Toronto’s hot tech scene squeezes office supply

Toronto’s hot tech scene squeezes office supply

When ReUp outgrew its cozy digs in a Toronto incubator last year, the tech firm was immediately thrust into the cold waters of the downtown property market, where bidding wars for office space are now commonplace and rental agreements are sometimes made sight-unseen. Last month, the firm scored 1,000 square feet at Adelaide St. W. and John St., part of a larger space vacated by Uber Technologies Inc.

Financial Post

Major GTA developments mean busy 2018 at Pinnacle

Pinnacle International, already involved in several major developments in the Greater Toronto Area, is about to launch the first stage of its most high-profile mixed-use project. “We’re raring to go,” said Pinnacle vice-president of sales and marketing Anson Kwok. “We’re going to have four construction sites in full swing, so it will be a busy 2018.”

Property Biz Canada

Feds looking for 28,000 square feet of Ottawa office space

The federal government is asking Ottawa landlords if they’d be interested in leasing the region’s largest tenant some 28,200 square feet for a five-year term starting in 2019. Last week, Public Services and Procurement Canada published a request for “expressions of interest” from Ottawa property managers. While not a formal solicitation request, Public Services and Procurement Canada may eventually ask those interested landlords to submit a formal offer.

Ottawa Business Journal – Ottawa Business Journal

Centurion has five-year plan to triple its assets

Centurion plans to more than triple its assets in five years, mainly through investing in apartment buildings in the U.S. and increasing its debt investments, says Greg Romundt, president and CEO of Centurion Asset Management. “We’re currently just short of $1.5 billion in assets and our plan is in three years to get to $3 billion and $5 (billion) in five,” he says.

Property Biz Canada

Experts designing new neighbourhood in heart of Calgary

Imagine you were given a serious chunk of Calgary’s core, a blank sheet of paper and a pencil, and told you could turn it into whatever you wanted. That’s pretty much what the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) is doing with Victoria Park. Planners and a couple of architectural firms are hammering away at a vision for the future of one of Calgary’s oldest neighbourhoods.

CBC

Landmark to open premium theatre at Calgary’s CF Market Mall

Cadillac Fairview and Ivanhoé Cambridge announced a new partnership with Calgary-based Landmark Cinemas to open a premium movie theatre at CF Market Mall in Calgary. The grand opening is slated for spring 2019. Located on the southwest corner of the centre, in the space formerly occupied by Staples, the new five-screen theatre will be outfitted in luxury recliner power seating, providing a premium movie-going experience for Calgarians.

Canada Newswire – Property Biz Canada

Calgary’s multicultural New Horizon Mall to open in May

A unique multicultural mall in the Calgary region will open in May with more than 500 businesses which have purchased their spaces in the shopping centre, as opposed to the traditional retail practice of leasing. New Horizon Mall is 98 per cent pre-sold. It’s located near the CrossIron Mills shopping centre.

Property Biz Canada

Businesses desert Gatineau’s Galeries de Hull

The departure of a book store from Les Galeries de Hull is just the latest sign of the Gatineau mall’s decline, and further proof of the challenge facing Saint-Joseph Boulevard, where the promise of revitalization always seems to be right around the corner. Lynne Leach, owner of Librarie Réflexion, has been a tenant in the mall for 24 years, but said it’s time to move on.

CBC

Hotel developers, investors bet on boutique, lifestyle brands

As competition from Airbnb and other online hospitality services intensifies, the world’s largest hotel brands have joined a growing number of boutique and lifestyle hotel specialists in trying to grow larger by going small. Companies like Choice Hotels International (CHH-N), Marriott International Inc. (MAR-Q) and Hyatt Hotels Corp. (H-N) are increasingly opening boutique-style mini-chains aimed at specific lifestyle travelers.

CoStar Group

U.S. CRE executives crown industrial as king in 2018

Altus Group Limited (AIF-T), a leading provider of independent advisory services, software and data solutions to the global commercial real estate industry, today released the results of the 2018 Altus GroupReal Confidence Executive Survey, revealing executives are particularly confident in the strength of the industrial sector and are concerned about the impact of natural disasters on the U.S. economy in 2018. 

