‘Bigger isn’t necessarily better’: Cresa CEO

‘Bigger isn’t necessarily better’: Cresa CEO

Cresa’s new CEO has seen commercial real estate services from both sides: pure-play tenant representation and a full-service menu. Jim Underhill was Americas CEO at Cushman & Wakefield until 2014, but before that was a key player on the tenant-rep side as founder of the Staubach Co.’s Northeast office.

Globest.com – Commercial Property Executive

Rexall takeover shakes up drugstore industry

U.S. healthcare-services giant McKesson Corp. (MCK-N) is taking on the heavyweights of Canada’s drugstore industry with its $3-billion deal for Rexall. The move also potentially puts more pressure on smaller regional players and independents, many of which are supplied by McKesson and see it becoming an even bigger retail competitor with the latest deal.

Globe and Mail – Toronto Star – Edmonton Journal – Toronto Star

Presima adds MassPRIM as latest client

Presima beat out three dozen other companies and was selected by the Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board (MassPRIM) to manage a portfolio of global REITs. MassPRIM joins Ivanhoe Cambridge and Australian money manager MLC among the 16 clients of Presima, a Montreal-based boutique firm.

Property Biz Canada

Firm Capital Property Trust ready to buy

Firm Capital Property Trust (FCD.UN-X), which continues to invest patiently, now has more money to do so after two recent asset sales and a refinancing deal. “Our two favoured asset classes are multi-tenant industrial and retail,” said FCPT president and chief executive officer Robert McKee.

Property Biz Canada

Chiefs say proposed Algonquin land claim deal illegal

A historic land claim agreement in principle struck by the Algonquins of Ontario with the federal and provincial governments is being denounced as fraudulent and illegal by chiefs of a number of Iroquois and Algonquin First Nations. They charge the vast majority of the Algonquins of Ontario (AOO) are not actually Algonquin or even aboriginal.

Ottawa Business Journal – iPolitics.ca

Carleton U. eyed expanding to Experimental Farm

The Ottawa Hospital is not alone in eyeing the Central Experimental Farm for possible expansion: Carleton University has also shown interest, according to minutes from the university’s executive committee. On May 28, 2015, president Roseann Runte updated the committee “regarding recent developments on the possible opportunity to one day have space and/or a building on the Experimental Farm property.”

Ottawa Citizen

Caisse CEO urges institutional investors to ‘think differently’

Michael Sabia says cash-strapped governments should take advantage of institutional investors’ fondness for infrastructure deals. Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec‘s CEO said pension plans and sovereign wealth funds are looking for private investments for their more than $40-trillion of assets, which could fuel growth in areas such as infrastructure that can create jobs and boost economies.

Globe and Mail (Subscription Required) – Montreal Gazette

Developer Rob Macdonald and Vancouver don’t mix

For developer Rob Macdonald, a quip centres on years of his well-documented kvetching at Vancouver’s ruling Vision Party and his perceived inability to develop in the city. “Maybe I’m just stupid,” the owner and president of Macdonald Development Corporation says. “Whatever I want to do, the current government just shuts me down, so we do lots of things elsewhere.”

BC Business

Whistler banking on new art museum

The transforming power of art is usually meant metaphorically. But when the Audain Art Museum officially opens March 12, it has the potential to fundamentally change people’s perception of the luxury ski resort town of Whistler. There is nothing quite like either the $30-million museum or the multi-million-dollar collection anywhere else, and certainly not at a ski resort.

Vancouver Sun – CBC News – Ottawa Citizen

True North Square set to revitalize Winnipeg’s downtown

Hope may not always spring eternal in downtown Winnipeg, but the buds of a revitalization are set to bloom following the announcement of True North Square, a $400-million “live, work and play” development unlike anything in the city’s history. A new sense of optimism has emerged in the four-tower project spearheaded by the NHL club’s ownership group.

Globe and Mail – Winnipeg Free Press

Global Transportation Hub adds new tenant

The Global Transportation Hub on the west side of Regina has announced a new tenant: Brightenview Development International — which is also seeking to build a wholesale-warehouse-logistics facility near Dundurn, south of Saskatoon. But Thursday’s news was Brightenview’s plan to spend $7.6 million to buy 30 acres of land in the GTH areas.

