Is office condo Vancouver’s next hot sector?

Is office condo Vancouver’s next hot sector?

Office condos could become Metro Vancouver’s next hot strata sector, according to industry studies pointing to $280 million worth of sales in the last two years. Some office condos are even selling for more than their residential comparative, noted Vancouver appraiser Brady Fluegel who believes the Broadway Corridor appears ripe for such developments.

Business In Vancouver

Stytch’s new digs bring cool to the cloud

Vancouver-based Stytch (formerly known as Dun and Bradstreet Cloud Innovation Center), which outgrew its office space, recently settled on a new location. Instead of the open warehouse-style space he had envisioned, CEO Mark Cunningham chose the third and fourth floors of a more traditional office building with a wraparound deck.

BCBusiness

Canadian industrial market in solid shape

While traditional manufacturing may be declining in Canada, increases in distribution, logistics and e-commerce activity have enabled the industrial market to remain the darling of the commercial property sector. “From a national perspective, we are in pretty good standing,” said Bill Argeropoulos, principal and practice leader, research (Canada) for Avison Young.

Property Biz Canada

Canadian office space owners in top five globally

Canadian companies are making a mark in the global real estate market, as Brookfield Office Properties and Ivanhoé Cambridge rank among the top five office space owners in the world. Brookfield (BPO.PR.X-T) placed second behind Blackstone Group with 89 million square feet in the National Real Estate Investor’s listing of top office owners globally.

Property Biz Canada

Ottawa approves Anbang’s Bentall Centre stake

The deal by China’s Anbang Insurance Group to pay around $660 million for a controlling stake in downtown Vancouver’s Bentall Centre was eye-catching for its dollar value, which triggered a federal review. The Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada wasn’t able to offer any specific details about its recent review of Anbang’s purchase.

Vancouver Sun

How to put the fun back in ‘Funcouver’

The organizers of Real Estate Development (RED) Talks recently recruited John Bela, a San Francisco urban space designer who specializes in bringing public spaces to life, to ponder the apparent shortage of urban fun in Vancouver. RED Talks was a one-night showcase of innovative concepts by leading real estate and development thinkers,

Vancouver Sun

Chinatown’s survival requires new development

In Calgary, there’s trouble by the Bow River in the area we call Chinatown. Hon Development wants to build a mixed-use complex behind the three 28-storey Sun Life office towers and some fear the effect it would have on the historic area. I believe new development can be its saviour.

Calgary Herald

Urbancorp seeks further court protection

Lawyers for beleaguered Toronto property developer Urbancorp told an Ontario court the company needed to dramatically expand the list of subsidiaries seeking court protection because of “the heavily intertwined nature” of Urbancorp’s complex finances. Late last month, Urbancorp warned creditors it intended to begin restructuring proceedings for eight of its subsidiaries.

Globe and Mail

No change of strategy expected at CPPIB

The incoming chief executive of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board says there will be no change in strategic direction when he takes over next month from Mark Wiseman, who is leaving after four years at the helm. Mark Machin, a veteran of Goldman Sachs who joined CPPIB four years ago, will be the first non-Canadian to lead the organization.

Financial Post – Financial Post – BNN.ca – Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

GG Medals reward sustainability, innovation

Every awards program sends a message: What’s working? What matters? But in the slow-moving world of architecture, there’s often an emphasis on details and small victories. Awards rarely signal radical change. This time is different. The Governor General’s Medals in Architecture for 2016, announced Thursday, include two projects that capture real innovation in the world of building.

Globe and Mail – Winnipeg Free Press – Urban Toronto

Manulife REIT opens lower in Singapore trading debut

Manulife U.S. Real Estate Investment Trust, backed by Canada’s largest life insurer, opened lower on its first day of trading in Singapore. The units opened at 82 cents US apiece at 2 p.m. local time, 1.2 per cent below the offering price of 83 cents, and slid to 79.5 cents at 2:10 p.m. Singapore time.

Bloomberg

Sovran to buy LifeStorage

REIT Sovran Self Storage Inc (SSS-N) said it had agreed to buy privately owned self storage operator LifeStorage LP for about $1.3 billion US in cash to enter markets including northern California, Las Vegas and Nevada. Sovran, which also said on Thursday it planned to finance the deal through equity and debt offerings, announced an offering of 6 million shares.

