Smaller businesses driving ‘condo office’ market

Smaller businesses driving ‘condo office’ market

Demand and investment is mounting in Metro Vancouver for strata office units as values for those assets reach levels comparable with residential condos in the region, say local experts and investors. In the past two years there has been roughly $280 million worth of sales in strata offices in Metro Vancouver.

Vancouver Sun

Sobeys parent posts loss, problems in Western Canada

The parent of grocer Sobeys Inc. suffered deepening problems in its Safeway stores and Western Canadian business in its fourth quarter, posting a loss of $942.6-million.  Parent Empire Co. Ltd. (EMP.A-T) took another hit in the quarter – a $1.3-billion impairment charge in addition to the $1.59-billion writedown it took in its previous quarter.

Globe and Mail – Financial Post – Financial Post – Price slashing in Quebec – Canada Newswire

Derek Lobo dissects the Canadian apartment market

The fifth annual North American New Apartment Construction and Mixed-Use Symposium and Expo held in Toronto this week opened with a one-on-one interview with veteran apartment building expert Derek Lobo led by Brescia Consulting principal Vince Brescia.

Property Biz Canada

Edmonton councillors approve 45-storey tower

Council approved a second tower against its planners’ recommendation Monday, leading some councillors to question if they’ve spiked Edmonton’s ability to negotiate with developers in the future. City planners opposed the 45-storey Emerald Tower because they say the developer is getting a $50-million increase in land value without enough benefit going back to the neighbourhood.

Edmonton Journal

Estimates for CalgaryNEXT off by half-a-billion dollars

Ken King said Monday he finally feels like the CalgaryNEXT project has reached a pivotal start line — 10 months after he first unveiled plans for the new hockey arena, football stadium and multi-sport field house spanning several blocks in the West Village.

Calgary Herald

CalgaryNEXT depends on a levy the province has suspended

The Alberta government has stopped accepting applications for the community revitalization levy — the very program essential to the CalgaryNEXT plan for a new hockey rink, field house and football field.  The levy will be up for discussion by Premier Rachel Notley’s cabinet.

Calgary Herald

DND moving 500 staff into building with asbestos

The Department of National Defence is moving some 500 staff into a building in Gatineau that has asbestos as it tries to find accommodation for workers left without offices because of a fire in another facility. A fire forced the shutdown of Louis St. Laurent April 21 and the need to find new offices for the 1,800 DND and Canadian Forces staff.

Ottawa Citizen

The NCC evaluation of LeBreton Flats proposals

Documents released to CBC News under access to information shed more light on the way the bids to redevelop LeBreton Flats were evaluated, but the National Capital Commission held back the scores each bid received. The process was severely criticized by the team that ranked second in the hours before a gag order fell on May 5.

CBC.ca

City of Ottawa to earn millions from Lansdowne Park

Months after it appeared extra costs at Lansdowne Park had wiped out the possibility of the city turning a profit on the project, a report released Tuesday shows Ottawa now stands to earn more than $30 million. The Lansdowne Partnership Plan annual report outlines the park’s financial performance for 2015.

Ottawa Citizen

Heady days for Ottawa’s retail market

Business is booming at two of Ottawa’s biggest regional shopping malls – the Rideau Centre and Bayshore Shopping Centre – and the city’s retailers generally had a pretty good year overall in 2015. Collectively, Ottawa’s retail outlets saw growth of at least three per cent in revenue last year.

Ottawa Business Journal

Slate Retail REIT sells five grocery anchored assets

Slate Retail REIT (SRT.UN-T), an owner and operator of U.S. grocery anchored real estate, announced that it has entered into a binding agreement to sell a portfolio of five Food Lion anchored assets.

Marketwired

Brexit vote roils real-estate markets

The effects of the U.K. vote to leave the European Union are starting to ripple through property markets as investors pile out of publicly traded real-estate companies in Britain and Europe and global developers begin to reassess projects and transactions already in the pipeline.

Wall St. Journal

Top German regulator says no to London headquarters

Germany’s financial market regulator delivered a double blow to London on Tuesday, saying it could not host the headquarters of a planned Deutsche Boerse-London Stock Exchange stock exchange giant after Britain leaves the EU, and nor could it remain a centre for trading in euros.

Globe and Mail – Telegraph.co.uk

JLL pick of highly transparent CRE markets globally

Two-thirds of real estate markets globally have shown progress in levels of transparency over the past two years, according to JLL (JLL-N) and LaSalle Investment Management’s 2016 Global Real Estate Transparency Index (GRETI). The 10 countries identified as ‘Highly Transparent’ by GRETI account for 75 percent of global investment into commercial real estate.

Marketwired

JLL to acquire MSCI’s global corporate occupiers benchmarking business

JLL (JLL-N) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire MSCI’s global corporate occupiers benchmarking business. This acquisition will add a powerful further dimension to JLL’s comprehensive Corporate Solutions service range. It is the latest example of the firm’s ongoing investments into leading-edge technology and data analytics capabilities.

