Canadian firms brace for Brexit vote

Canadian firms brace for Brexit vote

Canada’s largest institutional investors hold about $40-billion worth of real estate in Britain.  Mark Rose, chief executive officer of Canadian-based real estate brokerage Avison Young, which has three offices in Britain, said the pending vote has had an impact on the industry, partly because people have been taking longer to make decisions.

Globe and Mail – Financial Post

KingSett, AIMCo to own half of Scotia Plaza

KingSett Capital and the Alberta Investment Management Corp. are acquiring a 50 per cent interest in Scotia Plaza, including 100 Yonge St. in downtown Toronto, from Dream Office REIT (D.UN-T) in a deal valued at well over half a billion dollars.

Globe and Mail – Financial Post – Marketwired

Spotlight on Green Building Councils around the world

There are almost 100 Green Building Councils around the globe, and the leaders of four of them spoke on June 7 at the Canada Green Building Council’s “Building Lasting Change 2016” conference.

Property Biz Canada

Calgary office tower close to fully leased: Video

Bucking the trend of sagging office occupancy in downtown Calgary, the new Calgary City Centre tower — which is 92 per cent — celebrated the grand opening of its first phase on Monday. Postmedia’s Lyle Aspinall was there to take a look and speak with representatives of developer Cadillac Fairview.

Calgary Herald

Vancouver-based Onni Group to buy L.A. Times building

Vancouver-based developer Onni Group has a preliminary agreement to buy the landmark Times Mirror Square in Los Angeles in a deal that could be worth more than $100 million, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. 

Vancouver Sun

Innovation complex coming to Kitchener-Waterloo

Kitchener-Waterloo is set to get a large new innovation complex specifically aimed at new hardware companies and exceeding the size of a pioneer facility in Shenzhen, China. The 475,000-square-foot project was announced on Tuesday by executives with Voisin Capital, and Miovision Technologies.

Globe and Mail

JLL named a top attractor company by LinkedIn

The 433+ million members of LinkedIn have voted with their actions and selected JLL (JLL-N) as one of the top companies in the world at attracting and keeping top talent. The Top Attractors list is the first ranking of its kind based entirely on user activity such as job applications.

Marketwired

ReDev renews seven major property leases in Regina plaza

One of Regina’s top commercial properties, Quance Plaza, will continue to have long-term retail commitment as ReDev Properties Inc. (ReDev) recently secured seven key lease renewals. ReDev has been invested in the Saskatchewan market for several years.

Canada Newswire

Quebec National Assembly to get a $60-million makeover

There are different kinds of sounds at the Quebec National Assembly these days. An alarm bell shrills, followed by an explosion. Boom! Tourists jump as workers blast the grounds in front of the Parliament Building. The historic monument, designed by Eugène-Étienne Taché in the 1800s, is getting an unprecedented $60.5 million makeover.

Montreal Gazette

Vancouver school board names 12 schools to be considered for closure next year

Vancouver’s west side schools have mostly been spared the axe, while 11 east side schools, including two secondary schools, will be considered for closure in an effort to save money and decrease capacity.  The tiny Queen Elizabeth annex is the only west side school on the preliminary list released by Vancouver school board staff Monday afternoon.

Vancouver Sun

Dan Brewer elected President, Appraisal Institute of Canada

The Appraisal Institute of Canada (AIC) announces the election of Dan Brewer, AACI, P.App of Richmond Hill Ontario as AIC’s National President for 2016-2017. Mr. Brewer was formally inducted during the AIC’s Annual Conference held from June 8 – 11, 2016 in Winnipeg, MB.

Canada Newswire

Locations of four new Toronto GO stations announced

John Tory’s signature SmartTrack transit plan is moving ahead. But the project has shrunk significantly from the vision he put forward on the campaign trail, and critics say it’s become virtually identical to a pre-existing provincial initiative. On Tuesday, the city and provincial government revealed plans to build up to six new stations on existing GO lines.

The Star

Inside Trump’s most valuable tower: Felons, dictators and girl scouts

A hedge-fund manager on the 28th floor who pretended to be dead when investors asked for their money reported to prison in January. A few weeks later, an investment adviser on the 17th floor was accused of running a Ponzi-like scheme. Thirteen floors up, a lawyer pleaded guilty this month to stealing millions of dollars from clients.

Bloomberg

Suitors line up for McDonald’s restaurants in China, Hong Kong sale

McDonald’s has received more than half a dozen bids for its China and Hong Kong stores, including offers from Beijing Tourism Group, Sanpower and ChemChina, in an auction that could fetch up to $3-billion, people familiar with the matter said.

