Bluesky Hotels buying InnVest REIT

Bluesky Hotels buying InnVest REIT

Bluesky Hotels & Resorts Inc., a closely held company backed by capital from Hong Kong, has agreed to buy InnVest Real Estate Investment Trust (INN.UN-T) for $2.1 billion. The deal will give Bluesky one of Canada’s largest hotel portfolios with 109 properties, including a stake in Toronto’s Fairmont Royal York Hotel. InnVest also owns 50 percent of Choice Hotels Canada Inc.

Bloomberg – Calgary Herald – Canadian Business

Court OKs Oak Bay Beach Hotel sale

The Oak Bay Beach Hotel has been sold for $62 million. The B.C. Supreme Court approved the sale of the high-end hotel, which has been in receivership and under the management of Ernst and Young since December 2014. The sale will see Noah Holdings Ltd., assume $19 million in construction debts owed to REV and construction creditor Metro-Can.

Victoria Times Colonist

Brookfield Place Western Canada’s tallest building

Brookfield Place has officially surpassed The Bow Building in height, earning the title of Western Canada’s tallest building. Calgary’s new skyscraper — under construction downtown — is now complete to Level 56, the top of the building. It has reached its final height of 247 metres — 10 metres taller than the Bow, previously the tallest structure on the Calgary skyline.

Calgary Herald

Microsoft opens two Canadian datacentres

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT-Q) announced its two new Canadian datacentres are officially open. The facilities, located in Toronto and Quebec City, bring the number of regions in Microsoft’s cloud to 24. Globally, this represents a US$15 billion infrastructure investment. The Canadian datacentres had to be doubled in capacity before they even opened due to overwhelming demand. 

Financial Post

14-storey condo to replace Humber Cinema

An entertainment landmark in Toronto’s Bloor West Village area could soon go the way of the silent film, as Humber Cinema is slated for redevelopment. The theatre, along with four two-storey buildings, would be taken down to make way for a new mixed-use development from developer Plaza.

Urban Toronto

Conditions right for TO, Van. office condos

A perfect storm of events is leading a number of small and medium-sized businesses in Vancouver and Toronto to forsake leasing office space in favour of buying office condominiums, according to Colliers International. They are gaining in popularity because of low interest rates, the opportunity for buyers to build equity, increasing lease rates and robust price-per-square-foot growth.

Globe and Mail – Property Biz Canada

LeBreton development will have major impact: Experts

When the National Capital Commission announced RendezVous LeBreton group as their preferred bidder in the competition to redevelop LeBreton Flats, it marked a major next step in the ambitious project that promises to transform Ottawa’s downtown core.  “If I were an investor or a landlord, I would be very bullish on LeBreton,” said Primecorp Commercial Realty‘s Bruce Wolfgram.

Ottawa Business Journal

Ontario to amend Golden Horseshoe land use policies

On Tuesday, the Province of Ontario proposed transformative changes to land use policies in the Greater Golden Horseshoe. Based on recommendations presented by the Land Use Planning Review Advisory Panel, the province is moving forward in amending four plans governing land use in Canada’s fastest-growing urban region.

Urban Toronto

Staples, Office Depot call off merger

Staples (SPLS-Q) and Office Depot (ODP-Q) said Tuesday they are scrapping their planned $6.3 billion merger after a federal judge blocked the deal, saying the government had made the case the combination would likely hurt competition in office supplies. The Federal Trade Commission had sought to block the merger of the last two national office-supply chains.

Toronto Star – Bloomberg – Forbes – Fortune

Manulife REIT poised to price at top end

Manulife Financial Corp., (MFC-T) is poised to raise $470 million US in its second attempt at a Singapore initial public offering of its U.S. properties, according to sources. Manulife U.S. REIT plans to price its sale of 566 million units at 83 cents apiece, the top end of a marketed range. The trust is backed by L.A. and Atlanta office buildings.

Bloomberg – Reuters

B.C. developer sentenced to jail in landmark case

A Vancouver real estate developer has been sentenced to a year in jail for violating real estate and securities laws in a landmark case involving a condo-development scheme that left investors high and dry. Michael Jerome Knight is appealing both his sentence and his conviction.

