Oxford, CPPIB build The Stack, Vancouver’s office of the future

Oxford, CPPIB build The Stack, Vancouver’s office of the future

The Stack, which will be Vancouver’s tallest office building, has secured three large tenants and will start construction in early 2019. The Stack, a 50-50 partnership between Oxford Properties Group and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), will rise to 530 feet and offer 540,000 square feet of space at 1133 Melville St. in the city’s downtown core. Oxford acquired the site from Amacon for $26 million in 2010.

Property Biz Canada

160-hectare industrial park planned for Cambridge

A new 160-hectare industrial park in Cambridge will be the ideal location for new advanced manufacturing and other technology-based companies, says the president of the Waterloo Region Economic Development Corporation. The IP Park Industrial Campus will be built in three phases over the next decade. It will offer space for industrial, supply chain opportunities, auto dealerships, supply-chain opportunities, e-commerce and logistics companies.

CBC – Waterloo Region Record

The People Space: New CEOs at CBRE Canada, Genesis, Fiera…

CBRE Canada announced Tuesday president and CEO Mark Renzoni will step down as of Jan. 1 and Toronto-based executive vice-president Werner Dietl will succeed him. Dietl is currently the executive VP of CBRE’s Toronto downtown office and the regional managing director of its Greater Toronto Area business. Dietl started his real estate career with CBRE in 1995 as an industrial broker in Toronto focusing on clients in specialized industries.

Property Biz Canada

69-storey Stantec Tower officially opens in Edmonton

Stantec (STN-T) and ICE District Properties Joint Venture today celebrated the grand opening of Stantec’s new global headquarters, Stantec Tower. At 69 storeys in height (66 functional floors), Stantec Tower will be the tallest building west of Toronto and serves as one of the key pillars in Edmonton’s vibrant ICE District. The structure will house 29 floors of commercial workspace.

Globe Newswire – Edmonton Journal – Property Biz Canada

Thousands of new apartment units ‘at risk’ in Vancouver

Approximately 12,000 planned Metro Vancouver purpose-built rental apartment units worth an estimated $5 billion are at risk of not getting built due to government policies, rising construction costs and delayed permitting, says an apartment building sales specialist. There are roughly 20,000 apartment units either proposed, approved or under construction in the region, said David Goodman, a commercial real estate agent who specializes in apartment buildings with HQ Commercial.

Property Biz Canada

MaRS, U of T to open new waterfront tech hub

MaRS Discovery District and the University of Toronto are partnering on opening a new hub for tech startups at a new building on Toronto’s waterfront. MaRS and the U of T announced Tuesday they will be leasing 24,000 square feet of office space in the Waterfront Innovation Centre, a development on the inner harbour near Sugar Beach, when it opens in 2021.

Toronto Star – Canada Newswire

Instacart announces plans for new Toronto tech hub

Instacart, the North American leader in online groceries, announced Tuesday it will significantly expand its presence in Canada with a new tech hub in Toronto — “Instacart North” — and plans to hire 200 new employees over the next several years. Currently based in the heart of the city at Wellington Street West and Portland Street, Instacart plans to open the doors of its new Instacart North office in 2019.

Canada Newswire – Toronto Star

Empire marks 25th year with Toronto Eau Du Soleil condos

As Empire Communities marks its 25th anniversary, the company’s most ambitious high-rise condominium development, Eau Du Soleil in Toronto, is nearing completion. The excavation on the nearly three-acre site at Humber Bay was equivalent to the size of 90 Olympic-sized swimming pools, according to Empire high-rise president Emilio Tesolin. He also noted the 80,000 cubic metres of concrete poured would stretch around the earth if it was contained in three-inch cubes.

Property Biz Canada

Toronto must build transit faster to avoid conflict, delays

Toronto needs to find new ways to build public transit faster in order to keep newly elected governments from scrapping and redrawing existing plans, a new report from the Toronto Region Board of Trade says. Toronto’s next mayor and council also need to accept Ontario’s new Progressive Conservative government will follow through with its pledge to take over ownership of, or “upload,” the city’s subway lines, the report says.

