Developers propose 55-storey downtown Edmonton tower

Developers propose 55-storey downtown Edmonton tower

The historic Fairmont Hotel Macdonald in the heart of downtown Edmonton may be getting a tall new neighbour, and local organizations hope the building won’t overshadow the century-old hotel. In a joint venture, ProCura and Great Gulf propose to build a mixed-use tower up to 55 storeys high on the privately owned lot to the north of the hotel, which is now Frank Oliver Park.

CBC

Sask. reviewing use of 660 government-owned buildings

Saskatchewan’s Minister of Central Services says he’s reviewing 660 government-owned buildings in 150 communities to see if they are being used and whether they could be sold. “We’re not ideologically bent on selling everything but just to take a look at it and make sure we’re using taxpayers dollars in the most judicious way,” said Ken Cheveldayoff. The buildings do not include schools and hospitals. 

CBC

Partners REIT floats sale of 11 Western Canada properties

Partners REIT (PAR.UN-T) has put a ‘for sale’ sign on 11 of its 34 properties, all of them in Western Canada. The trust said Wednesday morning it has retained BMO Capital Markets to broker the “possible” sale of the properties in B.C., Alberta and Manitoba. Partners said no sale agreements have yet been entered into, and it will “only sell properties where it believes it can obtain fair value.”

Property Biz Canada

Dennis Mitchell named CEO of new Starlight Capital venture

Starlight Investments has created a real estate securities investment platform called Starlight Capital, which will be headed by chief executive officer and chief investment officer Dennis Mitchell. “Starlight Investments’ strategic plan includes disciplined growth of assets under management, including a real estate securities business, and that happens to be one of my strengths as a portfolio manager,” Mitchell told RENX.

Property Biz Canada

Landlords in race to upgrade buildings: Brookfield

“There’s a bit of a nuclear arms race going on in New York right now,” Brookfield’s (BAM-A-T) real estate head Ric Clark said during NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate’s annual REIT Symposium Tuesday. He was referring to landlords racing to renovate their buildings and add new technologies to appeal to millennial tenants.

The Real Deal

A cost guide to North American office fit-outs

A new report on office fit-out costs in North America sets out to establish a range of benchmarks for three different office styles, and to suggest what businesses favour which style. JLL’s project and development services group, which produced the report, used data from more than 2,800 JLL-managed project budgets for more than 100 clients from 17 industries in 59 markets throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Building Design & Construction – Building Design & Construction

CaGBC issues ‘a roadmap for retrofits in Canada’

A new Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) report sets out actions for industry, non-profit organizations and governments to build a retrofit economy by 2030 that improves the performance of existing buildings and creates new economic opportunities. The Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030. 

Sustainable Biz Canada

Where B.C.’s biggest real estate deals were done

Interactive map: The value of B.C.’s top 100 real estate deals fell 5.9 per cent in 2017 to $3.98 billion compared to $4.23 billion in 2016, but their median value increased by $9.1 million (51.3%) to $27.1 million. So while there were fewer deals over $100 million on Business in Vancouver’s Top 100 Real Estate Deals of 2017 list – six compared with eight in 2016 – the value of the deals ranked in the middle of the list increased.

Business In Vancouver

Evergreen line development falls short of expectations

When pre-sales began in late 2009 for M1, the first tower in Cressey Development Group’s four-tower Metropolitan project adjacent to Lincoln station in Coquitlam, a new rapid transit line was among the amenities tipped as making the location ideal.” The fourth tower would have 65,000 square feet of office space, anchoring the commercial heart of the Tri-Cities. However, five years later, the tower has yet to appear.

Business In Vancouver

LRT has developers eyeing Newton, B.C.

For the first time in a long time, words like “rejuvenation” are being used in the Newton area of Surrey, B.C. The community has been on the radar of developers since an LRT line was first discussed more than a decade ago. As the transit project hit one snag after another, however, investors took their money to other parts of the city while Newton was left to struggle.

CBC

Calgary airport can’t spare a dime for the C-Train

The Calgary Airport Authority says it doesn’t have any money to help build an LRT link to the bustling travel centre.  But president and CEO Bob Sartor told city council on Monday they are working on a plan to increase the use and density of airport lands. He says if the plan is successful, it could help build the case for a future LRT connection.

CBC

$100M bitcoin mining operation coming to Medicine Hat

The City of Medicine Hat has agreed to supply electricity and lease land to a Toronto-based cryptocurrency mining company in a deal that will see $100 million in construction spending in the southern Alberta city. The city will provide electric energy capacity of about 42 megawatts to Hut 8 Mining Corp., which will construct bitcoin mining facilities near the city’s new Unit 16 power plant.

CBC

Nike among Edmonton airport mall anchors

With the new Edmonton outlet mall set to open in less than two months, Nike, Forever 21, H&M, Old Navy, Marshalls and Designer Shoe Warehouse were announced Tuesday as anchor stores. Premium Outlet Collection Edmonton International Airport is expected to open on May 2. Seven of the mall’s 70 tenant stores aren’t expected to open until the summer.

CBC – Edmonton Journal

Multiple offers emerge for Toys “R” Us Canada

U.S. court filings show debtors for Toys “R” Us have received multiple non-binding offers for the Canadian division of the troubled retailer. The bankruptcy documents say debtors had reached out to more than 20 interested parties in a bid to sell off the 82 stores in Canada as the toy retailer looks to wind down operations. The debtors say a number of parties received access to an electronic data room.

