Nexus REIT appoints Kelly Hanczyk CEO

Nexus REIT appoints Kelly Hanczyk CEO

The Board of Trustees of Nexus REIT (NXR-UN-X) today announced Kelly Hanczyk, the former CEO of Edgefront REIT and co-CEO of Nexus REIT, has become Nexus REIT CEO. Jean Teasdale, former CEO of Nobel REIT and co-CEO of Nexus REIT will be leaving Nexus REIT to head up a private real estate business of RFA Capital Partners.

Canada Newswire – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada

Home sweet mall for Toronto developers

Everyone’s heard about spending a night in the museum. But would you live at the mall? Thanks to the e-commerce-induced demise of major retail chains, such as Sears and Toys “R” Us, the closing of hundreds of malls across North America has triggered a push by municipal planners to find ways to recycle these forlorn asphalt islands. The phenomenon has even spawned a website – deadmalls.com.

Globe and Mail

Ivanhoé caps $1B investment with Montreal Eaton Centre project

Ivanhoé Cambridge says it will invest $200 million to redevelop the downtown Montreal Eaton Centre, including merging it with the neighbouring Complexe Les Ailes shopping centre. In a release, Ivanhoé says the project “aims to enhance the shopping experience at Quebec’s busiest shopping centre on Sainte-Catherine Street, one of North America’s most well-known commercial streets.”

Property Biz Canada

PCI, Low Tide build new wave of offices at False Creek Flats

A massive amount of new office space is coming to Vancouver’s False Creek Flats area beginning with a development by PCI Developments and Low Tide Properties. Launching this spring is a seven-storey, 160,000-square-foot class-A structure at 565 Great Northern Way which is designed for the emerging digital media and creative sector. It is already 72 per cent pre-leased.

Property Biz Canada

Vancouver ‘on wrong side of change’: Developers

The barriers to development – such as restrictive zoning, lengthy permit processes and community opposition – are one of the key reasons companies like Amazon (AMZN-Q) won’t consider Vancouver for headquarters, according to a local developer. This could be putting Vancouver on the “wrong side of change,” said Kevin Layden, president and CEO of local development company Wesbild.

Western Investor

Axiom tops off 10th Avenue apartment tower

A week ago, representatives of the owner, the management firm and construction company celebrated the topping off of the 36-storey apartment block that forms part of a two-tower project in Calgary.  The complex, that will be managed by QuadReal Property Group,  will provide 305 units in the 36-storey apartment tower and 390 suites in the 33-storey long-term stay Marriott Residence Inn brand.

Calgary Herald

Downtown Montreal ripe for new office tower: NKFD

Downtown Montreal’s office market remains favourable to tenants in terms of space availability, but chances are good a new tower will break ground this year, says Jean Laurin, president and CEO of the city’s Newmark Knight Frank Devencore office. That’s because large blocks of contiguous space greater than 50,000 square feet remain in demand and may be increasingly hard to find in the downtown core.

Property Biz Canada

David Wilkes settling in as new BILD president

David Wilkes is only a few weeks into his new role as president and chief executive officer of the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD), but he likes what he’s seen so far. “I’m struck by the creativity and the ideas that are being brought forward and the pride that the folks in this office have . . .,” said Wilkes.

Property Biz Canada – Canada Newswire

Altus Group appoints Carl Farrell president

Altus Group Limited  (AIF-T) announced the appointment of Carl Farrell to the newly created role of president. Farrell is a highly successful technology executive with over 30 years of extensive global experience in the software, data and professional services industry. He has been a member of the company’s Board of Directors since 2014 and will continue to serve on Altus Group’s Board of Directors as a non-independent director. 

Globe Newswire

JLL expands valuation and advisory services in Canada

JLL announced it has completed a transaction to acquire the real estate valuation and advisory division of Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton. For three decades Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton, the largest accounting firm in Québec, has offered market-leading real estate and advisory services to its Québec-based clientele. Adding to JLL’s industry-leading team of investor experts, 16 professionals will join JLL’s Montréal office.