CBC News

Too soon to assess impact on Alberta economy: Notley

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley met with oil sands executives Tuesday and said it’s too soon to assess the impact the disruption to oilsands production will have on the provincial economy. The emergency shutdown is believed to have reduced production by more than one million barrels of oil a day.

Globe and Mail – Bloomberg – Globe and Mail – Financial Post

‘Suicide 63’ and the danger of infrastructure

As Fort McMurray burned, the world realized there was only one road in or out of town. It is commonly known as Suicide 63. And it is an infrastructure disaster. The statistics on Highway 63 are alarming: in a five year period, it saw 46 deaths and many more injuries. (One particularly horrific crash in 2012 killed seven.) 

Ottawa Citizen

Labour may be key factor in oilsands restarts

As reporters got their first good look Monday at what’s left of fire-ravaged Fort McMurray, analysts were busy assessing how long it will take for oilsands producers to bring roughly one million barrels a day of curtailed output back online. Guesstimates range from as little as a week to as long as a month.

Edmonton Journal – Financial Post – Globe and Mail – Globe and Mail

Edmonton malls see evacuee shopping spree

Crowds of Fort McMurray evacuees replacing lost possessions on the weekend gave Kingsway Mall the feeling of Christmas in May. The thousands of people who came to Edmonton to escape the wildfires could give a big short-term boost to the local economy, Paul McElhone, dean of the Mihalcheon School of Management, said Tuesday.

Edmonton Journal

Firms come to aid of wildfire victims

* IKEA Canada, Canada Newswire

* RioCan REIT, (REI.UN-T), Marketwired  

Featured Column

What Ontario government says about FinTech

More than 440 participants attended the 2016 Canadian Crowdfunding Summit (CCS2016) at MaRS Discovery on March 3. The incredible event brought together a diverse crowd of companies, investors, providers, industry experts and leaders in the crowdfunding, financial technology (FinTech) and alternative finance (AltFi) sectors.

Read more

Saskatoon’s commercial real estate shining star

We’ve already reported the rather dull current status of the Saskatoon office and industrial leasing markets. Where the story gets better, where we have a good balance between supply and demand and where we are still seeing new construction on spec is with retail.

Read more

Real Estate Companies

SNC-Lavalin reimbursing Quebec

SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. (SNC-T) is taking another step to distance itself from a past blemished by corruption scandals, announcing on Tuesday it would give back illegally obtained funds to the Quebec government through the province’s Voluntary Reimbursement Program.

Financial Post – Canada Newswire – Canada Newswire

REOC Financial Reports

Latest first-quarter reports:

*  Consolidated HCI Holdings Corp., (CXA.B-T), Canada Newswire  

* Dream Unlimited Corp., (DRM-T), Marketwired 

* First Capital Realty Inc., (FCR-T), Canada Newswire   

* Morguard Corp., (MRC-T), Canada Newswire      

* Temple Hotels Inc. , (TPH-T), Canada Newswire      

REIT Financial Reports

Latest first-quarter reports:

* Agellan Commercial REIT, (ACR.UN-T), Business Wire    

* CT REIT, (CRT.UN-T), Canada Newswire

* H&R REIT, (HR.UN-T), Canada Newswire   

* Killam Apartment REIT, (KMP.UN-T), Marketwired  

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

* Pure Multi-Family REIT, (RUF.U-X), Canada Newswire

* Summit Industrial Income REIT, (SMU.UN-T), Canada Newswire

Real Estate Investment Trusts

Top picks from Industrial Alliance’s Brad Sturges

The Globe and Mail’s investment analyst, Jennifer Dowty, was joined on Tuesday for a live chat with Brad Sturges, the Real Estate and Real Estate Investment Trusts analyst from Industrial Alliance Securities Inc. as he provided his outlook for the sector and discusses his top REIT picks.

Globe and Mail (Subscription Required)

Collect a monthly return from Crombie

Crombie REIT (CRR.UN-T) was established in 2006 and is now a leading retail property landlord in Canada. After selling 10 properties in March, the REIT owns 251 properties totaling about 16.9 million square feet with a focus in 36 top markets. Crombie plans to recycle the proceeds by looking for opportunities in growth markets.

