REIT giant Michael Cooper’s ‘humbling’ lesson

REIT giant Michael Cooper’s ‘humbling’ lesson

Michael Cooper doesn’t mince words. The current commercial real estate environment is “grinding, painful and humbling.” Not even a decade ago, the Canadian real estate giant was elevated to sage status for timing the market so perfectly but today the biggest company in his empire is worth about half of what it was.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required) – The Motley Fool

Boardwalk REIT dinged due to energy-reliant provinces

Calgary-based Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust (BEI.UN-T) is feeling the pain from the ongoing rout in oil prices, as job layoffs across Alberta and a decrease in net migration push rental apartment vacancy rates higher.  Boardwalk’s unit price has sharply declined to about $41 since closing at an all-time high of $71.40 roughly 14 months ago.

Calgary Herald

Brookfield plans office tower in Dubai finance centre

Brookfield Property Partners LP (BPY.UN-T) plans to start building the first commercial tower to be developed in Dubai’s financial district since the global credit crisis seven years ago.  The New York-based company and Dubai’s sovereign wealth fund, Investment Corporation of Dubai, will split the cost of the 53-storey tower in the Dubai International Financial Centre.

Globe and Mail – Financial Post

Brookfield Asset Management bids on U.S. shopping mall owner

Brookfield Asset Management Inc., (BAM-T) Canada’s largest alternative asset manager, made an unsolicited offer to acquire U.S. shopping-mall owner Rouse Properties Inc. for about US$657 million.

Financial Post – REIT.com – Marketwired – IPE Real Estate

JLL predicts modest growth in 2016

According to new research by JLL (NYSE: JLL), total direct real estate investment reached just over US$700 billion in 2015 — on par with the 2014 levels — with further modest expansion predicted for 2016. Institutional investors continue to allocate significant capital to real estate, and they are broadening their investment to include new segments.

Marketwired

No stress selling in Alberta: CBRE Canada CEO

Mark Renzoni, Chief Executive Officer of commercial real estate services company CBRE Canada, joins Bloomberg TV Canada’s Pamela Ritchie to discuss the resilience of Alberta’s commercial real estate market despite the commodity downturn. 

Bloomberg – Property Biz Canada

Vancouver set to lead country in CRE: Morguard

A growing economy is expected to push strong growth in Vancouver’s commercial property market in 2016, making the city more attractive to investors in that sector, according to a Morguard Corporation (MRC-T) report. Economic output is forecast to grow by 3.5 per cent in 2016, after increasing at rates higher than three per cent over six of the past seven years.

Business In Vancouver

Oil’s slide slams Fort Mac’s CRE

Fort McMurray’s airport is the gateway to Alberta’s oil sands.It was built close to two years ago, when oil prices surged. But as crude plummets, the number of people flying here goes with it. Fewer planes also means less need for hotels. Gone are days of no vacancy signs and stays for $200-300 a night for a room.

Global News

A Montreal castle fit for a software king

On the edge of Old Montreal lies a castle. Gare Viger is an architectural marvel built in the late 1890s as a train station and luxury hotel. It’s often been neglected, but it’s now at the centre of a robust $250-million development. Anchored by Montreal’s technology darling, Lightspeed, the development is revitalizing a once-forgotten area of the city.

Globe and Mail

Macy’s is pursuing real estate opportunities: CEO

Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren said Tuesday the company is taking a more professional view of its real estate assets than ever as it faces pressure to unlock their value.  Earlier this month, Starboard Capital urged Macy’s to follow through with plans to spin off its real estate holdings in order to raise more cash at a time when the retailer is restructuring, cutting costs and closing a number of stores.

CNBC – Bloomberg

Ottawa retail tenants troubled by Walmart exit

Since learning Walmart is vacating Lincoln Fields Shopping Centre at the end of the month, store owners at the Ottawa mall say they are worried about losing business once the anchor store shuts down. Sam Olszynk, 70, has owned Jewellery Encounters on the mall’s main floor for 18 years and he relies on customer flow from Walmart.

Ottawa Citizen

All REITs can now apply for .REIT domain

All REITs now can apply for a .REIT top-level domain name to use in their internet addresses instead of, or in addition to, the .com or other top-level domain names.  Interested REITs can apply for a .REIT domain name by going to the web site Register.REIT and following the instructions there.

