Bentall Kennedy to be AustralianSuper’s advisor in Canada

Bentall Kennedy to be AustralianSuper’s advisor in Canada

Bentall Kennedy has been selected to represent AustralianSuper, a superannuation fund managing retirement assets of AUD$100 bn on behalf of over 2 million members in that country, as its real estate investment advisor in Canada with a mandate to pursue commercial real estate investment opportunities nationwide.

Canada Newswire

Hamilton’s plan for a 25 acre waterfront development

Hamilton booster Chris Phillips is extolling the dense greenery and wildlife thriving in the water and along the shore of the city’s harbour. “You could be in Muskoka. It’s not really the image of Hamilton people see,” he says, as the little tour boat motors along Bayfront Park.

Toronto Star

Container conundrum: The trouble with Terminal 2

A key $2 billion Terminal 2 container cargo expansion or a $2 billion terminal too far? That’s the latest question at the centre of the Port of Vancouver’s ongoing economy-environment tug-of-war.  The US$4 trillion global container-shipping sector’s continuing financial bloodbath have raised industry questions about Terminal 2’s future.

Business in Vancouver

Merger talk about Halifax port container cargo terminals

Halifax Mayor Mike Savage says the two container cargo terminals at the port are talking about a merger, or at least a partnership. Certainly, the Ceres Halifax-operated Fairview Cove terminal and the South End facility run by Halterm Container Terminal, are massive pieces of the city’s infrastructure puzzle.

The Chronicle Herald

Dermot Sweeny loves Toronto – but it drives him crazy

Dermot Sweeny designs first-class buildings. One of his best, Queen Richmond Centre West near Queen Street and Spadina Avenue, has won a bunch of awards.  So when Mr. Sweeny went to City Hall with plans for something similar in Liberty Village, south of King Street West, officials should have greeted the architect and developer with open arms.

Globe and Mail

Downtown Saskatoon ‘architectural gem’ restored

The restoration of a downtown office building – The Obasa Building — formerly the Investor’s Building – has yielded some pleasant surprises for its owner and the lead architect. “I don’t think there’s anything like it in Saskatoon,” lead architect Heney Klypak said, calling it an “architectural gem.”

The Star Phoenix

For Alberta’s craft breweries, location matters

Alberta’s economy may be down in the dumps, but that combined with recently introduced government policies have contributed to a boom for the province’s craft breweries.  “The elimination of production limits in Alberta is what started the growth of craft beer in Calgary,” said Colliers International Calgary vice-president Michael Massing.

Property Biz Canada

HBC loss widens in Q2 on real estate joint ventures

Hudson’s Bay Co. posted a net loss of $142 million in the second quarter amid increased costs from its real estate joint ventures. The Toronto owner of Hudson’s Bay and Saks Fifth Avenue has grown dramatically in the last year, acquiring German department store chain Galeria Kaufhof, online retailer Gilt and forming joint ventures with RioCan REIT and Simon Property Group.

Financial Post

World of Maps building in downtown Ottawa remains vacant

Location, location, location – right? Maybe not. As of this week, the former World of Maps building in the heart of Wellington West in Ottawa will have been vacant for a year. The colourless windows and large “for lease” signs at 1235 Wellington St. W. create an unfortunate first impression for visitors to the neighbourhood.

Ottawa Business Journal

Property management services for small investors

Real Property Management, which started in the United States more than 25 years ago, is increasing its presence in Canada. The company manages some commercial properties but predominantly works with residential rental units, ranging from single family homes to small apartment complexes.

Property Biz Canada – Marketwired

Hot market fuels rise of Abbotsford’s tallest tower

Abbotsford is experiencing a surge in development in its residential, industrial and agricultural sectors and work is beginning on what developers say will be the tallest residential tower between Surrey and Calgary.   Abbotsford-based Quantum Properties is putting up the 26-storey mixed-use tower will also have 30,000 square feet of commercial space on the first three floors.

Vancouver Sun

Dexel pitches pair of residential towers for Spring Garden Road

In 1972, Jack Lawen rented out the ground floor of a two-storey house at 5986 Spring Garden Rd. and opened up The Little General Shop. It’s gone now and that space is now home to Efes Turkish Cuisine, a restaurant known locally for its heaping portions of great Mediterranean food.

The Chronicle Herald

Automakers are buying the best airport parking spots

Lexus recently cut a deal until March 2017 with Edmonton International Airport (EIA) which will see 30 parking spots in choice locations reserved for those who own a Lexus.  When one automaker can buy the best spots in the parkade, are we unleashing a car class war?

Driving

REITs status change a bull market for property analysts

Market participants do not project any market-moving reaction when listed property today officially becomes a separate industry sector in the Global Industry Classification System (GICS). Analysts, consultants and portfolio managers use GICS for research, asset allocation, and portfolio construction and performance evaluation.

IPE Real Estate – REIT reclassification good news, BMO says

Ohio Teachers looks to offload office assets in coming year

State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio could be more of a seller than an investor in real estate in the 2016/2017 fiscal year.

The pension fund has identified several potential asset dispositions in its direct portfolio during the fiscal year, according to its new investment plan. It is, however, also planning to selectively evaluate acquisitions.