Globe and Mail

Wal-Mart sells Chinese online store, gets stake in Alibaba

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has sold its Chinese online grocery store in return for a stake in the country’s no. 2 e-commerce firm, ripping up its previous strategy in efforts to cure ailing sales in one of the world’s toughest retail markets.

The Globe and Mail

Featured Column

The sky is not falling in Saskatoon

I had a conversation with a small contractor this week whose view of the commercial real estate market was a little off to me. He indicated that landlords should be bowing to tenants and taking whatever offers they can, given Saskatoons current vacancy.

Read more

Market Trends and Research

Canadian retailers best start to the year since 2010

A rebound in sales at gas stations and building-material stores in April has Canada’s retailers off to the best start since 2010. Retail sales rose 0.9 per cent in April to $44.3 billion, recovering all the losses from a revised 0.8 per cent drop in March.

Financial Post – Globe and Mail

Cities are the key to Canada’s future. Let’s unlock it

In a January address to the World Economic Forum, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau noted that he wants Canada and Canadians to be known as much for our resourcefulness as for our resources. We agree. Our natural resources are important. They will continue to be a cornerstone of our economy.

The Globe and Mail

Real Estate Companies

SpruceLand provides update on wind-Up

SpruceLand Properties Inc. announced a cash dividend of $25.00 per share and the recent closing of the sale of the Corporation’s manufactured homes communities and commercial properties portfolios.  The Corporation has disposed of approximately 96% of its real estate assets.

Canada Newswire

Zaio to acquire U.S. Appraisal Management Company

Zaio Corporation (ZAO-X) has signed a letter of intent to acquire a U.S. national Appraisal Management Company (AMC). The transaction is expected to close within 45 days of submission and will not require any additional capital to be raised.

Canada Newswire

GeoSolv rolls out new website, celebrates 10th anniversary

GeoSolv, Ontario’s leader in ground improvement, is celebrating its 10th Anniversary providing Innovative Foundation Solutions for problem soils. In recognition of this milestone, GeoSolv has recently launched a new website www.geosolv.ca, offering a wealth of information and resources to better serve their clients in the engineering and construction industry.

Marketwired

REOC Financial Reports

	REITs & REOCs – First-quarter 2016 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. First-quarter results are now arriving. Canadian REITs & REOCs – First-quarter 2016 report

 

Real Estate Investment Trusts

NorthWest Healthcare Properties REIT update on Vital Healthcare Property Trust

NorthWest Healthcare Properties REIT (NWH.UN-T) updated on activities from Australian based NSX-listed Vital Healthcare Property Trust. NorthWest owns a 24.4% interest in Vital Trust which is also managed by a wholly owned subsidiary of the REIT.

Canada Newswire

Stress-free-rent from these three REITs

Historically, investors who wanted to get rich had to do only one thing–borrow as much money as possible and use it to buy real estate, especially in Toronto and Vancouver. Every week, we’re subject to another story from a credible source telling us prices in Canada’s two largest markets are out of whack.

Motley Fool

Retail

Egan: Small malls in era of big retail

There is a pall over the small mall, the evidence growing, east to west. On Monday evening, a modest crowd gathered at the Best Western on Carling Avenue for an open house on the future of Westgate Shopping Centre.  Opened in 1955, it is the city’s oldest mall and now has 45 stores — but no big anchor.

Ottawa Citizen

New Development

Prével launches the final phase of Lowney sur Ville

Today, Prével put the final 104 units at Lowney sur Ville up for sale, marking the end of a symbolic project which contributed tremendously to the revitilization of Griffintown. This final phase follows Lowney, a pioneering project in the area, which began with a transformation of the two Cherry Blossom chocolate factories in 2004.

Canada Newswire

Saskatoon neighbourhood cleans up its image

When Andy Yuen was scouting locations for Odd Couple, his sophisticated Chinese and Asian-inspired restaurant, Saskatoon’s Riversdale neighbourhood didn’t immediately come to mind. Riversdale’s 20th Street West has been the area’s commercial corridor for more than a century.

Globe and Mail

Technology

CRE website lists properties for short-term use

A Vancouver entrepreneur has created an online marketplace for users to rent or list properties for short-term commercial uses on an Airbnb-style platform.  The website, called thisopenspace, launched at the beginning of the year and is now operating in Vancouver, New York City, Toronto and the company is expanding into Ottawa.

Vancouver Sun

Other

	RENX has surpassed 9,125 Twitter followers
	Follower Michael Vallejos is a commercial real estate advisor in New York City with Avison Young and an organizer with New York Latino tech community.
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