Regina Leader-Post

Ivanhoe names Brunel president for Europe

Ivanhoé Cambridge has promoted Meka Brunel to the position of president for Europe. She previously served executive vice-president for the Canadian institution’s real estate activity in Europe. Bill Tresham, president at Ivanhoé Cambridge, said Brunel, a member of the executive team for the past seven years, had shown strong leadership.

IPE Real Estate

Target Canada reaches deal with former landlords

Target Canada announced Friday it has reached a deal with its former landlords that provides the framework for the U.S.-owned retailer to draw up a recovery plan for creditors after filing for court protection almost 14 months ago. Target Canada said in a statement the settlement provides its U.S. parent Target Corp. will make an undisclosed payment to landlords.

Globe and Mail

REITs: Build, buy or both?

The equity markets got off to a rough start in 2016, and REITs have not entirely escaped the fallout. “We’re in a very interesting time,” said Mike Straneva, leader of the real estate practice for the Americas at Ernst & Young LLP. “It’s a Main Street-vs.-Wall Street phenomenon, in which Main Street rents are high, real estate is recovering and the sentiment is generally good. But on Wall Street, share prices are falling.”

Commercial Property Executive

Non-traded REITs face fundraising woes

Non-traded REITs are facing a number of headwinds that have created a drag on fundraising success. Since peaking at $19.6 billion in 2013, fundraising among public, non-listed REITs has dropped significantly in the past two years. In 2014, fundraising fell to $15.6 billion, followed by another sharp decline last year to $10.0 billion, according to data from Robert Stanger & Co.

National Real Estate Investor

Featured Column

Exercising an option to renew

Many commercial real estate leases will include an option to renew clause. Like all clauses in a lease, this one is bound by some pretty specific rules that have important consequences for both the landlord and tenant.

Read more

Do future hospitals need to be so big?

Some kind of reimagining is long overdue for our overburdened healthcare infrastructure. The question is if it should take the form of “super hospitals”? Ottawa isn’t the only city on the super hospital wagon; it’s been happening across the country.

Read more

Market Trends and Research

Global pressures may slow U.S. industrial growth

For several years most of the forecasts about the U.S. economy have been relatively optimistic, but some clouds have begun to appear. However, NAIOP’s new semi-annual forecast on industrial demand predicts these factors, including trouble overseas, declines in domestic equities markets and a steep drop in oil prices, will have only a modest impact on industrial demand.

Globest.com

GTA leased CRE space down year-over-year

Toronto Real Estate Board Commercial Network members reported 392,132 square feet of combined industrial, commercial/retail and office space leased in February 2016. This result was down from 796,437 square feet of space leased during the same period in 2015. Industrial properties accounted for more than three-quarters of the total space leased in February.

Marketwired

Real Estate Companies

Brookfield strategy attracts New Mexico capital

The New Mexico State Investment Council and the Public Employees Retirement Association of New Mexico have approved $87 million Cdn commitments into Brookfield Asset Management’s (BAM.A-T) Infrastructure Fund III vehicle. Vince Smith, deputy investment officer at New Mexico State, said: “We feel our commitment is a good fit for our overall infrastructure portfolio.”

IPE Real Estate

REOC Financial Reports

Latest fourth-quarter reports:

* SNC-Lavalin Group, (SNC-T), Montreal Gazette, Financial Post, Canada Newswire 

	REITs & REOCs – Fourth-quarter 2015 report
	RENX has prepared a table with a convenient list of the companies and a summary of links to their reports that will be updated quarterly. Fourth-quarter results are now arriving. Canadian REITs & REOCs – Fourth-quarter 2015 report

 

REIT Financial Reports

Latest fourth-quarter reports:

* City Office REIT, (CIO-N), PR Newswire 

* Cominar REIT, (CUF.UN-T), Canada Newswire 

* Granite REIT, (GRT.UN-T), Canada Newswire 

* Milestone Apartments REIT, (MST.UN-T), Canada Newswire 

* Slate Office REIT, (SOT.UN-T), Marketwired 

* Slate Retail REIT, (SRT.U-T), Marketwired 

Real Estate Investment Trusts

Sleep well by owning RioCan

Thus far in 2016, stock markets have been pretty volatile. For a retiree, that can be pretty stressful, which is why I’d recommend a more boring portfolio stuffed with Canada’s top dividend-paying stocks. RioCan REIT (REI.UN-T) would be a big position in such a portfolio. RioCan has a beta of 0.65, about 35 per cent less volatile than the TSX Composite.