Reuters – CoStar Group – Commercial Property Executive

Tokyo to get taller skyscrapers

Japan’s biggest real estate companies are borrowing record amounts of cheap cash to pay for the nation’s tallest skyscrapers yet. Mitsubishi Estate Co. plans to build a 1,280-foot tower with 61 floors above ground, making it the nation’s biggest building. That and 27 other urban renewal projects in Japan’s capital will generate $120 billion Cdn for the economy.

Bloomberg

Race for the wooden skyscraper starts here

At a newly renovated plant in Riddle, Ore., workers glue together boards harvested from nearby forests, where Douglas fir has grown for thousands of years, and feed the resulting 10-by-30-foot panels into a pneumatic press. What comes out three hours later, their boss is convinced, is the building material of the future: cross-laminated timber, or CLT.

Bloomberg

Apple’s stores getting new look

Apple (AAPL-Q) is getting ready to unveil a stylish new product that’s not for sale — a new look for its stores. The iPhone maker is overhauling its nearly 480 stores worldwide, starting with its new location in San Francisco. Apple provided a glimpse at its revised approach to retailing Thursday, the 15th anniversary of the company’s first stores.

Windsor Star – Windsor Star

Sawmill struggles with wildfire aftermath

With 250,000 combustible logs in his sawmill’s northern yard, Howie Ewashko is not letting his guard down. He and his staff spent this week fighting to keep Northland Forest Products Ltd.’s flagship operation north of Fort McMurray safe from flames threatening the property on multiple sides.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Firms come to aid of wildfire victims:

* The Brick, (LNF-T), Canada Newswire

* Pet Valu, Canada Newswire

Featured Column

Quality YXE commercial real estate investment assets scarce

Many people I speak to are surprised to learn we have such a high demand for investment product in Saskatchewan. I am quite often asked the question (possibly due to the high vacancy rate in the industrial and office sectors) whether we believe prices have “bottomed out.”

Read more

Market Trends and Research

BOMI Canada announces Vyetta Sunderland Scholarship

Sue Ziemski, chair of the Board of Trustees of BOMI Canada encourages those interested in pursuing a career in property or facility management to apply for the 2016 Vyetta Sunderland Scholarship. The scholarship of $2,000 will be awarded to a Canadian student who is working towards the completion of a BOMI credential.

BOMI Canada News Release

U.S. office developers hold off on spec construction

Though demand for office space continues to improve, industry experts say it’s still too early to expect a surge in speculative construction in the sector. Office developers are watching constructions costs rise and sensing some lingering caution from corporate executive teams, leaving them reluctant to build on a speculative basis. Office hiring is still strong, however,

National Real Estate Investor – National Real Estate Investor – National Real Estate Investor – National Real Estate Investor

Shopping pall trashes NYC commercial real estate

The fall-off in sales at U.S. brick-and-mortar stores is starting to hit Manhattan’s pricey commercial real estate. Building owners across town are being forced to cut their rents as sales slow and retailers become cautious. Retail rents in 10 of 17 top Manhattan shopping corridors are getting marked down — some by as much as 16 per cent, a report shows.

New York Post

Invest near biotech hubs: Prudential exec

The biotechnology industry’s growth is providing the chance to attain attractive returns on commercial property in markets from Boston to Munich to Shanghai, according to Taimur Hyat, chief strategy officer for PGIM, Prudential Financial Inc.’s (PRU-N) $1 trillion asset-management arm. “Biotech is causing a revolutionary change in the type of real estate opportunities we are seeing,” he said.  

Blloomberg

Real Estate Companies

Vancouver Trump hotel denied nightclub licence

“There’s an old saying that what goes on in Vegas stays in Vegas.” So said a representative of developer Joo Kim Tiah to Vancouver city councillors in claiming a proposed nightclub at the Trump hotel and tower would not resemble its raucous sin city counterpart. Trump hotel representatives were at city hall Wednesday to defend their liquor licence application for a Drai’s pool bar and nightclub plus patio.

Canada Newswire

Surrey reels in new film studio

The City of Surrey is poised to hit the limelight after reeling in the producers of major films like Star Trek and Mission Impossible to create a film and television studio in Newton. Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner said California-based Skydance Media is converting the former Pacific Newspaper printing press building to a five-stage sound studio.

Vancouver Sun – CBC News – Globe and Mail

REOC Financial Reports

Real Estate Investment Trusts

U.S. REITs prepare for spotlight

REITS are preparing for a surge of attention as they get their own grouping in major U.S. stock indexes. Their first task: educating investors. The companies are tweaking their disclosures, adding glossaries to their earnings statements and reaching out to investors to break free of the reputation of REITs as a quirky niche.

