Saskatchewan premier wooing Calgary HQs

Saskatchewan premier wooing Calgary HQs

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall, has upped the stakes in his ongoing spat with Alberta Premier Rachel Notley by offering incentives to Calgary-based energy companies to relocate their headquarters to his province. It’s a bold move at a time Calgary’s attractiveness as a head office magnet is taking a beating, and one that companies are taking seriously.

Financial Post

Infrastructure Bank destined for Toronto?

One day after federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s visit to Calgary, Bruce McCuaig was named executive adviser to the federal government regarding its plans to establish the Canada Infrastructure Bank. Since 2010, McCaig had been at the helm of Toronto-based Metrolinx, the Ontario government agency that oversees the transportation infrastructure of that province’s Golden Horseshoe.

Calgary Herald – Toronto Star – Globe and Mail – Daily Commercial News

Canadian hotel market remains in good shape

The Canadian hotel real estate market has enjoyed a strong period of performance growth and Brian Flood, who joined Cushman & Wakefield from CBRE Canada earlier this month, is looking to capitalize. “They’re focused on expanding the hospitality services aspect of the business within Canada, which is one of the reasons why I came,” said Flood.

Property Biz Canada

Commuter trains to deliver major growth in Montreal

Montreal’s new electric train project will provide a major boost to real estate development in parts of the city, members of the local real estate community heard at a conference this week. “For us, it’s major,” said Mario Monette, president and CEO of Technoparc Montréal, a major science, health and green technology industrial park in suburban Saint-Laurent.

Property Biz Canada – Montreal Gazette – Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Bell investing in Montreal high-speed Internet

Bell is investing $854 million into its fibre-optic network in Montreal, providing faster Internet connections to 1.1 million homes and businesses. In a statement Monday, Bell (BCE-T) said the investment is “the largest-ever communications infrastructure project in Quebec.”

Montreal Gazette

Ford to create Ottawa R&D centre

Ford Motor Co. (F-N) will establish a research and development centre in Ottawa as part of a $1-billion investment it will make in its Canadian operations over the next four years. The auto maker made the announcement Thursday in Windsor, where its Essex Engine Plant will begin building a new V8 engine, preserving 500 jobs.

Globe and Mail – Wall Street Journal – Ottawa Citizen – CBC

Court approves stalking horse bid for TO’s Trump Tower

An Ontario court judge on Thursday approved the sale of troubled Trump International Hotel & Tower, situated in the heart of Toronto’s financial district, according to documents posted on the receiver’s website. The troubled hotel has been beset by issues since opening its doors in 2012. JCF Capital ULC bought the $301 million owed on the tower’s construction loan last fall.

Reuters – Toronto Star – Canada Newswire

TO’s EY Tower celebrates historic masonry work

A new office tower in downtown Toronto pays tribute to the historic building it is replacing. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and assisted by Toronto-based WZMH Architects, Oxford Properties Group’s LEED Platinum EY Tower at 100 Adelaide St. W. is distinguished by a new historic-style masonry on its east, south, and west elevations up to the 14-storey level.

Daily Commercial News

New all-season skiing resort approved in B.C.

The B.C. government has approved construction of a new $100-million skiing destination near Valemount. Valemount Glacier Destinations Ltd. entered the approval process with the Mountain Resorts Branch in 2012. The glacier sightseeing resort will feature some of the most impressive viewpoints, according to Valemount Glacier Destinations’ media release.

Western Investor – Global News

Brookfield-backed group eyes greener buildings

Commercial real estate veteran Gordon Hicks, the chief executive of Brookfield Global Integrated Solutions in his day job, believes the industry can do a better job when it comes to reducing its environmental footprint and is doing something about it.  This month, he announced the creation of the Building Energy Innovators Council (BEIC).

Property Biz Canada

Institutional investors warm to student housing

Once an overlooked niche, the student housing sector is attracting increased attention from major investors. The joint venture of Scion, CPPIB and GIC has completed $2.9 billion of investments since January 2016, including the $1.3 billion acquisition of the 19-property portfolio of University House Communities.

CoStar Group – MultiHousing News

Amazon wants major brands to bypass stores

Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN-Q) has invited some of the world’s biggest brands to its Seattle headquarters in an audacious bid to persuade them it’s time to start shipping products directly to online shoppers and bypass chains like Wal-Mart, Target and Costco. Executives from General Mills (GIS-N), Mondelez (MDLZ-Q) and other packaged goods makers will attend the three-day gathering in May.

Bloomberg – Recode – Motley Fool

Profit encourages Dollarama to ramp up expansion

Dollarama Inc. (DOL-T) is going to get even bigger than management had envisioned, with a new plan to operate as many as 1,700 locations across the country, up from an earlier growth ceiling of 1,400. The news, coupled with exceptional fourth-quarter earnings and confirmation the country’s biggest dollar store chain will begin accepting major credit cards.