Marketwired

Market Trends and Research

Feds ask CMHC for ways to cool housing prices

The federal government wants the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to come up with ways to keep housing prices affordable in the country’s hottest markets – and do it by the end of the year – with a working plan due by Sept. 1 as the government signals it wants to find ways to quickly cool housing prices.

Vancouver Sun

CIBC to buy Chicago-based PrivateBancorp

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce said it would buy Chicago-based PrivateBancorp Inc in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $4.9-billion (Canadian) to offer its Canadian clients access to U.S. banking services.

Globe and Mail

	RENX is taking a summer break
	Every year RENX shuts down for the first week of July so all our staff can have a summer break.  This year because Canada Day is on a Friday we are taking an extra day.  RENX will resume publishing on July 11, 2016.  Have a wonderful Canada Day!

 

Real Estate Companies

Manulife Asset Management one of world’s largest money managers

Manulife Asset Management placed 28th among the world’s largest money managers, as of December 31, 2015, according to Pensions & Investments’ latest annual ranking published in its May 30, 2016 issue. The publication ranked and provided data on 604 global asset management firms.

Canada Newswire

BrightPath to acquire 20 Peekaboo Child Care Centres in Ontario

BrightPath Early Learning Inc. (BPE-X), the leading Canadian provider of high-quality, comprehensive early childhood education and care, announced today it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a portfolio of 20 early learning and child care centres in the Greater Toronto Area from the owners of Peekaboo Child Care Centre Inc. and subsidiary companies for $22 million.

Canada Newswire

Real Estate Investment Trusts

Crombie REIT unitholders approve issuance of units to Sobeys

At the meeting of unitholders of Crombie Real Estate Investment Trust (CRR.UN-T) held on June 28, 2016, the unitholders adopted resolutions approving the issuance of the equivalent of $93.4 million in shares in partial payment for $418 million purchase of a portfolio of nineteen (19) retail properties and other investments from Sobeys.

Canada Newswire

The case for and against real estate ETFs

REITs are popular among some investors, which, depending on how you look at it, could be a reason to buy, or a reason to stay away. “Buying anything that is popular is generally the worst thing you can do, whether you do it through an ETF or some other vehicle,” argued senior financial adviser Chris Horan at Assante Wealth Management in Toronto.

Globe and Mail

RioCan REIT is a top REIT for your portfolio

I am a tremendous believer in internet commerce and believe that, for the most part, companies like Amazon.com are going to take a disproportionate amount of the available money in retail. With that, you wouldn’t believe which company I believe is one of the best REITs to own — Riocan REIT (REI.UN-T).

The Motley Fool

No Brexit bargains for U.S. REIT Iinvestors

We frequently recommend diversification within individual investor asset allocation portfolios. Today we want to stress the importance of marinating a wide margin of safety by limiting exposure to one specific asset class, including REITs.

Forbes

Retail

The Rideau Centre’s expansion, by the numbers

Ottawa Citizen

New Development

Battle over Sobeys Plaza continues at Vaughan

The battle by Thornhill residents to prevent a developer from building a 20-storey residential building in the Kosher Sobeys plaza continued last week at Vaughan City Council. Pamela Levy-Taraday, president of the SpringFarm Ratepayers Association said residents consider the development proposed by RioCan will negatively impact the community in countless ways.

Canadian Jewish News

Naqvi launches OMB review

If your community has been the subject of intensification, you’ve probably heard of the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). Nowhere is this likely more true than the provincial riding of Ottawa Centre, which has seen more high-rises, controversial condo developments and density increases than any other riding in the region.

CBC

John Tory gets lost on the Toronto subway

Toronto’s proposed one-stop $3.2-billion subway extension is indefensible. A city with crushing transit problems cannot afford to waste so much money for so little gain. And yet Mayor John Tory continues to push forward this underachieving megaproject with a small-minded zeal that is distorting decision-making in Canada’s largest city.

Globe and Mail

Halifax businesses suing Nova Centre over lost sales

Three businesses hurt by the construction of Nova Centre are going to court to get back some of what they’ve lost. Right now, Wagners Law is representing the owners of Attica Furnishings, the Carlton Music Bar and Grill, and The Wooden Monkey, but lawyer Ray Wagner expects more businesses to come on board soon.

The Chronicle Herald

Infrastructure

Bombardier family cement project $400-million over budget

Canada’s first new cement production plant in half a century is massively overbudget as investors led by Bombardier Inc.’s founding family take stock of escalating costs for the controversial Quebec project. The private and public partners in the $1.1-billion project are confronting cost overruns of about $400-million.

Globe and Mail

Human Resources

Lara Di Gregorio, Crestpoint Real Estate a 2016 Catalyst emerging leader

Catalyst announced the 2016 Catalyst Canada Honours Champions — four exceptional corporate leaders who have made transformational contributions to advancing women and championing inclusion in the workplace.

Canada Newswire

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.
	Follow RENXca, the most comprehensive news feed on Twitter for Canadian real estate professionals.