Globe and Mail – Globe and Mail

City of Ottawa to study potential LRT expansion

With plans for the second phase of the LRT a go, the City of Ottawa is now studying ways to extend light rail to Barrhaven. In a news release Tuesday afternoon, the city said it’s looking at how to “convert bus rapid transit to light-rail transit” in the south-end community. The city said an environmental assessment for the project is being combined with another study underway for rail grade separations in Barrhaven.

Ottawa Business Journal

Automotive Properties acquires two dealership properties

Automotive Properties REIT (APR.UN-T)  announced it is has entered into an agreement to purchase two automotive dealership properties from AutoCanada Inc. (ACQ-T) for a total purchase price of approximately $55.5 million. The two dealership properties are the BMW Laval automotive dealership property located in Laval, Qué., and the Sherwood Park Volkswagen automotive dealership property located in Sherwood Park, Alta.

Canada Newswire – Canada Newswire – Property Biz Canada

Transat to build beachfront resort in Morelos, Mexico

Transat A.T. Inc. (TRZ-T)  has taken its first concrete step toward its $750-million plan to develop a hotel chain in the Riviera Maya and the Caribbean, announcing a deal Tuesday to buy land on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. The Montreal-based travel company said it aims to build a beach resort on a newly purchased lot in the village of Puerto Morelos. The combined deal would cost up to US$57 million.

CTV – Canada Newswire

Vornado doubling down on Times Square

Vornado Realty Trust (VNO-N), a New York City REIT, is doubling down on its Times Square holdings, closing on the remaining ownership interest of retail space at the base of the New York Marriott Marquis hotel, marking a bet on a further surge in popularity for the area. The REIT paid $442 million to hospitality REIT Host Hotels & Resorts (HST-N) for 46 per cent of the 45,000-square-foot retail condominium.

CoStar Group – CP Executive – Globe Newswire

Michael Kors purchases Versace for $2.1B

Michael Kors Holdings announced Tuesday it was buying Versace, the Italian fashion house, for US$2.1 billion. The deal ends the independence of one of the last prominent stand-alone fashion brands and is the biggest effort yet by Kors to build an empire. Kors also announced the company will change its name to Capri Holdings Ltd., to reflect its collection of brands. Kors bought Jimmy Choo in 2017 for US$1.2 billion.

Globe and Mail

Sears urged to sell $1.5B in real estate to stay afloat

Sears Holdings Corp (SHLD-Q) CEO Eddie Lampert, a major investor in the company, has proposed rescue deals to help the department store chain avoid bankruptcy as debt matures next month and it faces a cash crunch, according to a regulatory filing. Billionaire Lampert, who also runs hedge fund ESL Investments Inc, said the 125-year-old department store chain should take steps reduce its debt load to $1.2 billion from $5.6 billion.

Reuters

Market Trends and Research

Passenger satisfaction rises at three largest airports

A J.D. Power survey says passenger satisfaction has improved in two years at Canada’s three largest airports. Vancouver International’s score rose five points to 781 on a 1,000-point scale that measured satisfaction with check-in; food, beverage and retail; accessibility; terminal facilities and baggage claim. Montreal’s Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport scored 774, up from 760. Toronto’s Pearson International Airport received 761 points, up from 745. Calgary’s score was unchanged at 756.

Vancouver Sun

Ford urged to sell Crown corporations like LCBO

A review of spending commissioned by Premier Doug Ford is encouraging him to sell Crown corporations, including the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, to bring short-term cash into provincial coffers. The review says the government should maximize the value of provincial assets, including considering “divestiture” if the business case warrants. The report was conducted by auditing firm EY Canada.

CBC

Real Estate Companies

Enercare shareholders approve sale to Brookfield

Enercare shareholders (ECI-T) Monday overwhelmingly approved the acquisition of Enercare by Brookfield Infrastructure and its institutional partners. Approximately 99.89 per cent of the votes were cast in favour of the arrangement resolution. Cardinal Acquisitions Inc., together with a newly formed Ontario limited partnership, will acquire all issued and outstanding common shares of Enercare for $29 per common share. The total value of the transaction is valued at approximately $4.3 billion including debt.

Canada Newswire

Real Estate Investment Trusts

Plaza Retail announces normal course issuer bid

Plaza Retail REIT (PLZ-UN-T) today announced the acceptance by the Toronto Stock Exchange of its notice of intention to make a normal course issuer bid.  Pursuant to the NCIB, Plaza proposes to purchase through the facilities of the TSX and any alternative trading system in Canada, from time to time over the next 12 months, if considered advisable, up to an aggregate of 8,025,793 of Plaza’s issued and outstanding trust units.

