For decades, 200 acres of land strategically located on the University of Calgary property sat empty waiting for the development trigger to be pulled. Today, University District is a massive mixed-use project well on its way to becoming the jewel of northwest Calgary. The estimated cost to build the entire project is $25 billion to $35 billion.

Property Biz Canada

Victoria hotel cleared for redevelopment as rental apartments

Victoria council has unanimously approved a rezoning proposal to convert the 189-room Harbour Towers Hotel & Suites into a 219-unit residential apartment building. Construction on the 13-storey building, managed by Vancouver-based Omicron, is expected to begin this year. The longtime hotel in James Bay will be and renamed Harbour Towers in a project expected to be completed in just under two years.

Victoria Times Colonist

New life for classic downtown Winnipeg building

One of Winnipeg’s best examples of mid-20th century modernist architecture — a two-storey office building at 385 St. Mary Ave. — is being restored to its original splendour by a local architecture firm. The building, located at the corner of Edmonton Street, was purchased through a company owned by Republic Architecture Inc. president Shane Solomon.

Winnipeg Free Press

For legions, the big money’s in real estate

My knife cuts cleanly through the pork schnitzel before I check out the local microbrews on offer. I am at Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 264 in Calgary. It’s likely the most audacious turnaround venture in a country full of legion branches fending off dwindling membership, crumbling halls and slowly fading relevancy. This six-decades-old hall is destined to become a developer’s condo tower. 

Maclean’s

Chinese investors discover sleepy Point Roberts on B.C. border

For decades, the sleepy U.S. backwater of Point Roberts, Wash., has been overrun by Canadians. They’ve come to buy recreational property, buy cheap gas and dairy products, and drink at The Breakers and Kiniski’s Reef Tavern. Today, a new wave of foreigners is hitting the scenic shores — Chinese investors, buying up a marina, golf course and waterfront property for housing developments.

Vancouver Sun

HUB International buys Integro Canada

Hub International Limited (Hub), a leading global insurance brokerage, announced it has acquired Integro (Canada) Ltd. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. With offices in B.C., Ontario and Quebec, Integro Canada is a top-tier commercial property & casualty brokerage specializing in complex risks, including construction, transportation, professional services, manufacturing, real estate, entertainment, mining and financial services.

Canada Newswire – Business Insurance – Canadian Underwriter

Toronto has big challenges landing new Amazon HQ: Author

James Thomson is an ex-head of Amazon Services, the division that recruits sellers to the tech giant’s marketplaces. A Canadian, he is also the co-author of The Amazon Marketplace Dilemma and a partner in Buy Box Experts. We asked him about Amazon and Toronto’s quest to win a bid process to become home to the company’s massive second headquarters.

Toronto Star – Edmonton Journal – Seattle Times – CBC

WPT Industrial acquires Pa. distribution property

WPT Industrial REIT (WIR.U-T) announced it has waived diligence conditions and plans to acquire an approximately 936,000-square-foot distribution property located in the Lehigh Valley, Pa., submarket from a third-party seller for approximately US$74.3 million (exclusive of closing and transaction costs). The property is currently 100 per cent leased to two tenants. The REIT expects the acquisition to close during Q3 2017. 

Stockhouse

	U.S. hurricanes’ impact on real estate
	The following section of the RENX newsletter is dedicated to news about Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in the U.S. and its impact on real estate.

 

North West Co. stores hit by Irma

At least two of the North West Company’s 12 stores in the Caribbean have been heavily damaged by hurricane Irma, a senior company official said on Thursday. Edward Kennedy, the Winnipeg-based discount retailer’s president and CEO, said the stores are on two of the hardest-hit Caribbean islands — St. Maarten and St. Thomas.

Winnipeg Free Press

AHIP Florida hotel under evacuation order

American Hotel Income Properties REIT (HOT.DB.U-T) and hotel manager ONE Lodging Management announced all hotel teams have completed their emergency preparedness checklists and are prepared to operate through the storm with the exception of one hotel in Kingsland, Fla., which is under evacuation order. They are following the direction of local authorities as directed by the Governor of Florida. 

Marketwired

Agellan Commercial properties suffer no material damage

Agellan Commercial REIT (ACR.UN-T) announced its three office and nine industrial properties in the Houston area have not sustained any material damage as a result of Tropical Storm Harvey. The REIT also announced  it has entered into a lease amending agreement with Health Care Service Corporation at its Naperville, Ill., office property. 