Bloomberg

The risks behind the U.S. mortgage REIT rally

U.S. mortgage REITs have enjoyed a stunning three-month run for an obscure, underfollowed corner of finance. They are up 22 er cent since mid-February, buoyed by stronger credit markets, a Federal Reserve that seems likely to keep rates lower for longer, and a nod from bond king Jeffrey Gundlach of DoubleLine Capital at a recent hedge fund conference.

Barron’s

British Land asset value rises

British Land Co., the U.K.’s second-largest REIT, said the value of its properties gained 6.7 per cent in the 12 months through March as rising rents trumped the effect of a tax increase on commercial properties. The value of its assets rose to $27 billion Cdn), the London-based company said in a statement on Monday.

Bloomberg

Buy Dream Global to boost income

Lucrative CRE investing was once only available to the few who had connections. Thankfully, investors can gain exposure to commercial real estate investing via REITs today. Dream Global REIT (DRG.UN-T) offers one of the highest yields on the market. Dream Global has total assets of $2.8 billion across a portfolio of 203 properties.

Motley Fool – Motley Fool – Motley Fool – Motley Fool

Legal Corner

Monreal developer sues Sulpician Fathers

Lawyers delivered their final arguments this week in a six-year-old lawsuit brought by a developer after the city of Montreal bowed to public pressure to preserve green space and limited construction on a 6.5-hectare site on a flank of Mount Royal that once housed Marianopolis College. The company, 9202-0767 Quebec Inc., filed the claim against the Prêtres de Saint-Sulpice.

Montreal Gazette

Retail

Winnipeg jewellery chain seeks creditor protection

Long-time Winnipeg-based jewellery chain Ben Moss Jewellers has sought creditor protection in an Ontario court so that it can undertake a restructuring. Currently all of the 66 stores remain open but liquidation of the inventory in 11 stores has begun and it is expected a process to close those 11 underperforming retail locations will be initiated over the coming weeks.

Winnipeg Free Press – CBC News – Globe and Mail – Ottawa Business Journal

Lowe’s completes acquisition of RONA

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (LOW-N) today announced it has completed its previously announced acquisition of RONA inc., in a transaction valued at $3.2 billion. It creates one of the largest home improvement retailers in Canada, with 539 store locations and pro forma revenues from Canadian operations of approximately $6 billion.

Canada Newswire

Gap to close 75 stores outside North America

Gap Inc. (GPS-N) says it will shutter 75 Old Navy and Banana Republic stores outside North America as the struggling company looks to focus on regions where it sees it has the greatest potential for success. The San Francisco company said Thursday it is closing 53 Old Navy stores in Japan, and a number of Banana Republic stores internationally.

Toronto Star – Reuters

Walmart Chile to sell 10 malls

Walmart Chile has struck a deal to sell 10 Espacio Urbano malls to local insurance companies Compania de Seguros Confuturo and Compania de Seguros CorpSeguros for $837 million Cdn, it said in a note to regulators on Thursday. Confuturo and CorpSeguros compose part of Inversiones la Construccion, or ILC ILC.SN, one of Chile’s largest insurance consortiums.

Reuters – Financial Post – Reuters

Restaurants and Eateries

Competition Bureau won’t oppose Cara takeover of St-Hubert

The Competition Bureau says it will not oppose the $537-million sale of Montreal-based St-Hubert restaurants to Ontario’s Cara Operations Ltd., (CAO-T) owner of Swiss Chalet among other brands, despite concerns raised in Quebec. The federal agency said it doesn’t believe the transaction is likely cause a substantial reduction of competition.

Montreal Gazette

Future of fast food chains looking peculiar

If you’ve ever wanted to work up a nice sweat after eating a Whopper and a side of fries, a new Burger King (QSR-T) has you covered. Recently, a Burger King outfitted with a spa has opened in Helsinki,, CNN reported. It includes a 15-seat sauna, shower, locker room and a media lounge with televisions and gaming consoles.

Financial Post – Toronto Star

Human Resources

Ivanhoe Cambridge appoints Sirois retail president

Ivanhoé Cambridge today announced the appointment of Claude Sirois as president, Ivanhoé Cambridge Retail. Until very recently,  Sirois served as executive vice-president, Shopping Centres, North America, Ivanhoé Cambridge Inc. “Claude is a seasoned leader with a strong reputation in real estate, especially in the retail industry,” said Ivanhoé Cambridge president Bill Tresham.

Canada Newswire

Other