RioCan acquires CPPIB’s interest in four properties

RioCan acquires CPPIB’s interest in four properties

RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust (REI.UN-T) has entered into a firm agreement with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board‘s to acquire their interest in four properties that are currently co-owned. RioCan will purchase CPPIB’s 50% interest at an aggregate purchase price of $352 million and as a result of the purchase, RioCan will own 100% of these four assets.

Marketwired – Ottawa Business Journal

SmartREIT promotes Peter Forde to President

Smart Real Estate Investment Trust (SRU.UN-T) announces today that effective July 21, 2016 Peter Forde is promoted to President of SmartREIT, reporting to Huw Thomas, the REIT’s CEO. The REIT has numerous accretive developments underway, many of which are mixed use development projects, the largest of which is the53 acre Vaughan Metropolitan Centre.

Marketwired.com – Sys-con.com

Omni King Edward Hotel’s Crystal Ballroom makeover

Toronto’s historic Omni King Edward Hotel will begin restoring its long-neglected Crystal Ballroom next month, less than a year after completing a much bigger renovation of the building.  It is Toronto’s first luxury hotel, which opened in 1903 and recently underwent $40 million in recent renovations.

Property Biz Canada

NorthWest Healthcare Properties REIT closes purchase of Brazil hospitals

NorthWest Healthcare Properties REIT (NWH.UN-T) has completed the previously disclosed acquisition of Brazil Hospitals subject to customary closing adjustments for approximately $145-million. The Transactions bring the REIT’s Brazil portfolio to seven hospitals centered around the major gateway cities.

Canada Newswire

SOCO generates profit from its two technology parks

Saskatchewan Opportunities Corp. (SOCO) produced net income of $1.65 million on total revenues of $47.2 million from its research parks in Saskatoon and Regina, according to its 2015-16 annual report released Tuesday. All Saskatchewan Crowns are adopting the government’s fiscal year, SOCO reported its results for the 15-month period, ended March 31.

Leader Post

Broken elevators reaching ‘crisis’ proportions across Canada

Every day, Canadians are finding themselves trapped in faulty elevators, while countless more are suffering through inconvenience and isolation because of elevators that are out of service — and the problem is worsening. Last year firefighters in Ontario alone responded to 4,461 calls to extricate people from elevators double the number from 2001.

CBC

Quebec’s Origine project overcame hurdles

For any new development, the municipal approvals process can be daunting. The Origine is a mass timber 13-storey condo project in Quebec City. The unusual structure incorporates cross-laminated timber for walls and floors and glued-laminated timber for posts and beams. The Origine is a mass timber 13-storey condo project in Quebec City.

Daily Commercial News

CMHC says Fort McMurray housing will be rebuilt

Charles Iggulden predicts all of his town will be rebuilt, but the president of the Fort McMurray Construction Association says it just comes down to when. In a report out Thursday, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said about 2,500 starts would have to be created to match the 1,928 structures the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo says were destroyed by the fires.

Financial Post

Mainstreet looking to buy Alberta apartments

After holding off on buying new rental properties for months, Calgary-based Mainstreet Equity Corp. (MEQ-T) said Thursday current economic conditions in Alberta are ideal to “hit the reset button” and acquire new apartments.  Mainstreet, which owns more than 9,300 units in Western Canada including 1,800 in southern Alberta.

Calgary Herald

Joe Fresh president Mario Grauso tapped to lead dHolt Renfrew

Mario Grauso is going upscale — again. The president of Joe Fresh is taking over the helm of sibling luxury retailer Holt Renfrew, having been credited with helping to turn around the performance of Loblaw’s in-house apparel brand over the past two years.

Financial Post – Globe and Mail

Île-Perrot subdivides massive lot in hopes of encouraging development

The city of Île-Perrot has subdivided a 1.2 million square foot lot in hopes of luring developers to make an offer that they can’t refuse.  Last year, the city rejected two offers for land in the Perdriole sector made through a tender process, one of $2.5 million and another of $3.5 million.

Montreal Gazette

London, U.K. apartment on sale for $260 Million

Many experts say Britain’s vote to leave the European Union will lead to a property crash in London. A report from Societe Generale this week predicted a 30-per-cent slump in the city’s house prices.  But if there’s a crash coming to London, it’s nowhere to be seen — at least for now — and the city is instead on the cusp of breaking a real estate record.

Huffington Post

Real estate boosts Blackstone results as it eyes sale opportunities

Blackstone’s $U.S. 103bn real estate business has boosted overall profits at the private equity giant as it contemplates ramping up sales of assets.  The New York firm released its second-quarter results showing that real estate is now its biggest activity, surpassing its traditional private equity business, which came in just shy of $100bn.

IPE Real Estate

UK property still target market for CalSTRS despite Brexit

California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) is not planning to avoid the UK as it increases its allocation to real estate.  The $189bn U.S. pension fund, which is increasing its property quota from 13% to 14%, told IPE Real Estate it would not moderate its exposure to UK or continental Europe as a result of Brexit.

Real Estate IPE

Wells Fargo sees double-digit profit growth in Canada

As Canadian banks turn to the United States for expansion opportunities, San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co. is moving into Canada.  The U.S. bank is seeing low double-digit profit growth here at a time when the domestic economy is flirting with recession and commodity prices remain well off their highs.