Canada Newswire

LRT to West Edmonton should not be derailed: Councillors

Long-time advocates of an LRT line to West Edmonton are confident the Valley Line will go ahead as planned, despite a move by council to revisit bus rapid transit (BRT) options. “LRT to the west end of the city is absolutely the right way to go,” Coun. Andrew Knack said. “To me, there’s not a lot of merit to the idea of bringing in BRT to the west end.”

CBC – Property Biz Canada – Edmonton Journal

NCC-RendezVous LeBreton deal could see construction start in 2019

After more than 40 meetings and 120 hours of negotiations, the National Capital Commission and RendezVous LeBreton Group have officially reached an agreement to transfer ownership of LeBreton Flats, opening the path to redevelop the mostly vacant 21-hectare property just west of downtown. At the NCC’s board of directors meeting on Thursday, Mark Kristmanson called LeBreton Flats “one of the last great development opportunities” in Ottawa. 

Ottawa Business Journal – CBC – Ottawa Citizen

Toys ‘R’ Us stores in Canada to stay open despite U.S. closures

Hobbled by $5 billion in debt, Toys “R” Us Inc. will close 20 per cent of its U.S. stores within months. Meanwhile, Toys “R” Us Canada president Melanie Teed-Murch said all 83 stores are open for business. “Since the initiation of our September court proceedings, our primary focus has been reimagining our business with you, our customers in mind and ensuring a normal course of operations,” Teed-Murch said.

Financial Post – Bloomberg – Reuters – CoStar Group

Campbell Soup closing 87-year-old Toronto facility

Campbell Soup Co. will close its 87-year-old Toronto factory and shift production to the U.S. amid a decline in soup consumption. About 380 manufacturing jobs will be lost when the factory in south Etobicoke closes within 18 months. Ana Dominguez, president of Campbell Canada, said the Canadian market will be served by Campbell Soup’s larger, more efficient plants in Maxton, N.C., Napoleon, Ohio, and Paris, Texas.

Globe and Mail – Toronto Star – CBC – Bloomberg

Legalized cannabis sales could be in the billions

Canadians spent an estimated $5.7 billion on cannabis last year according to Statistics Canada, but that’s no guarantee those sales will translate into billions of dollars for the legal market, at least not immediately. More than 90 per cent of those sales were in the black market. “It’s certainly going to take a while to disrupt that black market,” said Tyler Stuart, managing director of Green Acre Capital.

CBC

Market Trends and Research

Even Poloz doesn’t know future of rate hikes

Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz said on Thursday even he did not know what potential there may be for further interest rate hikes this year, reiterating policymakers remained both data-dependent and alert to developments with NAFTA. The Bank of Canada raised rates last week for the third time in seven months but gave no clear direction on the future path of monetary policy.

Reuters – CBC

Healthcare real estate trends in 2018

VIDEO: Bob Smietana, CEO of Chicago-based HSA Commercial Real Estate, explains what trends are in the pipeline for the healthcare industry in 2018, including the further development of outpatient facilities, delivery of care in traditional retail environments, the integration of wellness in healthcare and the multi-specialty medical centre model.

Commercial Property Executive

Real Estate Companies

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REIT Financial Reports

There is plenty of value in real estate stocks

As investors who are focused on finding real estate that’s cheaper in the stock market than it is on the property market, the portfolio management team at Toronto-based Vision Capital Corporation sees several attractive opportunities these days. Those include the global industrial real estate sector, class A-shopping malls in the U.S., the seniors housing market and the value-add portion of the Canadian apartment industry.

Financial Post

Real Estate Investment Trusts

BTB announces sale of a Quebec property

BTB Real Estate Investment Trust (BTB-UN-T), further to the conclusions of its strategic review of its portfolio, announces the sale of a property located at 1863-1865 TransCanada Highway, Dorval, Qué., for total proceeds of $5.650 million.  The net proceeds will be allocated to partially repay its outstanding lines of credit. 

Canada Newswire – Property Biz Canada

HNA Investment scraps Singapore REIT project plan

China’s HNA Investment Group Co Ltd has terminated its plan for a REIT project in Singapore, another setback for indebted parent HNA Group. HNA Investment Group has terminated its HNA Commercial REIT project with Singapore’s AEP Investment Management Pte Ltd. “Both parties have decided to terminate this cooperation as the HNA Commercial REIT’s IPO has been progressing very slowly due to many factors,” HNA Investment said.

