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Downtown Edmonton rises while economy falls flat
Downtown Edmonton rises while economy falls flat
One of North America’s biggest downtown building booms continues to push Edmonton skyward despite the sag in oil prices that has walloped Alberta’s economy. Projects worth more than $3 billion are planned or underway in central Edmonton, from MacEwan University’s $180-million Centre for Arts and Culture in the west to the $45-million Hyatt Place Edmonton nearing completion in the east side Quarters district.
The first residential and commercial project for Halifax
The Roy on Barrington — a first-of-its-kind residential and commercial project for Halifax — has just completed the podium of the building and will be soon embarking on the soaring residential tower, set back and atop the street-level commercial component, right in the centre of all this creativity and rejuvenation of Downtown Halifax.
Bertone launching massive Montreal mixed-use project
Bertone Development Corporation expects to begin construction on the $500-million Quais De Lorimier mixed-use project in downtown Montreal next year. “We are creating a world-class urban environment that will provide unique experiences in a prime location close to downtown and popular tourist attractions,” said Bertone co-founder Michael Bertone.
Top-to-bottom renos for complex
The Colony Square complex in downtown Winnipeg will be undergoing millions of dollar in renovations and upgrades over the next 10 years. Toronto-based Timbercreek Asset Management Inc. acquired the St. Mary Avenue complex late last year from Winnipeg’s Lanesborough Real Estate Investment Trust for $70.25 million.
Winnipeg’s Millennium Centre an architectural gem
VIDEO: 389 Main Street, now known as The Millennium Centre, is the former home of the Canadian Bank of Commerce and is currently used as an event centre. Heritage Winnipeg wants to renovate the upper floors and convert them into office spaces over the next 10 years.
Rogers Place tour shows off Edmonton arena progress
The last time Rogers Place opened its doors to the public, fans braved frigid January temperatures for a look inside the new downtown arena. Four months later, about 950 workers are toiling 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to put the finishing touches on the arena in time for its debut — an open house Sept. 10.
Edmonton Journal – Calgary Herald
Edmonton Arena Corp. and City of Edmonton sue Rogers Place architects
The Edmonton Arena Corp. and the City of Edmonton have filed a $4.7-million lawsuit against the architects who designed Rogers Place. A statement of claim filed earlier this month on behalf of the partners behind the nearly completed downtown arena alleges more than two dozen errors and omissions in the design.
Edmonton Journal – Global News
Quality, not quantity, counts with commercial parking
With parking stalls costing upwards of $50,000 apiece to build, commercial property developers are increasingly working with retailers to make sure they’re getting the most bang for their buck. While planners typically mandate a set number of stalls per 1,000 square feet of commercial space (often by type of use), many projects are finding ways to make fewer stalls work harder for developers and tenants alike.
Is Vancouver’s Arbutus Corridor bring in the green?
Vancouver would love for its Arbutus Corridor to have the same impact as New York City’s High Line. The High Line in Manhattan has become a case study in successful urban renewal over the past half-decade or so, with its old west-side stretch of elevated freight railway turned into an inspired conception of nature, walkways, public art, stunning new city vistas and, inevitably, great spots for selfies.
Colliers names Wilkinson new managing director of Ottawa office
Colliers International has turned to a veteran broker to fill the post of managing director at its Ottawa office. Warren Wilkinson, who has worked for Colliers’ local brokerage since 2005, officially assumed the job last week. He takes over for Kelvin Holmes, who recently left the company.
Gary Lamphier: Stantec CEO tops Journal’s executive pay survey
Stantec CEO Bob Gomes sits atop the Journal’s annual survey of the best-paid senior executives in the city, with a total compensation package of more than $3.56 million for 2015. It was the second straight year that Gomes — who has headed the big Edmonton-based engineering and design consulting firm since 2009 — has led the local rankings. His overall pay last year was down 4.5 per cent from 2014.