Financial Post – CTV – Reuters

Bill Gross, PIMCO settle lawsuit over his exit

Bill Gross has reached a roughly $81 million US settlement of his lawsuit against Pacific Investment Management Co, ending a bitter 2-1/2-year drama over the well-known bond investor’s abrupt departure from one of the world’s biggest asset managers. Terms of the accord were not disclosed, but were confirmed by two sources.

Reuters

Why CRE could be the next ‘big short’

A small but growing group of hedge funds are positioning themselves to profit from the collapse of the real estate market. This time, hedge funds (along with Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley) are targeting CRE. It’s no secret retailers and malls have been struggling for years, but it looks like the perfect storm is set to hit in 2017.

Business Insider

Featured Column

Stability emerging in Saskatoon industrial sector

It’s been a long hard road for the Saskatoon industrial real estate market over the last few years. We’ve seen average vacancy skyrocket from under four to more than 10 per cent and a significant softening of net rental rates. The recent announcement of the ICR-brokered Mitsubishi Hitachi Plant acquisition by Brandt Group injects some much-needed optimism into this sector.

The Saskatchewan Edge

Market Trends and Research

N.S. announces high-speed internet connection projects

The Nova Scotia government will spend $1.4 million to connect 5,400 homes and 420 businesses to high-speed internet in the next six months. The 22 projects announced Monday are an attempt to address persistent complaints in rural Nova Scotia that download speeds are too slow and internet connections unreliable.

CBC

Vacant lots surround parkland Saint John wants developed

Saint John’s plan to sell off a piece of Rockwood Park for development is meeting heavy skepticism, especially from a neighbour who says there’s already a glut of vacant properties surrounding it. The city’s growth plan, released this week, lists 10 city properties which could be sold to increase the tax base. It includes a section which the city tried to sell in 2011.

CBC

Real Estate Companies

Sask. city pays Domtar over tax assessment dispute

City council in Prince Albert, Sask., has authorized a $5.1-million settlement with Domtar in a tax dispute over the valuation of a pulp mill Domtar purchased from Weyerhaeuser in 2006. Domtar had argued the assessment of its property was too high for 2009 and 2010 and requested a refund. The city said the settlement was negotiated by its legal team.

Montreal Gazette – Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Melcor Developments announces normal course issuer bid

Melcor Developments Ltd. (MRD-T), an Alberta-based real estate development and asset management company, announced the Toronto Stock Exchange has accepted its notice of intention to make a normal course issuer bid through the facilities of the TSX. The notice provides Melcor may between March 31, 2017 and March 30, 2018, purchase for cancellation up to 1,667,704 common shares in total.

Marketwired

Firm Capital closes bought deal financing

Firm Capital Mortgage Investment Corporation (FC-T) announced it has closed its previously announced bought deal prospectus offering of 1,633,000 common shares at a price of $14.10 per offered share, which includes the exercise in full by the underwriters of their option to purchase up to 213,000 additional offered shares.  

Marketwired – Property Biz Canada

REOC Financial Reports

The latest reports:

* Firm Capital Property Trust, (FCD.UN-X), Canada Newswire 

* Mainstreet Health Investments, (HLP.U-T), Canada Newswire 

* Reitmans (Canada), (RET-T), Canada Newswire  

* Terra Firma Capital Corporation, (TII-X), Marketwired    

Real Estate Investment Trusts

REITs own New York, but who owns the REITs?

We live in the age of REITs. Seemingly every year, another storied New York property company makes the step from private to public. In February, David Bistricer’s Clipper Equity became the latest, joining the likes of SL Green Realty, Vornado Realty Trust, Boston Properties and Empire State Realty Trust in owning a big chunk of Manhattan.

The Real Deal

NorthWest, AHIP provide impressive yields

Thanks to its bought deal offering, NorthWest Healthcare Properties REIT (NWH.UN-T) dipped nearly four per cent on Wednesday to about $10.65 per unit. As a result, the healthcare REIT now offers a yield of 7.5%. Through American Hotel Income Properties REIT LP (HOT.UN-T), investors can access a portfolio of 95 hotels and 9,383 rooms in 30 states and 80 cities.

Motley Fool – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada

Six Flags won’t pursue REIT deal

Six Flags Entertainment Corp. (SIX-N) said Thursday it has decided not to pursue a spinoff of its real estate assets into a REIT as it would not be in the best interests of shareholders, given the costs, the operational complexity, the limits on futures strategic flexibility and future growth opportunities.