Real Estate IPE

Featured Column

Working with municipalities

Often, builder and property owners don’t recognize the challenges of working with municipalities until it’s too late. Mitigating some of the risks is all part of the process, but it can sometimes feel like you’re working through layers of barriers.

Read more

Hello, I am … accountable

Accountability is defined as the fact or condition of being accountable; therefore, responsible. I think it’s a word that is thrown around without much consideration for the consequence of the potential expectation created.

Read more

Market Trends and Research

TREB reports commercial market figures

Toronto Real Estate Board President Larry Cerqua announced that TREB Commercial Network Members reported a combined 423,206 square feet of leased industrial, commercial/retail and office space in August 2016. This result was up from 317,157 square feet of leased space in August 2015.

Marketwired

Dogs in the office boost happiness, productivity

With a growing body of research suggesting that a dog-friendly office could have a real impact on employee well-being and productivity, it’s no wonder that more companies are welcoming furry friends into the workplace. First, some background about the most famous study on dogs in the workplace.

Toronto Star

Burnaby businesses fear housing cost hurt bottom line

High housing costs in the Lower Mainland are making it difficult for Burnaby businesses to find employees, a survey by the Burnaby Board of Trade has found. The board interviewed more than 80 business owners in the city.

Business in Vancouver

REOC Financial Reports

	REITs & REOCs – Second-quarter 2016 report
	RENX has prepared a table with a convenient list of the companies and a summary of links to their second-quarter 2016 results. Have we missed any?  Canadian REITs & REOCs – Second-quarter 2016 report

 

Real Estate Investment Trusts

NorthWest Healthcare Properties REIT files prospectus

NorthWest Healthcare Properties REIT (NWH.UN-T) has filed a preliminary base shelf prospectus with the securities regulatory authorities in each of the provinces and territories of Canada. The intention of the base shelf prospectus is to allow the REIT to more quickly access capital when market opportunities permit.

Canada Newswire

Legal Corner

Engineer pleads not guilty in conneciton with Elliot Lake mall collapse

The only person criminally charged in connection with the deadly 2012 Elliot Lake mall collapse pleaded not guilty at trial in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Tuesday. Discredited engineer Robert Wood is facing two counts of criminal negligence causing death and one count of criminal negligence causing bodily harm.

CBC – MacLeans

Retail

Sears Canada swings to loss as sales tumble 15.6%

Department store operator Sears Canada Inc reported a quarterly loss, compared with a year-earlier profit, hurt by a 15.6 per cent fall in sales. The company said same-store sales fell 5.5 per cent as traffic for big-ticket items such as major appliances fell due to termination of a credit card agreement and lower-than-expected sales of new merchandise launched in spring.

Globe and Mail – Canada Newswire – Winnipeg Free Press

Cara Operations beefs up restaurant presence in Quebec

The St-Hubert restaurant and food-manufacturing business is now part of the Cara group, which sees the $537-million acquisition as a strategic move that dramatically increases its presence in Quebec. Founded in 1951 by the Leger family, St-Hubert is well-known in Quebec for its rotisserie chicken and its trademark symbol.

Ottawa Train Yards developer eyes more retail space

The developer and property manager behind the Ottawa Train Yards shopping centre is proposing a new expansion that would add more than 5,000 square metres of new retail space. The development proposed by Controlex Corporation calls for the construction of three new single-storey buildings along Industrial Avenue.

Ottawa Business Journal

New Development

Site expansion plans pit residents against brick company

A brick manufacturer is dusting off a 44-year-old licence to extend its quarry into a Burlington forest, clear-cutting an estimated 9,000 trees and butting up against residents’ backyards as early as next year. Neighbours and environmental advocates say the expanded operation could jeopardize their health and a sensitive local ecosystem.

Toronto Star

Development would breathe new life into aging plaza

Talk to the locals of Cordova Bay and few, if any, will disagree the Cordova Bay Plaza strip mall is in need of an upgrade.The sprawling parking lot and aging building have become iconic for all the wrong reasons, unlike the historic Beach House (formerly McMorran’s) which sits across Cordova Bay Road.

Saanich News

Toronto’s Baby Point seeks heritage status

The entrance to the enclave of Baby Point, nestled in Toronto’s west end near Jane Street north of Bloor Street, is guarded by stone gates. A little way inside, you find a cluster of 90-year-old Tudor-style homes ringed around some tennis courts and a log-cabin-style clubhouse.

Globe and Mail

International

Saudi Arabia weighs canceling massive projects

Saudi Arabia is intensifying efforts to shrink the highest budget deficit among the world’s biggest 20 economies, aiming to cancel more than $20 billion of projects and slash ministry budgets by a quarter, people familiar with the matter said.

Bloomberg

Technology

Subway buys Vancouver-based Avanti Commerce

The Subway restaurant chain has bought part of the Vancouver-based digital tech company responsible for its online orders since 2011. The U.S.-based chain with 44,000 franchise outlets worldwide announced it has bought a team of 20 employees of Avanti Commerce to work for Subway Digital.

Vancouver Sun

Other

Next stop, Churchill station — in Smoky Lake County

If an LRT stop appears in the forest, but no one is around to take the train, does it mean it’s always running on time? Somehow, a cover for a pedway entrance to the Churchill LRT station has ended up over 100 kilometres downstream on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River.

Calgary Herald

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