Reuters

Legal Corner

Tsawout First Nation files claim to B.C. island

The Tsawout First Nation has filed a civil claim with the B.C. Supreme Court seeking the return of James Island — with its golf course, western-theme park and aircraft landing strip. John Gailus, lawyer for the Tsawout First Nation, said the claim rests on the 1852 treaty signed by Gov. James Douglas that states native village sites and enclosed fields were to be reserved for First Nations use.

Victoria Times Colonist

Vancouver condo developer fights U.S. extradition

The allegations Vancouver condo developer Mark John Chandler faces in the U.S. “leap over the line between property developer and fraudster,” a Canadian Department of Justice lawyer told B.C. Supreme Court on Thursday. Chandler’s lawyer argued the Americans who lost money in Chandler’s Los Angeles real estate project were incentivized investors and not victims,

Vancouver Sun

Retail

Retailers so wary of fraud they’re rejecting real customers

Retailers are so worried about fraudulent purchases online, many say they’re rejecting legitimate transactions out of fear they may be fake. Sixty-seven per cent of retailers have online security measures quick to cancel any transaction that raises suspicion, according to a survey by Experian, a global information-services company. When gauging all businesses — a group that also includes banks and telecommunications companies — that figure rises to 71 per cent.

Bloomberg

Wal-Mart cutting up to 1,000 corporate jobs

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT-N) is cutting as many as 1,000 jobs at headquarters this week, the latest effort to streamline a retail empire under threat from Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN-Q). The first wave of layoffs totaled between 400 and 500 jobs and hit the company’s marketing, human resources, merchandising, real estate and other divisions this week, the Bentonville, Ark.-based chain said. Those affected will have 60 days to find a new role.

bloomberg

Restaurants and Eateries

Starbucks tumbles the most in six months after slump goes global

Starbucks Corp (SBUX-Q) shares fell five per cent on Friday after the company reported weak holiday-quarter sales, indicating near-term troubles were far from over, but analysts said the brand’s strength and a growing Chinese fanbase would help it ride out the rough patch. Over the past year, the world’s largest coffee chain has hit a few bumps as it tries to boost sales.

Reuters – Reuters

New Development

Calgary company hopes to build fuel plant

A Calgary company hopes to start construction later this year on a $100-million demonstration plant in the Industrial Heartland that will make low-sulphur fuel for the shipping industry. But Field Upgrading still needs to line up financing that could include up to $50 million in government investment before making a final decision to go ahead with its Clean Seas project, commercialization advisor Lisa Doig said Thursday.

Edmonton Journal

Hindu Temple Burnaby moving into new property

After 45 years at the centre of a growing community, one of Canada’s first Hindu temples is closing down. The congregation of Hindu Temple Burnaby will soon be moving to a new temple, one of the largest in North America. It will boast about 33,000 square feet of floor space and can host 800 worshippers. It will also include a library, classrooms, a yoga studio and a banquet hall.

CBC

Sports Venues

Gatineau’s new arena gets green light from province

The Quebec government has given its approval to a new arena to replace Gatineau’s aging Robert Guertin Centre. Gatineau city council gave its go-ahead last February for a new arena on Boulevard de la Cité, about seven kilometres northeast of the current rink in downtown Hull, but needed the province’s sign-off because the proposed site is considered protected wetland under provincial law.

CBC

Renovation and Restoration

Kanata’s Brookstreet Hotel opens $12M expansion

Two years ago, the sales team at the Brookstreet Hotel was trying to book conferences for a brand new space – sight unseen – to clients. Hotel general manager Nyle Kelly had construction boots sitting under his office desk on a full-time basis. Now, the new 20,000-square-foot expansion is officially open after a corporate banquet last Friday christened the 500-person capacity ballroom.

Ottawa Business Journal

Sustainability

Ottawa light-rail contractors request extension

The consortium constructing Ottawa’s light-rail line is asking for more time before it commits to a date for turning over the keys to the $2.1-billion transit system. The Rideau Transit Group’s contract with the city says the municipality will take ownership of the O-Train Confederation Line on May 24, 2018. The contractors were supposed to confirm that so-called “revenue service availability” date by Wednesday.

Ottawa Business Journal

Other

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