Trump Organization to check out from Toronto tower

Trump Organization to check out from Toronto tower

The Trump International Hotel & Tower in downtown Toronto will soon lose the U.S. President’s name, as the luxury property is rebranded only five years after opening its doors. The owner of the Trump Hotel, JCF Capital ULC, announced a deal on Tuesday to buy out the Trump Organization’s management contracts for an undisclosed amount.

Globe and Mail – Bloomberg – Toronto Sun – Canada Newswire

Amazon just made Sobeys’ turnaround plan more difficult

Jeff Bezos just made fellow CEO Michael Medline’s life a whole lot more difficult. Amazon‘s (AMZN-Q) US$13.7-billion all-cash offer for Whole Foods Market (WFM-Q) hammered Canadian grocery stocks, including Empire Co. (EMP.A-T). Medline’s Sobeys banner, owned by parent company Empire Co., simply doesn’t need another headache as it tries to turn around the  disastrous acquisition of Canada Safeway.  

BNN – Globe and Mail – Financial Post – Canada Newswire

Algoma suspends mall sale due to Sears closures

Sears Canada’s announcement it will close its store in the Station Mall in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., has spurred Algoma Central Corporation to suspend efforts to sell the property. Sears (SCC-T) has been a fixture at the downtown Station Mall since it opened in 1973. It occupies one of the two anchor positions, with Walmart in the other.

Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada

Housing boom shelters Home Depot, Lowe’s from web onslaught

Big box retailers’ vast merchandise selection has been challenged for years by the endless availability of goods sold online, but thanks to Canada’s red-hot housing market, one sector has remained relatively immune to that trend: home improvement. The country’s largest retailer in the category, Home Depot Canada (HD-N), has seen 23 consecutive quarters of same-store sales growth. 

Financial Post

Riocan’s mall redevelopment plan approved

A new secondary plan for a revamped Elmvale Acres Shopping Centre with lower building heights and improved traffic measures was approved by the City of Ottawa’s planning committee Tuesday morning. RioCan (REI.UN-T) has a demonstration plan that calls for three 16-storey buildings, a nine-storey building and three standalone commercial buildings. 

Ottawa Citizen – CBC – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada

Liquidity, active pipeline drive growth for PROREIT

PRO Real Estate Investment Trust (PROREIT) (PRV.UN-X) continues to raise funds and make transactions, and it’s now in its most liquid position since launching in March 2013. “We’ve always talked about a clear strategy of being a commercial REIT that’s fully diversified geographically and by commercial sector,” said president and CEO James Beckerleg. 

Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada

Darryl Bosa looks to make his own mark

Darryl Bosa admits taking off “to learn and make my own mistakes” overseas for nearly a decade before returning home to create a new coworking business. “I still try to outdo my brothers,” the founder of Cmpny Cowork Inc. says with a smile, referring to Colin, CEO of Bosa Properties Inc., and Dale, CEO of subsidiary, BlueSky Properties Inc.

BCBusiness

Couche-Tard’s mega-purchase of CST approved

Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD.B-T) has won U.S. antitrust approval to buy rival CST Brands Inc. on condition it sell up to 71 stores in eight states, the Federal Trade Commission said on Monday. Couche-Tard said in August that it would buy the smaller CST, which has the Corner Store markets, for approximately $5.7 billion Cdn

BNN – Financial Post – Canada Newswire – Motley Fool

Toronto Parking Authority nixes pricey land purchase

The councillor who warned the city’s auditor general the Toronto Parking Authority was poised to spend more than $2.5 million above market value for a piece of land calls the incident “very disturbing.” The city manager will now probe the deal and report back to councillors. The TPA signed a conditional deal to spend around $12 million for the land.

CBC – Toronto Star – Global News

Five questions facing Home Capital ahead of AGM

Executives at Home Capital Group Inc. (HCG-T) will face the company’s shareholders Thursday for the first time since a crisis of confidence pushed the alternative mortgage lender to the brink of collapse last month. But even with a rescue package from Warren Buffett, which will see a subsidiary of the legendary investor’s Berkshire Hathaway invest up to $400 million while extending a $2-billion line of credit, it may be too soon to take a victory lap. 

Financial Post – Canada Newswire

City council approves Calgary’s Green Line

They’ve got a plan, now city council needs to convince the provincial government to give it some cash. City council voted 12-3 on the final alignment and station locations for the Green Line, Calgary’s next LRT project. Although the city is hoping to secure $4.65 billion to build just the first stage of the line, council approved the entire 46-kilometre route.

CBC – Calgary Herald – Global News

WPT Industrial buys U.S. distribution properties

WPT Industrial REIT (WIR.U-T) announced it has entered into agreements to acquire two distribution properties – one in the Portland metropolitan area and one in the Houston metropolitan area – comprising a total of approximately 903,154 square feet of gross leasable area for an aggregate purchase price of approximately US$96,400,000 (exclusive of closing and transaction costs).

Marketwired – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada

Slate Retail REIT acquires N.C. shopping centre

Slate Retail REIT (SRT.U-T) , an owner and operator of U.S. grocery-anchored real estate, announced it has entered into a binding agreement to acquire Battleground Village for US$14.43 million ($191 per square foot). The property is 98 per cent occupied, is Earth Fare-anchored and is located in the Greensboro-High Point Metropolitan Statistical Area. Closing is expected to be completed in Q3 2017. 

Marketwired

Whole Foods’ CRE could help Amazon deliver the goods

Two pesky problems with which Amazon (AMZN-Q) has been contending are how to become a top player in online grocery shopping and how to solve the last-mile problem. It’s not technology that’s being used in the latest attempt to resolve them, but rather brick and mortar: the commercial properties at the heart of the Whole Foods Market (WFM-Q) acquisition. 