Globe and Mail

Featured Column

Saskatoon industrial facts you need to know

We provided you a quick overview of our Saskatoon commercial real estate industrial, retail and office markets last week. Let’s now take a closer look at the industrial sector.

Read more

Market Trends and Research

Why the spikes in Ontario electricity prices are so shocking

Bank of Montreal’s chief economist wonders whether the unrelenting spike in Ontario electricity costs is, well, “shocking.” “In Ontario, only three other categories in the [consumer price index] have risen faster than electricity since 2002: water charges, home insurance and cigarettes,” Douglas Porter said.

Globe and Mail

PSP Investments’ net assets increase in 2016

The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) announced today that its net assets under management reached $116.8 billion at the end of fiscal year 2016 (fiscal 2016), compared to $112 billion at the end of the previous fiscal year. At March 31, 2016, Real Estate had net assets of $20.4 billion, an increase of $6.0 billion from the previous fiscal year.

Canada Newswire

Regina office market ‘challenging’ in Q2: Colliers

The first half of 2016 was a challenging office market for Regina landlords in the downtown area, as vacancy rates continued to rise and new tenants were in short supply, according to the Colliers International second-quarter office market report released Wednesday.

Leader Post

Halifax port traffic up nearly 20 per cent in first half

Port of Halifax cargo is on an upward trend. Halifax Port Authority statistics released Thursday show container throughput in the second quarter of this year was up 12.5 per cent, with just under 121,000 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) compared to the same time period in 2015.

Chronicle Herald

REOC Financial Reports

Mainstreet reports Q3 2016 results

Mainstreet Equity Corp.  (MEQ-T), an add-value, mid-market consolidator of apartments in Western Canada, announces its operating and financial results for the three months ended June 30, 2016. After six years of sustained growth, Mainstreet encountered a negative trend in net operating income  and funds from operations in the quarter.

Canada Newswire

Real Estate Investment Trusts

PROREIT extends term and lower interest costs on debt

PRO REIT (PRV.UN-T) is pleased to announce that the REIT has received commitments totalling $19.6 million for the refinancing of approximately 15 percent of its total debt.  The REIT has received a commitment for a $17.8 million new mortgage with a 10-year term, amortized over 25 years, to refinance the primary loans against four of the REIT’s assets.

Marketwired

Retail

Lawsuit against Jean Coutu could indicate underlying tension

Jean Coutu Group Inc. (PJC.A-T) one of the country’s largest pharmacy chains, is facing a class action suit filed by a group of franchisees in Quebec seeking to recover $252 million in royalties.  Jean Coutu overcharged stores for franchisor services in the past four years, according to Montreal-based Sopropharm.

Financial Post

‘Distracted’ competitors presents opportunity for Sleep Country Canada

Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc. was upgraded to outperform at Raymond James on Thursday, as “distracted” competitors appear to offer the company an opportunity to take additional market share.  Analyst Kenric Tyghe, who also raised his target price on the stock to $28 from $22, told clients that two of Sleep Country’s key competitors are more distracted than anticipated.

Financial Post

Infrastructure

City of Regina conceals some P3 project documents

Although the City of Regina won’t disclose independent certifier reports for its two concurrent mega infrastructure projects, residents can expect a full reporting back once they’re complete.  “We’ve always been transparent and open on reporting on all those projects and we will continue to do that,” said Mayor Michael Fougere of the stadium and wastewater treatment plant.

Leader Post

International

UK government urged to help avoid CRE downturn

The British Property Federation has urged the government to safeguard against a downturn in UK commercial property, as a major survey uncovered a slump in investor sentiment. The BPF, a lobbying organization for the UK commercial property industry, called on British politicians to consider a raft of policy measures to prevent the real estate market from dragging the UK economy down with it.

Real Estate IPE

U.K. economy wilting fast after Brexit vote

Britain’s economy is shrinking, the broadest survey of business confidence since last month’s historic vote to quit the European Union showed on Friday, leading finance minister Philip Hammond to pledge a loosening of purse strings if the weakness endures. The Bank of England has also been clear that easing monetary policy may be necessary.

Globe and Mail

UK fund managers warned not to ‘talk’ themselves into correction

The Investment Property Forum (IPF) has revealed how real estate fund managers across the board have revised down their short-term expectations for the market. Regular contributors to the regular consensus forecast – including the likes of CBRE Global Investors, AXA Investment Managers, M&G Real Estate and Legal & General – have universally cut their forecasts as a direct result of the UK vote to leave the European Union.

IPE Real Estate

Australian super funds drive trading boom in property funds

Rebalancing by Australian superannuation funds has pushed secondary trading in domestic real estate funds to the best part of AUD1bn (€679m), according to industry sources.  “I can count up to between AUD500m and AUD1bn of secondaries which were traded since the start of this year,” said one source, a significant investor in several core funds.

Real Estate IPE

Sustainability

La Caisse provides loan to wind farm in Gaspésie

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has announced a $59.5-million term-loan financing in the New Richmond wind farm in Gaspésie, operated by TransAlta Renewables Inc. The New Richmond wind farm has a capacity of 67.8 megawatts generated by 33 wind turbines in three locations.

Canada Newswire

Other

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