Stockhouse

Are movie theatres a thing of the past?

The traditional movie-watching experience is alive and well at TIFF. You still have the big screens, the surround-sound system and popcorn, but there are signs film-watching is moving in a new direction. Just look at the six virtual-reality short films being screened at the Bell VR Theatre. “It’s certainly a new exciting medium,” said Brandon Oldenburg, who curated the films.

CBC

Home Capital shareholders should back Berkshire’s support: Opinion

Home Capital (HCG-T) shareholders have an important decision to make ahead of a special shareholders meeting on Tuesday. They need to decide whether to vote in favour of a second tranche investment by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, which would increase its ownership stake from 19.9 to 38.4 per cent.  

Globe and Mail – Motley Fool

U.S. cities with highest commercial property taxes

Property taxes that are rebounding along with recovering property values should be no surprise to  U.S. landlords. However, a lag time in reassessment periods in some jurisdictions is causing some property tax bills to skyrocket. Across many metros, property values have recovered or even surpassed values achieved at the peak of the past cycle in 2006 and 2007.

National Real Estate Investor

Where to buy and sell office in the U.S.

As the office market regains its footing via creative and progressive space, investors continue to eye the sector. Ten-X Commercial’s Summer 2017 Office report reveals the top-five buy and sell markets nationwide based on projected NOI growth, vacancy improvement, rent change and valuations. The Ten-X Research Office Market Outlook shows progress continues to be agonizingly slow.

GlobeSt.com

Market Trends and Research

Alberta suffers major dip in non-residential building permits

The value of building permits in Alberta dipped by nine per cent compared with a year ago, but it was a bigger drop in the non-residential sector that dragged down the total, according to the latest figures from Statistics Canada. Non-residential permits plummeted in value from July 2016 to this July, from $531 million to $373 million — a 29.6 per cent drop.

CBC

Real Estate Investment Trusts

The top industrial REITs in Canada

Over the past year, shares of Canada’s industrial REITs have gained plenty of attention. As returns offered to investors on fixed-income investments finally bottomed, many discovered these hidden gems and have since made fantastic returns in the process. After the most recent rate increases and leg up in the Canadian dollar, these names have pulled back, which has created excellent value.

Motley Fool

Can AHIP, Boardwalk maintain their big dividend yields?

There’s no doubt American Hotel Income Properties REIT (HOT.UN-T) and Boardwalk REIT (BEI.UN-T) offer above-average income of ~8.9 and ~5.6 per cent, respectively, compared to the Canadian market (using iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index Fund as a proxy), which only offers a yield of ~2.8%. Are the yields of American Hotel and Boardwalk sustainable? 

Motley Fool

U.S. multi-family REITs pour money into new development

Multi-family REITs keep building new apartments, and the analysts who track the companies are getting worried. “Both the volume and pace of new unit construction has been a concern in the multifamily space this year,” says Camilla Yanushevsky, senior analyst of real estate product operations for S&P Global Market Intelligence.

National Real Estate Investor

Retail

U.S. shopping centres face ‘a necessary evolution’

The retailer categories occupying the most space in U.S. shopping malls? Department stores and apparel, accessory and shoe stores, which combined take up about 78 per cent of the gross leasable area at most centres. They have also generally lagged in sales growth over the last five years. A new model may be necessary, says Melina Cordero, Americas head of retail research at CBRE. 

GlobeSt.com – NBC Chicago

New Development

Edmonton getting Western Canada’s first trucker training hub

The Alberta Motor Transit Association officially broke ground Wednesday on a new 20,000-square-foot training facility. The facility, the first of its kind in Western Canada, will allow the commercial driver industry association to have one location for complete driver training. It is expected to include a two-hectare test track as well as a driving simulator. Projected to open in the fall of 2018, the AMTA facility will be located in the northeast section of Edmonton International Airport.

Edmonton Journal

Infrastructure

Cancelling Site C cheaper than pausing construction: Report

It would cost more to pause construction of Site C than it would to cancel it outright, according to a new study. The independent report on the $8.8-billion hydroelectric dam was prepared by Deloitte LLP — a major international consulting firm — and posted on the B.C. Utilities Commission’s website late Friday.

Vancouver Sun

Other

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