RioCan pares spending, Sonshine sees ‘silver lining’

RENX  Residential, Commercial  •  Apartments, Retail  •  National

RioCan REIT (REI-UN-T) will defer upwards of $150 million in 2020 spending in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but its longtime CEO Ed Sonshine was adamant about three things on the trust’s Q1 2020 earnings call on May 5.

Sidewalk Labs pulling out of Quayside project

Residential, Commercial  •  Toronto Star  •  Financial Post  •  Globe and Mail

Sidewalk Labs is packing up and leaving Toronto after a long, fraught and ultimately failed attempt to build a sensor-laden high-tech waterfront neighbourhood. The Manhattan-based sister company of tech giant Google informed Toronto Mayor John Tory on Thursday morning.

Brookfield to create $5B retail revitalization program

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire

Brookfield Asset Management (BAM-A-T) today announced the launch of a $5-billion retail revitalization program in the major markets in which Brookfield operates globally. The program will focus on non-control investments in retail businesses.

The mind behind billion-dollar mega-projects

Residential, Commercial  •  CP Executive

Despite years of waiting for approvals, large-scale mixed-use developments remain highly coveted because they provide a good diversification opportunity for developers. Donald Clinton has led master planning work for Hudson Yards and the new M City in Mississauga.

Claridge proposes 27-storey Ottawa apartment tower

Residential  •  Ottawa Business Journal

Ottawa developer Claridge Homes is looking to build a 27-storey high-rise with 210 rental apartment units near the Carlingwood Shopping Centre. Two low-rise dwellings currently occupy the site.

Unclear details drive landlords from rent-relief program

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Entrepreneurs across Canada are being hit by eviction warnings and default notices as both they and their landlords say Ottawa’s small-business rent-relief program is so flawed and unclear that many property owners have no plans to apply.

What happens when biggest retailers can’t pay rent?

Commercial  •  NBC

From Gap to Staples to Burlington Stores, retailers large and small have stopped paying rent amid COVID-19. With April and May rent already past due, U.S. industry watchers worry a commercial mortgage crisis could be on the horizon.

Neiman Marcus files for bankruptcy

Commercial  •  Toronto Star  •  Financial Post  •  PR Newswire

Neiman Marcus Group Inc. filed for bankruptcy after efforts to manage its crushing debt load unraveled amid COVID-19. Any turnaround will be complicated by the fact that its stores were shut and its workers furloughed in April.

Simons CEO chooses safety over profits

Commercial  •  Montreal Gazette

Quebec City entrepreneur Peter Simons, one of Quebec’s best-known fashion retailers, is in no rush to reopen. The Simons CEO says he’s chosen safety over profits as he gears up for the May 19 reopening of his nine Quebec stores.

Canadian Tire posts pandemic-induced loss

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  Toronto Star  •  Canada Newswire

Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. (CTC-T) has taken an earnings hit due to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy. The Toronto-based retailer reported a net loss attributable to shareholders of $13.3 million, or 22 cents per share, in Q1.

Victoria’s Secret owner unveils Plan B

Commercial  •  National Real Estate Investor

L Brands Inc. (LB-N) agreed to cancel a deal that would have given private equity firm Sycamore Partners control of beleaguered lingerie chain Victoria’s Secret, which now faces an uncertain future as a standalone business in a ravaged retail industry.

REIT first-quarter financial results

Commercial  • 

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

Crombie REIT, (CRR-UN-T), Canada Newswire

Killam Apartment REIT, (KMP-UN-T), Canada Newswire

Minto Apartment REIT, (MI-UN-T), Canada Newswire

SmartCentres REIT, (SRU-UN-T), Globe Newswire

B.C. restaurants aiming for June 1 reopening

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver  •  Globe and Mail  •  Global News

B.C. restaurants are looking at a possible June 1 reopening date, said the B.C. Restaurant and Food Services Association. Premier John Horgan largely bypassed details of how restaurants will come back online during the B.C. Restart announcement on Wednesday.

Canadian insurers brace for COVID-19 fallout

Commercial  •  Financial Post  •  Bloomberg

With the insurance industry’s exposure to sectors such as real estate and asset classes including mortgages and corporate bonds turning into potential “headwinds,” analysts are eyeing a range of trends for clues to the size and duration of the impact.

Data centres, industrial leading REIT stock pricing: AY

Commercial  •  REjournals  •  CP Executive

A sample of 53 public REIT stocks since the COVID-19 outbreak shows a downward trend in the real estate market, with data centres faring the best with a 15.94 per cent increase, according to Avison Young research.

NYC office leasing at lowest level since 2009

Commercial  •  National Real Estate Investor

New office leases in New York, the U.S. epicentre of COVID-19, sank to the lowest first-quarter level since 2009, according to Newmark Knight Frank. The collapse came in March, when businesses shut down to stem the spread of the virus.

T.O. housing prices could fall 14% by 2022: DBRS

Residential  •  Financial Post

DBRS Morningstar is looking at pandemic scenarios that include a housing price correction of between 10 and 15 per cent by 2022. Even in a “moderate” scenario envisioned by DBRS, home prices in Canada’s largest city would fall by 14 per cent.

Montreal-area sales plummet 68% YOY

Residential  •  Globe Newswire

The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers‘ most recent statistics for the Montreal Census Metropolitan Area indicate 1,890 residential sales transactions were concluded in April, a 68 per cent year-over-year decrease. It also marked the first drop after 61 consecutive monthly increases.

Luxury home prices will fall sharply: Knight Frank

Residential  •  Toronto Star

Mumbai, Vancouver, Hong Kong, Singapore and Buenos Aires will see the prices of luxury homes fall steeply as the coronavirus outbreak hurts demand, according to a Knight Frank study.

Alternative mortgage lender Westboro halts redemption

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Westboro Mortgage Investment LP has suspended redemptions, the latest alternative lender to stop investors from taking their money out due to COVID-19. The Ottawa-based lender mostly provides residential loans in Southern and Eastern Ontario and holds more than 800 mortgages.