Globe Newswire – CP Executive – National Real Estate Investor

For Prologis, it’s out with the old, in with the new

Prologis Inc. (PLD-N) expects to wrap up several asset sales of industrial property, much of which it acquired seven years ago in the purchase of the AMB Property Corp. and its 1,130 industrial buildings totalling 142 million rentable square feet. Prologis announced it plans to continue to capitalize on the demand for warehouse/distribution property by selling another $1.6 billion in assets in 2018 and recycle the proceeds into new development.  

CoStar Group

Ingvar Kamprad, founder of Ikea, dead at 91

IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad, who turned a small-scale mail order business started on his family’s farm into a furniture empire by letting customers piece together his simple and inexpensive furniture themselves, has died at age 91. Kamprad died on Saturday at his home in Smaland, in southern Sweden, the chain’s Swedish unit, IKEA Sverige, said on Twitter on Sunday. He died peacefully following a short illness, it said.

Globe and Mail – Fortune – Reuters – Newsweek

Ivanhoé cuts ties to scandal-ridden Residential Land

The real estate investment arm of Quebec’s pension fund manager is distancing itself from a British partner whose owner is at the heart of a sexual-misconduct scandal making waves across the United Kingdom. Ivanhoé Cambridge is halting future investments with London-based real estate company Residential Land, which is owned by Bruce Ritchie. Ritchie is one of the co-chairs of the Presidents Club, which was plunged into scandal.

Globe and Mail – The Guardian

CPPIB commits $800M to Chinese mixed-use projects

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and Longfor Properties Co. Ltd announced today they are extending their cooperation to include two new mixed-use real estate development projects in Chengdu and Shanghai in China, for a total CPPIB commitment of approximately $800 million. The mixed-use development project in Chengdu is comprised of approximately eight million square feet for residential and commercial use. 

Globe Newswire – IPE Real Assets

Singapore overtakes China as top Asian investor in U.S. CRE

Singapore ousted China to become the biggest Asian investor in U.S. commercial property last year. It was the first time since 2012 that the city outspent China, according to data from Real Capital Analytics and Cushman & Wakefield Inc. Deals by Chinese investors plunged 66 per cent to $5.9 billion as regulators cracked down on capital outflows.

Bloomberg

Market Trends and Research

U.S. office market expected to continue cruising into 2018

The U.S. office market continued to benefit from strong fundamentals going into 2018, despite continued deceleration in net absorption, occupancy and rental rate growth. With robust corporate profits and continued office-using job growth, that trend is expected to hold through the year making U.S. office and other institutional-grade property types an attractive place for investors to park capital and get cash flow. 

CoStar Group – CP Executive – National Real Estate Investor – World Property Journal

The ‘coming of age’ for self-storage

The self-storage industry has experienced a coming of age over the last decade, according to Newmark Knight Frank’s Self-Storage Group. Over the last few years, the self-storage industry has seen an increase in access to debt and equity capital, advancements in technology and a more prominent position on the investment community’s radar.

CP Executive – CP Executive

Vernon is Northern Okanagan’s retail, tech, agriculture hub

The northern Okanagan hub of Vernon is home to more than 48,000 and is expected to nearly double to over 81,000 residents by 2040. The city is diligently preparing for a population influx, with many multi-family and hotel projects proposed or already in the works. Anderson Way will soon be home to two new hotels – Four Points by Sheraton & Convention Centre and Best Western Premier Hotel.

Western Investor

Real Estate Companies

Vancouver’s Rio Theatre is for sale

One of Vancouver’s last independent movie theatres is up for sale — but don’t hold your breath for it to be turned into condos just yet. The historic Rio Theatre on East Broadway has actually been listed for sale for almost a year, but a public marketing pamphlet was posted online Saturday, prompting a flurry of concerned messages to owner and operater Corinne Lea.