CBC – Bloomberg – Reuters

Uncovering the Massey Medals’ architectural gems

“Heritage” doesn’t have to mean “old.” In Toronto, a city that expanded at a tremendous pace in the 1950s and 60s, there’s a wealth of social history and architectural excellence locked up in the schools, libraries, apartments and factories of that era. Unfortunately, heritage preservation in Toronto is focused on downtown and on affluent neighbourhoods of houses. Modern assets don’t get the attention or the care that they deserve.

Globe and Mail

Featured Column

Saskatoon office market facts you need to know

Many are surprised to learn there is in fact a void in a sector of the Saskatoon downtown office market. In our 4Q17 report we not only see vast differences in suburban markets but also between various downtown “A” to “C” office classes.

Read more

Market Trends and Research

MIPIM: The end of the market cycle?

A correction in the real estate market seems long overdue, but the consensus is years of quantitative easing and low interest rates have postponed it. With the 10-year anniversary of Lehman Brothers’ demise only six months away, investors are beginning to wonder whether the cycle actually exists anymore – or whether we have entered a sort of indefinite plateau.

IPE Real Assets – IPE Real Assets – Construction News

Canada must curb farmland speculation: Senate report

Canada has a conundrum: a new generation of farmers wants to take over agriculture, but farmland prices are escalating out of their reach, a new Senate committee report has found. That puts them at risk of becoming employees or tenants of big land owners, and puts Canada’s own food security at risk if governments can’t find ways to curb investment speculation and keep ownership of Canada’s farmland in Canadian hands.

Vancouver Sun

Grocery-anchored centres remain investors’ choice

Sales of U.S. grocery anchored shopping centres rose more than five per cent in 2017, bucking the trend of declining trading volume across most major types of commercial property last year as investors poured into the grocery sector seeking to take advantage of its near-legendary income reliability.  Neighbourhood centres anchored by supermarkets and other grocery retailers have continued to attract buyers, even as grocers slowed expansion.

CoStar Group – Bloomberg

Tariffs already putting pressure on U.S. construction

President Donald Trump’s recently imposed tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum have not yet gone into effect. But they are already affecting deal negotiations, bottom lines and construction pricing in commercial real estate. Some in the sector say they have seen around a 10 per cent increase in the price of steel — a material whose prices have already been rising — since the tariffs were announced earlier this month.

National Real Estate Investor

Real Estate Companies

Sandman opens its first hotel in Atlantic Canada

Sandman Hotel Group, Canada’s fastest-growing hospitality company, Wednesday announced the opening of its first hotel in Atlantic Canada, Sandman Signature St. John’s Hotel. This purpose-built property offers 201 well-appointed guest rooms a short distance from both the St. John’s International Airport (YYT) and downtown and offers an exceptional blend of service, style, and comfort.

Globe Newswire

REOC Financial Reports

Latest financial results:

* Firm Capital Mortgage Investment Corporation, (FC-T), Globe Newswire

REIT Financial Reports

Latest financial results:

* Automotive Properties REIT, (APR-UN-T), Canada Newswire

* Inovalis REIT, (INO-UN-T), Canada Newswire

Real Estate Investment Trusts

Dividend investors should consider Dream Office

Real estate is one of the best assets to invest in because everyone needs it. Whether it is residential or commercial, people need to live and work someplace. And owning Dream Office REIT (D-UN-T) is a great way to gain the right exposure. However, not all real estate is created equally. That was the case for Dream Office for a long time.

Motley Fool

Retail

Nordstrom ends buyout talks with founder’s family

Department store operator Nordstrom (JWN-N) ended buyout talks with family members of the company’s founder, saying Tuesday it couldn’t get the group to raise its price. Nordstrom had rejected an offer of $50 a share earlier this month from the family group — which includes high-level company executives — and called the price “inadequate.” At the time, the shares were trading above that level.

Globe and Mail – Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Buy HBC for the real estate

Being an investor in a company that appears to be on a constant downward spiral can be a frustrating prospect. And yet, that’s the situation when it comes to Hudson’s Bay Co. (HBC-T). Year-to-date, the stock has given up 17 per cent and investors are unsure where that drop is going to end. The big driver of the stock price decline is that it’s a retail company.

Motley Fool – Benefits Canada

New Development

Victoria taps private developer for new fire hall

In a first for Victoria, the city plans to work with a private developer to build a new fire hall and emergency operations centre inside a mixed-use development in the downtown. The partnership would see the developer build a $35.9-million facility for the fire department on the first two floors of a new building planned on Johnson Street, near Cook Street, including space for more than a dozen fire trucks and emergency vehicles.

CBC

Technology

Barcodes may be phased out by retailers

When fans score tickets for events at the Burton Cummings Theatre in Winnipeg in the future, they might notice the absence of a familiar feature: that ubiquitous zebra-styled inventory tracker bar that adorns almost every retail product imaginable. The theatre’s operator, True North Sports and Entertainment, is testing a new Ticketmaster system that gives venues the option to omit barcodes.

Toronto Star

Technology, RE must blend together: U.S. mall owner

Technology and real estate must blend together better today in order to support an evolving retail market, according to one mega mall owner. “Consumers today expect to be very, very well serviced — with technology,” Westfield co-CEO Steven Lowy said at the ShopTalk conference in Las Vegas. “They wake up every day with that expectation, and it’s essential that the retailing industry really adapts and evolves . . . so it can compete better.”

CNBC

Other

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