REIT.com

Innovation and adaptability create cities of the future

Innovation, liveability and the capacity to reinvent characterize the most dynamic cities in JLL‘s (JLL-N) third annual City Momentum Index (CMI). London, Silicon Valley, Dublin, Bangalore and Boston top the list by successfully creating environments that attract cutting-edge new businesses, nurture top talent, leverage technology and provide vibrant, inclusive communities.

Marketwired

CMBS industry faces unique set of headwinds

The commercial real estate market has plenty of reasons to be optimistic about 2016: the positive fundamental drivers are producing higher rents and property values.  The optimism, however, doesn’t extend into the CMBS industry, which faces a unique set of headwinds mostly stemming from new regulations coming into effect.

CP Executive

A common building material turned hotel fire into an inferno

Toronto Star

Featured Column

Traditional media and the law of singular focus

Examine results from all the traditional media and you’ll find a pattern. Things just aren’t working the way they used to. So how do we make better use of traditional media?

Read more

My commercial property is worth what?!

Like so many material things in the world, the value of commercial real estate can often be in the eye of the beholder. There are two sides to this story; the hard truth is, the value to an owner user can outweigh what the market may be prepared to pay.

Read more

Market Trends and Research

Canadian resort real estate loves high U.S. dollar

Realtors who sell Canadian resort properties say the low loonie is spurring interest from American buyers who are looking to pick up cheap vacation homes north of the border.  “We’re thanking our lucky stars,” said Brad Hawker from Royal LePage Rocky Mountain Realty in Canmore, Alta.

Globe and Mail

Regina office market: High vacancy, low demand forecast for 2016

 Downtown office vacancy rates have increased dramatically from two per cent in 2010 to just under 13 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2015 to just over 510,000 square feet, an increase of 100,000 square feet in 2015, largely due to two new office buildings by Harvard Developments — Hill Centre Tower III and Agriculture Place —  on Hamilton Street between 11th and 12th Avenues.

Leader Post

Oshawa sets five building records

In 2015, Oshawa had its highest total overall construction value with $558.7 million; the highest year for residential construction value at $454.4 million; the highest year for the total number of permits issued at 1,956; the highest residential construction value for one month with July bringing in $96.6 million; and the highest overall construction value in the month of July with $114.9 million

Daily Commercial News

Real Estate Companies

Pincourt mall in Brossard, Que. has been sold

The Faubourg de L’Île shopping centre in Pincourt has a new owner who vows to boost business, including the possibility of opening a multi-screen cinema. Groupe Quint, headquartered in Brossard, closed the deal Monday to acquire the mall from the Israeli-based El-Ad firm, said company president Ian Quint.

Montreal Gazette

Arcapita building new U.S. senior living portfolio

Arcapita, a Bahrain-based global investment management firm, is looking to put together another sizeable senior living portfolio in the U.S. The company started out 2016 acquiring a privately held portfolio of senior living communities in Colorado in a joint venture with MorningStar Senior Living, an experienced operating partner specializing in this sector.

CoStar Group

Commercial drones capture the attention of insurance industry

Companies across Canada are turning to drones to monitor crops, snap pictures for real estate listings and map the oil sands – and insurers are swooping in to cover the risk of hard landings and injuries. Intact , Canada’s largest property insurer, says the demand business clients is increasing as more of them use drones as part of regular operations.

Globe and Mail

REOC Financial Reports

Real Estate Investment Trusts

CAPREIT has provided downside protection

Surfacing on the TSX positive breakouts list is Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (CAR.UN-T), a growth-oriented REIT that provides investors with exposure to the Canadian multi-residential market. CAPREIT has interests in more than 40,000 apartment buildings and townhouses, as well as more than 6,000 land lease sites in 30 manufactured home communities.

Globe and Mail (Subscription Required)

Legal Corner

Amazon veers into labour law fight zone

Amazon.com Inc.’s (AMZN-Q) Uber-esque foray into ultra-fast delivery has landed it in court with drivers claiming they’re being exploited. It’s the same claim facing Uber Technologies Inc. and others using on-demand workers who now insist on being treated like regular employees. The Seattle-based e-commerce pioneer raced ahead anyway.

Bloomberg

Association News

New Development

Lansdowne’s retail development: Still waiting for that ‘wow’

Just imagine, it suggested, a swath of Lansdowne Park transformed into a “unique urban village with interesting stores, cafés, restaurants, services, cinemas … ”  Follow our blueprint, promised retail consultant J.C. Williams Group Ltd., and watch this patch of sports stadium pavement just south of downtown Ottawa transform into “an awesome or wow-factor retail experience.”