Motley Fool

SL Green buys stake in Manhattan apartment tower

SL Green Realty Corp. (SLG-N) bought a 20 per cent stake in the Sky luxury apartment tower on Manhattan’s far west side, which was built by the Moinian Group and opened in December. The REIT is New York City’s largest commercial property owner.

Bloomberg

Allied Properties announces unsecured debentures

Allied Properties REIT (AP.UN-T) announced it has agreed to issue $150 million aggregate principal amount of series B senior unsecured debentures . The debentures will bear interest at a rate of 3.934 per cent per annum and will mature on Nov. 14, 2022.

Marketwired

First Italian REIT in decade launches

CONSOB, Italy’s market authority, has approved Coima Res’ listing on the Milan stock exchange. The vehicle, launched by Manfredi Catella, is the first Italian REIT to emerge without conversion. The total value of the IPO is around $317 million Cdn. Backed by Qatar Investment Authority, Milan-based Coima was looking to raise $487 million Cdn for the vehicle.

IPE Real Estate

HCP to spin off portfolio into REIT

HCP announced plans to spin off its HCR ManorCare portfolio of skilled nursing facilities (SNF) and assisted-living assets into an independent, publicly traded REIT. The Irvine, Calif.-based HCP said the spin-off transaction will enable it to improve its portfolio performance.

CoStar Group – Reuters – Commercial Property Executive

Retail

Two new Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH locations

Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH (HBC-T) announced plans to open two new Canadian locations; on the Queensway across from Sherway Gardens in Toronto, and at South Edmonton Commons in Edmonton. The stores mark the 12th and 13th Saks OFF 5TH locations announced to open in Canada, which launched in the market in March.

Canada Newswire

Rona posts higher revenue ahead of takeover

Rona Inc. says it lost money in this year’s first quarter but overall revenue increased despite weak sales in the Prairies. The Quebec-based home improvement retailer is slated to become a subsidiary of Lowe’s following a friendly $3.2-billion takeover deal announced in February. Rona (RON-T) posted a $16.5 million net loss or 15 cents per share for the quarter.

Financial Ppst

Restaurants and Eateries

Papa John’s opens 100th Canadian restaurant

Papa John’s International, Inc. (PZZA-Q), announced the opening of the 100th restaurant in Canada. Mark Murphy, who opened the first Papa John’s restaurant in Canada, is also the franchisee responsible for opening the 100th restaurant, which is located in Alberta. Papa John’s started franchising restaurants in Canada in 2000.

Business Wire

Wendy’s raises forecast, profit beats estimates

Burger chain Wendy’s Co. (WEN-Q) raised its full-year profit forecast and reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings, as new promotions such as its ‘4 for $4 meal’ and renovated restaurants attracted more diners. Shares of the company were down 0.7 per cent in premarket trading on Tuesday.

Reuters

Sports Venues

Work halted on some Olympic projects

With less than three months to go until the start of the games, work on parts of Rio de Janeiro’s Olympic Park and Olympic Village was halted on Monday amid fears for the safety of workers, Brazil’s Ministry of Labour and Employment said.

Reuters

Infrastructure

Feds announce funding for Rideau Canal

The latest federal government infrastructure investment will give the local economy and especially the tourism sector a boost, Ottawa Centre MP Catherine McKenna said Tuesday. McKenna announced a $57-million investment in the Rideau Canal National Historic Site, the largest investment in the 184-year history of the canal. The money will be used for numerous repairs.

Ottawa Business Journal

Trudeau airport gets a new wing

Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport has a new international wing. Aéroports de Montréal president and CEO James Cherry took reporters on a tour of the $350 million in improvements Tuesday. The 65,620-square-foot expansion includes 8,611 square feet of additional retail space, six new boarding gates, three massive art installations and four generous vitrines showcasing Montreal’s four major museums.

Montreal Gazette

Human Resources

Looking beyond traditional sources for workers

Over the next decade, BuildForce Canada projects more than 330,000 tradespeople will be required in the core construction trades in Canada. But because the labour force is only expected to increase by three per cent, the construction industry will be left scrambling for workers, says Cristina Selva, executive director of the College of Carpenters and Allied Trades (CCAT).

Daily Commercial News

Other