Forbes

Google’s huge London property empire taking shape

Google is looking to expand its U.K. workforce from around 4,000 today to 7,000 by 2020. The search giant currently has three main offices in London with one in King’s Cross, one on Tottenham Court Road, and another in Victoria. It also has a smaller startup space near Old Street known as Campus.

Business Insider

Market Trends and Research

The world’s priciest office markets

Two Manhattan submarkets along with downtown San Francisco and Boston are among the top 20 most expensive office locations in the world in a new Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs report from CBRE Group Inc..  Hong Kong’s Central submarket and London’s West End as the highest-priced office markets. No Canadian cities made the list.

World Property Journal – CP Executive – CP Executive

Retiring NKF exec witnessed plenty of changes in CRE

Robert Bach stepped down earlier this month as U.S. director of research for Newmark Knight Frank (NKF), saying he planned to take what he jokingly called an “unpaid sabbatical of indeterminate length,” after more than 35 years in CRE, consulting and municipal and regional planning, including more than two decades as senior vice-president/chief economist for Grubb & Ellis Co.

CoStar Group

Real Estate Companies

Winnipeg retail complex to be auctioned off

Neechi Commons, an aboriginal-owned-and-operated Main Street retail complex in one of Winnipeg’s poorest neighbourhoods, has fallen behind on its loan payments and faces the threat of its building and land being auctioned off by its main lender. An advertisement in a local newspaper stated the building and land would be auctioned off with a reserve bid of $3.8 million.

Winnipeg Free Press – CBC

Buffett settles for another small deal

It’s been a while since Warren Buffett struck a big deal, but that hasn’t kept him from settling for smaller trophies.On Monday, investors learned the billionaire’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. made a $377-million bet on Store Capital Corp. (STOR-N), a REIT that largely caters to service businesses. That followed a similar-sized agreement to prop up Home Capital Group (HCG-T). 

Bloomberg – Bloomberg – MarketWatch – Business Insider

Real Estate Investment Trusts

Automotive Properties increases credit facility

Automotive Properties REITT (APR.UN-T) announced it has extended the maturity of one of its non-revolving credit facilities, from July 2020 to June 2022 for a five-year term and increased the amount available to be drawn under Credit Facility 2 from $55.7 million to $68.7 million. The additional $13.0 million available to be drawn is secured by a recently-acquired automotive dealership property. 

Canada Newswire – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada

Blackstone adds Japan-focused REIT

U.S. private equity group Blackstone Group LLP (BX-N) agreed to buy Singapore-listed and Japan-focused Croesus Retail Trust (CRT) for $852 million Cdn, part of an trend of buyouts of REITs. Affiliates of Blackstone Real Estate offered to pay $1.11 Cdn in cash per unit, representing a 38 per cent premium to CRT’s 12-month volume weighted average price. 

Reuters

Three lower-risk REITs with rising payouts

Chartwell Retirement Residences REIT (CSH.UN-T) has both size and demographics in its favour. Choice Properties REIT (CHP.UN-T) was spun out by Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and the grocery chain remains both its controlling shareholder and biggest tenant. Canadian REIT (REF.UN-T) offers a diversified portfolio that consists of office, retail and industrial real estate, with a small but growing residential business.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Don’t miss out on Dream Office

When investors think about Dream Office REIT  (D.UN-T), they likely think of the February 2016 33 per cent dividend cut which saw investors go from earning $0.1867 per month to $0.125. Fortunately, Dream Office is not the same company today that it was in February. 

Motley Fool

Retail

E-tailers joining the real world

It may have taken the company more than 20 years, but Vistaprint finally opened the doors to its first store this month. As a global e-commerce marketing products company, having a bricks-and-mortar location wasn’t necessarily in its original business model, but increasingly it has realized its customers want a physical location to see the company’s promotional materials in person.

Globe and Mail

Nasdaq dumping Sears Canada

Sears Canada Inc. (SCC-T) said Monday it had received a notice from Nasdaq to delist the company’s shares. The trading would be suspended on July 3, unless the company requests an appeal to delist shares, Sears Canada said, adding it will not appeal the decision. The Toronto-based retailer filed for bankruptcy last week. 

Reuters – Canada Newswire

New Development

Canopy Growth building Edmonton’s first pot production plant

Canada’s largest medical marijuana company is planning to construct Edmonton’s first cannabis production facility to supply the therapeutic and coming recreational markets. Canopy Growth Corp. (WEED-T) of Smiths Falls, Ont., is leasing a 15,000-square-metre warehouse in Edmonton’s Morris Industrial Park it intends to turn into a pot plant by early next year, Canopy president Mark Zekulin said.

Edmonton Journal – Edmonton Journal

Vancouver approves ‘Yaletown of Surrey’ project

The first phase of a developer’s plan to transform one of Surrey’s most notorious corners into the so-called “Yaletown of Surrey” now has the green light from council. The block is currently home to sex shops, a strip club and a bar. Over the next decade, Charan Sethi plans to replace those buildings with condo towers, shops and restaurants.

CBC – Vancouver Sun

Infrastructure

Edmonton moves to merge conference centres

City council is finalizing details of a merger between the Edmonton EXPO Centre and Shaw Conference Centre that could save Northlands from collapse, but won’t shelter taxpayers from its $47-million outstanding debt. Council debated its next moves, along with a new business strategy from Northlands that could see it take on agricultural innovation and promotion for the region.

Edmonton Journal

Human Resources

Industrial real estate specialist joins AY

Martin Dockrill, Avison Young principal and managing director of the company’s Ontario region, announced today highly regarded industrial real estate sales and leasing specialist David Hillis has joined the firm in Toronto. Based in the firm’s Toronto West office, he will focus on industrial sales and leasing throughout the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and Ontario.

Canada Newswire

Other

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