Ottawa Citizen

Editorial: Revamp of Place Jacques-Cartier is problematic

Last week, the city of Montreal unveiled its plan to revamp the historic square in Old Montreal, with a view to revitalizing the tourist site in time for the city’s 375th birthday in 2017 and highlighting its architectural heritage. Some elements of the plan make a lot of sense. Others seem more problematic.

Montreal Gazette

True North Square plans unveiled

The City of Winnipeg and province have partnered with True North Sports & Entertainment on a “transformative” project for downtown. As construction begins on True North Square, both levels of government have come to the table with a shared $17.6 million of tax increment financing to invest in more than two acres of public space.

Winnipeg Free Press – CBC News

North Vancouver art gallery breaks ground

Boosted by the addition of a $750,000 donation, the Polygon Gallery in the City of North Vancouver started construction Monday morning. The new two-level gallery is being built at the foot of Lonsdale on the waterfront. At more than 24,000 square feet, the new gallery is expected to be finished next year and have a fall opening. 

Vancouver Sun

Sports Venues

Alberta gov’t not ruling out cash for Calgary arena

Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister Danielle Larivee says she’s not inclined to use taxpayer money for a new professional sports complex in Calgary, but she’s not closing the door either. The proposed public-private partnership would see an $890-million downtown sports centre with a new rink for the NHL Calgary Flames and a new stadium for the CFL Calgary Stampeders.

Edmonton Journal

Public battle begins over LeBreton Flats rink

The public relations battle over the future of Ottawa’s LeBreton Flats has been launched online — one week before the bids are officially unveiled by the National Capital Commission. An online survey suggests the real battle for the site pits those in favour of an NHL hockey rink against those opposed to one.

Ottawa Citizen

New Rams L.A. stadium sart of mixed-use development

The NFL’s St. Louis Rams will be welcomed back to LA with a new stadium, slated to be the largest in the NFL, as part of a 298-acre complex hoping to bring millions in revenue to Inglewood. The NFL’s St. Louis Rams will be moving back to Los Angeles for the 2016 season, causing mixed reactions among fans and industry experts.

CP Executive

Renovation and Restoration

Boma boss defends Victoria hotel’s renovation

Empress Hotel owner Nat Bosa has defended his approach to upgrading the iconic 108-year-old Victoria landmark Victoria landmark. He also angrily rejected his critics’ claims he is destroying the building’s heritage features. A petition last week aimed to convince Bosa to keep open the hotel’s colonial-themed Bengal Lounge.

Business In Vancouver

Historic Penn Station getting major facelift

Penn Station, the century-old rail station which serves about 650,000 people daily, is poised to undergo massive change in the near future. This week New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo outlined a general plan to improve the old station to the tune of an estimated $3 billion, presenting five possible scenarios.

Buzzbuzzhome.com

Infrastructure

A $2.7-billion garbage deal. What’s in it for Canada?

Usually when two companies merge in a friendly deal, their management teams go on and on about the combination’s benefits. Not so for Canada’s Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd.  Even though its board unanimously approved the $2.67-billion (U.S.) merger with Texas-based Waste Connections Inc., it isn’t quite clear what the Canadian company gets out of it.

Globe and Mail

Report recommends a new fund for northern infrastructure

A federal board is warning Ottawa that doling out infrastructure cash based on population is shortchanging the North, where costs are much higher and communities are small.  In a report to be released on Wednesday, the National Aboriginal Economic Development Board is calling for changes to the way infrastructure money is spread across the country.

Committee puts brakes on Winnipeg underpass plan

A Winnipeg council committee has refused to approve plans for the $155-million Waverley Street underpass for now, blaming city bureaucrats for not keeping them up to date on the project. Councillors on the infrastructure renewal and public works committee voted Monday in favour of more time to review an administrative report on the underpass project.

CBC News – Winnipeg Free Press

Human Resources

Edmonton casino on a hiring spree

In what is the first major recruiting drive for the downtown arena district, Gateway Casinos and Entertainment is holding two career fairs this week to fill as many as 200 jobs for its new Grand Villa casino. The company is planning to open a $32-million, 60,000-square-foot casino this summer in a mixed-use building adjacent to Rogers Place.

Edmonton Journal

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