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AHIP REIT sells ‘outlier’ hotel, continues its recovery

4 years ago

The recent sale of one of its hotels in Tampa continues an ongoing repositioning of American Hotel Income Properties (AHIP) REIT’s portfolio, but also provides another benefit during this time of COVID-19.

Gary Switzer founded MOD Developments in 2009 after 21 years at Great Gulf, where he started the company’s high-rise division before setting out on his own. So it’s no surprise his new company jumped right into high-rise construction, which continues today.

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Pritzker prize-winning Japanese starchitect’s firm Shigeru Ban Architects is listed among the unsecured creditors for the mass-timber, luxury Terrace House residential project in Vancouver, as developer PortLiving struggles to recapitalize the project under court protection from bankruptcy.

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Vancouver developer Omicron has submitted an application to Colwood city hall to build a $26-million office and warehouse complex for Victoria Shipyards in Allandale District. The 81,500-square-foot space would allow Seaspan Victoria Shipyards to amalgamate supply-chain operations on one site.

Harbour Equity

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Ottawa builder Minto is proposing to construct a mixed-use development in the north end of Vanier. The U-shaped building at Beechwood Avenue and Barrette Street would feature 251 residential suites and about 6,000 square feet of retail space fronting on Beechwood.

IMAGE: David Bowden, vice chairman and head of strategy and consulting at Colliers Canada. (Courtesy Colliers)

Vice Chairman, Head of Strategy and Consulting, Colliers Canada

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Heads down, working hard businesses such as Arlington Street continue to thrive by attracting good tenants to their properties. The Windsor, a mixed-use development in the heart of Britannia, is now 100 per cent leased after some significant ups and downs.

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Last month, Menkes Developments topped off phase one of its office tower on the Toronto’s Waterfront LCBO lands.  There was also progress on 25-storey, 100 Queens Quay East office tower, and  Sugar Wharf Condos Phase 1 towers that will be 64 and 70 storeys.

Hersh Condos

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Experts are warning the biggest risk for a spike in defaults may not come from mortgages, but from a smaller number of loans to vulnerable businesses. About 76,000 business clients are still deferring payments on approximately $66 billion in commercial loans.

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September is going to be busier than August at the RBC Convention Centre in Winnipeg but Drew Fisher, CEO said he is still projecting a devastating 75 per cent decline in revenue this year at massive three-storey facility.

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Another massive rehabilitation project in Ottawa’s parliamentary precinct is slowly getting underway as federal officials look to pre-qualifty four architectural and structural engineering firms to subsequently bid on the project as part of a $1-billion overhaul of the Supreme Court.

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Aegis Brands, parent company to Second Cup and Bridgehead Coffee, has opened its second location of Hemisphere Cannabis Co. The new chain of recreational dispensaries plans to open in Ajax, Ottawa and other Toronto locations.

Centurion REIT

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5G wireless technology is changing the way we harness digital controls and devices in all sectors of the construction industry. “It’s the single biggest technology transformation in our lifetime,” says Paul Challoner, a VP at Ericsson, based in Plano, Texas.

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Montreal based, Lightspeed POS Inc., which provides internet-based point-of-sale and payments products for retail, hospitality, and golf companies, said it had priced the offering of 10 million subordinate voting shares at US$30.50 a share, about CAD$40.16.

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Amazon.com is recruiting 100,000 more workers to keep pace with e-commerce demand that jumped during the pandemic. The world’s biggest online retailer said the positions are for full and part-time and will include roles at 100 new warehouse and operations sites.

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Cloud-based data warehouse firm Snowflake Inc. expects to raise about $3.08 billion in its IPO, in what could be the biggest U.S. listing so far in 2020. Its valuation has doubled from $12 billion in February after its last funding.

ProREIT

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Details for a federal government program are being ironed out to help cities buy properties left vacant due to the pandemic. It’s intended to quickly create affordable housing and prevent homelessness during the winter, when temporary shelter measures expire.

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Canada’s household credit market debt dropped to 158.2 per cent of disposable income in Q2, from 175.4 per cent, StatCan said Friday. That’s due to an 11 per cent increase in disposable income, while the stock of credit market debt remained relatively unchanged.

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B.C. government regulatory changes will increase transparency in condo insurance premiums that have risen up to 40 per cent. Effective Nov. 1 insurers or agents must give 30 days’ notice if they intend not to renew a policy, or to make any changes.

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If you follow the housing debates in Toronto and Vancouver, you’ll have undoubtedly heard the claim that the affordability challenges are the result of supply problems. Common complaints include a lack of new housing, burdensome regulation and flawed zoning.

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