Parkland Fuel a possible buyer of Loblaw gas bars
A plan by grocer Loblaw Co. to sell its 212 gas stations could be a good opportunity for Parkland Fuel Corp. to acquire additional retail sites, according to one analyst. Sabahat Khan of RBC Dominion Securities. Loblaw’s sites outside of Ontario, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, where Parkland operates retail ail gas bars, would have the highest appeal for Parkland, Khan said.
Quebec’s MTY Foods takes a bite out of U.S. market
MTY Food Group Inc. has acquired the Arizona-based Kahala Brands Ltd. franchise company, which will finally bring it into the U.S. market in a big way. The Montreal-based company paid US$300 million for Kahala in a friendly deal that will add 18 brands to its current 30 restaurant banners.
Office US: Suburban survival
In the empty parking bays and shuttered conference rooms of suburban office campuses across the US, property investment managers are working to transform potentially obsolete space into the creative environments employers demand today. Some are even reconfiguring land and buildings to create strategically located ‘superparks’ in a bid to compete with the allure of creative space in urban centres.
Sam Zell: It’s really hard not to be a seller in real estate right now
“No one has ever accused me of not being a realist,” Sam Zell told CNBC. The chairman of Equity Group Investments and of apartment mega-landlord Equity Residential was talking about the markets for office and apartment buildings in some major cities that have already peaked. “Overall we’ve come off this extraordinary period of liquidity and this extraordinary period of low interest rates,” he said.
Featured Column
My conflict of interest confession
Recently, I unexpectedly found myself in a situation, taking an action as a real estate broker that clearly placed me in a conflict of interest.
Market Trends and Research
Twenty major Canadian construction projects
The accompanying table shows 20 of the largest upcoming Atlantic and Manitoba, Saskatchewan construction projects in Canada. They are all in the planning stage and are mainly new projects, but may also involve additions and/or alterations including shopping centers, hotels, office buildings, medical buildings, educational buildings, government buildings.
Suncor restoring more oilsands operations
Suncor says it expects to restore more of its oilsands production by the end of this week. The Calgary-based company says start up activities have begun at its oilsands base plant north of Fort McMurray, Alta. Suncor also expects its MacKay River extraction site will be producing by the end of this week.
Real Estate Companies
Brand battle looms for beleaguered Trump Tower
As they move forward with plans to sell a landmark Toronto property, the owners of the Trump International Hotel & Tower Toronto are being warned that no one says “You’re fired” to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump without a fight. Talon International Development Inc., is negotiating to sell the 65-storey Trump Toronto property, and hotel chains and real estate firms are among the bidders.
Employers should have plans in place for tragedies
As Fort McMurray wildfire evacuees get ready to begin going home and possibly back to work on June 1 employers should be ready to help people recover from the devastation. More than two weeks of wildfires that stretched across nearly 423,000 hectares in Alberta, forced the evacuation of about 100,000 people, shut down the region’s oil production and destroyed businesses could lead to one of the costliest rebuilds ever undertaken in Canada.
REOC Financial Reports
Latest first-quarter report:
* Mainstreet Health Investments Inc,, (HLP.U-X), Canada Newswire
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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. |
REIT Financial Reports
Latest first-quarter report:
* Nobel REIT, (NEL.UN-X), Canada Newswire
Real Estate Investment Trusts
TSXV accepts R&R’s normal course issuer bid
R&R REIT (RRR.UN-X) announced receipt of final acceptance from the TSX Venture Exchange of the REIT’s notice of intention to make a normal course issuer bid. Under the NCIB, the REIT will have the ability to purchase for cancellation up to a maximum of 1,000,000 Units on the open market, representing approximately 1.21% of the outstanding units.
Buy Dream Office for a discount
When it comes to REITs, it can be easy to compare the value of the assets to the share price to determine how much of a discount the stock is trading at. And when it comes to Dream Office REIT (D.UN-T), if you were to buy shares of this stock, you’d be looking at a nearly 43 per cent discount.