CBC

	RENX 2018 media kit is now available
	RENX 2018 media kit is now available. Enquire about our blended advertising rate that combines newsletter and website exposure. Advertising that reaches thousands of professionals in the commercial real estate industry every business day. Contact sales@renx.ca, 1-855-569-6300

 

Real Estate Investment Trusts

Slate Office unitholders to vote on planned acquisition

Slate Office REIT (SOT-UN-T) announced Friday that, in connection with its previously announced agreement to acquire seven properties in the Greater Toronto Area and Atlantic Canada, it is proceeding with a special meeting of unitholders of the REIT on March 8, for purposes of considering the acquisition. The acquisition properties are part of a portfolio of real estate assets to be sold by Cominar REIT (CUF-UN-T). 

Marketwired

Which REIT sectors will outperform in 2018?

Among U.S. REITs last year, the I’s—industrial, information and infrastructure—had it, and had it in a big way. But will those sectors repeat their great feats in 2018? In 2017, publicly traded REITs in the industrial, information (a.k.a. data centres) and infrastructure sectors outperformed the other general REIT categories, according to Nareit.  Cell tower REITs led the way in 2017, with returns of 35.4 per cent.

National Real Estate Investor – The Real Deal – Nasdaq – National Real Estate Investor

Blackstone-backed embassy planning India’s first REIT

Embassy Group, an Indian partner of Blackstone Group LP (BX-N) and a commercial real estate developer, is laying the groundwork for the nation’s first real estate investment trust, which would open a market that’s attracted billions overseas. There will probably be some progress by June, Embassy Office Parks chief executive officer Michael Holland said of its plan to issue the bond-like securities. 

Bloomberg

Retail

Walmart takes aim at Amazon in e-book push

Walmart (WMT-N) is making a circuitous and belated push into the digital book market, teaming up with a Japanese company to sell e-books and audiobooks. The deal with Rakuten, an e-commerce giant based in Japan, will allow Walmart to start selling digital books on its website for the first time later this year. The move comes years after Amazon (AMZN-Q) began to dominate the market for digital readers. 

Financial Post – Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Licensed marijuana producer Aphria to buy Nuuvera for $826M

Licensed marijuana producer Aphria Inc. (APH-T) announced an agreement Monday to buy medical cannabis firm Nuuvera Inc. (NUU-X) in a cash-and-stock deal that it says values the company at $826 million. The deal builds on a partnership between the companies as it combines Aphria’s production with Nuuvera’s expertise in cannabis processing and extraction. The combination will also help grow Aphria’s international footprint.

Ottawa Citizen – Financial Post – Motley Fool – CBC

New Development

Montreal dépanneur fights Ste-Catherine St. development

Westmount is hoping a new development project will bring life to a part of Ste-Catherine Street. Real estate firm BSR Group has filed a demolition request to get rid of a drab commercial building and replace it with a 10-storey commercial and residential building. However, the owner of a dépanneur in the building was granted an injunction to prevent the building from coming down. His lease ends in 2020.

CBC

First towers proposed for Port Moody, B.C.

Port Moody residents will get their first look on Jan. 31 at a proposed mixed-use development. The Berezan Group’s Ralph Berezan said the project would be comprised of three residential towers of 20, 24, and 26 storeys, with a total of 601 units, including 84 rental units. The towers would sit atop podiums with 50,104 square feet of commercial space.

Business In Vancouver

Infrastructure

New Gardiner Expressway exit ramp finally open in Toronto

The long, slow-moving lines of blinkering brake lights that have frustrated commuters travelling into Toronto on the eastbound lanes of the Gardiner Expressway came to an end Sunday as Mayor John Tory unveiled the city’s new exit ramp – designed to ease congestion and free up poorly used green space.

Globe and Mail – CBC – CTV

Other

	RENX has surpassed 10,350 Twitter followers
	Recent follower U31 Design is a Toronto-based interior design/architecture firm creating luxurious, modern, innovative spaces— inspiring people to do great things.
	Follow RENXca, the most comprehensive news feed on Twitter for Canadian real estate professionals.