Canada Newswire – Property Biz Canada

WPT Industrial announces block trade by Welsh Property

WPT Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust (WIR-U-T) announced today Welsh Property Trust, LLC sold 2,361,672 REIT units, on a block trade basis at a price of US$13.21 per unit. Welsh acquired such REIT units upon the redemption of an equivalent number of class-B limited partnership units of the operating subsidiary limited partnership of the REIT.

Globe Newswire – Property Biz Canada

Legal Corner

Strategic Group to pay $2M in partial class action settlement

Strategic Group, owned by real estate developer Riaz Mamdani, will pay more than $2 million in a partial settlement over a class action lawsuit, allowing investors to recoup roughly half of what they lost in an alleged conspiracy. However, the deal states Mamdani and his companies don’t accept any guilt or liability in the alleged scheme, which involved a complex web of investments in a southeast Calgary strip mall.

CBC

Restaurants and Eateries

Starbucks planning a corporate shake-up

Starbucks Corp (SBUX-Q) is planning an organizational restructuring including leadership changes, according to a memo from CEO Kevin Johnson. “There will be some job losses, some role expansions, and redeployments,” a company spokeswoman told Reuters. The changes come as the world’s largest coffee retailer is facing a raft of challenges, including a cooling U.S market and heavy competition from rivals, while undertaking a massive expansion project in China.

Reuters – Bloomberg

Cannabis industry news

Inner Spirit begins construction of Calgary, Edmonton stores

Inner Spirit Holdings Ltd. (INSHF), a specialty retailer and franchisor establishing recreational cannabis dispensaries across Canada under the Spiritleaf brand, Tuesday announced it has received development permits for, and has begun construction of its wholly owned Spiritleaf stores in Calgary and Edmonton. The stores will be in the heart of Calgary’s vibrant Beltline district and Edmonton’s historical Whyte Avenue.

Canada Newswire

Tokyo Smoke retail stores coming to Manitoba

Tokyo Smoke, the Canadian Cannabis Awards Brand of the Year, has completed the Cannabis Retail Organization Agreement and Cannabis Store Retailer Agreements with the Province of Manitoba and is set to open at least four stores in the province. Tokyo Smoke will begin its expansion into Manitoba by opening up to four locations in the City of Winnipeg and one in the City of Brandon.

Canada Newswire

Aleafia, Serruya Family JV on retail venture

Vancouver-headquartered Aleafia Health Inc. (ALEF-X) has entered into a letter of intent to acquire a 51 per cent stake in One Plant, an adult-use cannabis retail operation led by members of the Serruya Family, including Aaron Serruya, the president of International Franchise Inc., which has more than 4,500 franchise locations in more than 50 countries.

Globe Newswire

Renovation and Restoration

Developer seeks approval to renovate Winnipeg strip mall

Seymour Pacific Development is eyeing a strip mall on Winnipeg’s Ness Avenue that’s had no anchor tenant for years. If it goes according to plan, the site, home to a former grocery store and a number of other retail tenants, would become a multi-storey residential and commercial complex. The site was the location of a Safeway until it closed in 2014 after Sobeys bought the Western Canadian Safeway stores.

Winnipeg Free Press

Mall of America poised for potential expansion

The listing of an 11.5-acre parcel of vacant, publicly owned land could signal further expansion to the Mall of America, which touts itself as the largest shopping center in the United States and Minnesota’s premier tourist attraction. The Minneapolis office of Newmark Knight Frank, also known as NKF, has been chosen to market the land. Mall of America is owned by Edmonton-based Triple Five Group.

CoStar Group

Infrastructure

Calgary set to launch MAX bus rapid transit lines in November

The secret launch date of Calgary’s new bus rapid transit lines has been revealed. The MAX bus lines will roll out Nov. 19, covering the southeast, north and south.  The city’s new BRT lines — including the southwest line, which is still under construction — are expected to cost $304 million.  The southeast line is a massive project that includes a re-build of 17th Avenue S.E. between 26th Street and Hubalta Road.

CBC

Other

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