MarketWatch

Don’t expect REIT mergers to mimic Regency-Equity One

Regency Centers’ merger with Equity One, announced late last year, didn’t follow the typical REIT-to-REIT combination script, nor is it likely to reignite a public company merger trend. Regency’s agreement to acquire Equity One for nearly $6 billion total in enterprise value makes it the largest U.S. REIT-to-REIT transaction in recent memory.

CP Executive

Retail

Wal-Mart’s drones are impractical and silly

Last week, Wal-Mart (WMT-N) filed a patent for in-store service drones that could locate and deliver items to customers within the store. From the patent’s description, the drones would be equipped with a number of sensors to be able to detect and grab the correct product and then drop it off at a designated landing area.

Forbes

Lululemon shares plunge after ‘slow start’ warning

Shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. (LULU-Q) plunged in early-morning trading Thursday after the retailer warned of a “slow start” to 2017, while reporting fourth-quarter earnings that missed analyst expectations. Shares of the Vancouver-based athleticwear retailer were down 22.5 per cent.

Financial Post – Bloomberg – Bloomberg

Sports Venues

Making FirstOntario Centre ‘NHL-ready’ would be costly

A new study pegs the cost of renovating the FirstOntario Centre to an “NHL-ready” point at $252 million, but city staff say there are other much more urgent budget issues to deal with instead. The renovation one of two options outlined in a new study of the city’s signature hockey and events venue.

CBC – Hamilton Spectator – Global News

Infrastructure

B.C. to match federal funding for Metro Vancouver transit expansion

Peter Fassbender, minister responsible for TransLink, announced the provincial government will match the federal contribution towards Metro Vancouver transit expansion. Last week’s federal budget committed $20.1 billion for transit system upgrades across Canada over the next 11 years, which means an estimated $2.2 billion for Metro Vancouver.

Vancouver Province

Rival group eyes Manitoba railway, port

A long-rumoured rival group of northern Manitoba communities keen to take a run at acquiring the Hudson Bay Railway and Port of Churchill from Omnitrax Canada has finally made its presence known publicly. The new group, called One North, appears to have broad representation from both municipalities and First Nations of northern Manitoba.

Winnipeg Free Press

Red River Floodway set to operate this morning

Manitoba Infrastructure plans to operate the Red River Floodway on Friday morning, reducing the risk of flooding for low-lying Winnipeg properties. Earlier today, ice on the Red River led the City of Winnipeg to begin preparing for a weekend flood crest that would be high enough to require the placement of sandbag dikes around up to 50 low-lying properties.

CBC – Winnipeg Free Press – Winnipeg Free Press

Sustainability

Shipping container upcycling trend hits Saint John

Tiny homes, swimming pools and hydroponics growing operations are just some of the creative uses people are finding for old shipping containers — and now, the upcycling trend is coming to Saint John. It’s estimated as many as two million of the giant metal containers are decommissioned every year, according to Victoria Clarke, executive director of Discover Saint John.

CBC

Human Resources

Thompson named CEO of Brookfield’s U.K. offices arm

Neil Thompson will take over as chief executive of Brookfield Office Properties UK (BPY.UN-T) in May. He will replace Martin Jepson, who is leaving the company to pursue other opportunities after holding the role since 2011. Thompson left his role as executive director at Great Portland Estates at the end of last year. 

IPE Real Estate

Technology

Virtual posters may one day take over Hong Kong skyscrapers

“Hanging” a virtual poster 60 storeys high that stretches 200 metres wide across the 88-storey Two International Finance Centre in Central may one day be a reality with the help of a new form of technology. Augmented reality could soon be used for outdoor advertising on skyscrapers, adding a new dimension to Hong Kong’s skyline.

Business In Vancouver

China’s AI sector in danger of becoming a ‘bubble’

Artificial intelligence (AI) is on the verge of becoming a “bubble” in China as a large influx of money and talent heat the market, analysts and experts warn. “Investors expect too high a return on their investments, and the valuations of China’s AI enterprises are much more expensive than those in the U.S.,” said Wang Xiaochuan, CEO of Sogou.

Business In Vancouver – Ottawa Ciitizen

Don’t blame robots for taking over the economy

The robots are coming. Whether you are a factory worker, sales clerk, doctor or lawyer, advanced high tech will eventually replace you. Their creators will control the economy and much of its wealth while the rest of us languish. But the problem is not the robots themselves, it is the patents that protect them. Bill Gates says tax the robots.

Financial Post – Ottawa Citizen

Does marketplace lending offer greater transparency?

The immediacy and accessibility of information in today’s digital age makes the internet uniquely suited as a medium for greater transparency. Companies doing the bulk of their business online are in many ways more accessible than traditional brick-and-mortar establishments, and that’s particularly true when it comes to marketplace lending.

National Real Estate Investor

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