Motley Fool

Creative sectors driving demand: Boston Properties

Owen Thomas, CEO of Boston Properties (BXP-N), says most of the net absorption of office space in the U.S. is being driven by creative tenants in the fields of technology and life sciences. Thomas pointed to San Francisco, which has experienced double-digit rental growth and a decline in the office vacancy rate, as an example.

REIT.com

Top 10 U.S. REITs for online reputation

This issue of ORA Power Rankings features the Top REITs with the best online reputation in the nation. We rank the REITs in terms of their overall performance in online reputation in calendar year 2015. We first assessed the online reputation of the public REITs in February 2015. The star performing REIT in this ranking is AvalonBay Communities.

Multifamily Executive

Student housing REIT eyeing development

Last month, student housing REIT EdR (EDR-N) completed a secondary equity offering that netted more than $200 million. CEO Randy Churchey  said the offering was well-received and reflected the company’s many accomplishments of the last few years. “We’re seeing a great number of opportunities to develop on- or off-campus assets that we’ll own for our own account,” Churchey said.

REIT.com

Legal Corner

Director can be liable for misrepresentations during a ‘flip’

Canadian Courts impose a duty on parties to a real estate transaction not to lie or mislead one another about the true nature of the transaction taking place. The Ontario Court of Appeal has recently affirmed the director of a corporation will be held personally liable for fraudulent misrepresentations made during the course of a real estate purchase.

Lexology

Retail

Costco profit falls as wealthier shoppers stay away

Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST-Q) posted second-quarter earnings that trailed analysts’ estimates as higher-income shoppers show signs of curtailing spending. Net income fell 8.7 per cent to $546 million, or $1.24 a share, the Issaquah, Wash.-based company said Wednesday. Analysts estimated $1.28 a share, on average. Same-store sales in the U.S. increased four per cent. 

Bloomberg – Winnipeg Free Press

Saks Off 5th set to open Ontario stores

Saks Fifth Avenue’s discount chain, Saks Off 5th, will open its Ontario stores in March. The company says it will open Saks Off 5th outlets in Vaughan, Halton Hills and Niagara-on-the-Lake on March 17. A fourth store at the Tanger Outlets mall in Kanata is scheduled to open on March 24.

Ottawa Business Journal

LCBO delivery could be online by ‘mid-2016’

Online LCBO delivery may be ready in time for your summer BBQ. The LCBO is set to launch its first e-commerce site in “mid-2016,” according to details outlined in Ontario’s 2016 budget. Ontario had already signalled its desire to create an online ordering platform that would allow consumers to purchase booze online and have it delivered to their door.

Toronto Star – CBC News

New Development

Edmonton Galleria woos province, feds for cash

A new deal with the City of Edmonton will go far in wooing the provincial and federal governments for cash to build the $850-million Galleria, says a spokesman for the proposed downtown arts and culture development. The Edmonton Galleria Foundation and the city signed a memorandum of understanding that details the responsibilities of each party.

Edmonton Journal

Infrastructure

Water bills increasing to pay for Winnipeg roads

Increases to the water and sewer rates are being used to help pay for city roads, drawing criticism from a provincial cabinet minister. Finance chairman Coun. Marty Morantz confirmed Thursday part of the revenue from water and sewer bills goes to help offset the cost of road building and repairs and that practice will continue for the foreseeable future.

Winnipeg Free Press

Road tolls on Ottawa’s transportation agenda

Road tolls could be part of the next transportation master plan if council agrees to study how fees could reduce traffic congestion and pay for maintenance. Local politicians will turn their minds to road tolls next month because a downtown councillor wants the city to research the potential of charging motorists to use roads in Ottawa. 

Ottawa Citizen

Tory’s transit plans fighting for same riders

New analysis is showing how much two of Toronto Mayor John Tory’s key transit projects risk competing with each other for riders. Included in a voluminous release of transit planning reports late Thursday, the finding SmartTrack could push Scarborough subway ridership below 10,000 per hour is likely to renew questions about the viability of having the two lines operate so close together.

Globe and Mail

Other

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