Retail
Retail experts, Susan Mcgibbon, John Archer, for new company
With 30 years of combined global experience, previous J.C. Williams Group Senior Consultant, John Archer and Susan McGibbon, President of The Retail Lab, are launching Three Sixty Collective today. Three Sixty Collective is a bespoke, strategic consultancy that builds distinctive brands, creates remarkable experiences and develops memorable places.
Canada Goose to open first retail stores this fall
Canada Goose, the luxury winter jacket maker, will open its first two retail stores this fall. One will be at Toronto’s Yorkdale mall and a second in New York City. The Toronto-based company says each store will be more than 4,000 square feet and showcase some of its vintage styles and more modern designs.
RECon recap: Owners deal with contradictions in retail sector
This year’s ICSC RECon conference in Las Vegas was by most accounts the busiest and most well-attended since the Great Recession. But the tone of many panels and reports about deal-making activity at the four-day conference in Las Vegas suggested that shopping center landlords and many retailers are beginning to shift from growth mode to preserving portfolio value against a muted retail backdrop.
Abercrombie slides as retail malaise spreads
All is not well at Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF-N). Shares of the teen clothing retailer slid more than 17 per cent Thursday after the company reported results showing it is among the ranks of retailers struggling with slow traffic. “Our results for the quarter reflect significant traffic headwinds,” said executive chairman Arthur Martinez.
New Development
Edmonton conference asks how to save N.A. Chinatowns
Chinatowns across North America started as gateways for immigrants and turned into thriving hubs for Asian food and culture. But with rising rents, gentrification, declining resident populations and competition from suburban amenities, the future of many Chinatowns is looking increasingly uncertain. An international conference coming to Edmonton will ask how to save North America’s Chinatowns.
Infrastructure
Competition Bureau warns of bid-rigging in infrastructure
The federal Competition Bureau is warning governments to be on the lookout for signs of bid-rigging and other shady activity as Ottawa opens the floodgates to spend billions on infrastructure projects across the country. Commissioner of Competition John Pecman said his office is planning to double the number of training workshops it provides to public-procurement officials this year on ways to prevent fraud.
Texas Municipal backs Brookfield with infrastructure
Texas Municipal Retirement System is backing Brookfield Infrastructure’s’s third infrastructure fund with $150m (€134.5m). The commitment to the Brookfield Infrastructure Fund III, according to a board meeting document, is part of $12bn capital raise that Brookfield Asset Management is planning for the fund.
Twenty major upcoming Courthouse and Jails and Prisons construction projects
The accompanying tables show 20 of the largest upcoming Courthouse and Jails and Prisons construction projects. They are all in the planning stage and are mainly new projects, but may also involve additions and/or alterations.
Will BAPE hearings change Hydro’s plan in Dollard?
For just over three hours last week, residents and city officials in Dollard-des-Ormeaux presented their concerns and recommendations to the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement which is assessing Hydro-Québec’s plan to install a higher-capacity transmission line between St-Jean and Sources and upgrade the power substation on St-Jean Blvd. Their presentations were impressive.
International
New York REIT Inc. is set to acquire all of JBG’s properties
New York REIT Inc. and JBG Cos. just made a move that will change the list of the largest U.S. REITs owning premier office and mixed-use properties in infill locations. The companies have entered into an agreement calling for NYRT to acquire substantially all of JBG’s properties and its management business in a transaction that will create a REIT with an estimated enterprise value of $8.4 billion.
Technology
Adidas shoes being made in Germany again — by robots
Adidas will launch mass production of running shoes at a German factory operated largely by robots next year and plans to open a similar plant in the United States next year, the company said Tuesday. Founded by German cobbler Adi Dassler in 1949, Adidas had closed all but one of its 10 shoe factories in Germany by 1993.
Other
Industry Events
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Western Canada Apartment Investment Conference
May 07 2024
Vancouver
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Edmonton Real Estate Forum
May 08 2024
Edmonton Convention Centre
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Land & Development Conference
May 28 2024
Metro Toronto Convention Centre
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Montreal Real Estate Forum
Jun 06 2024
Montreal
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Southwestern Ont. Real Estate Forum
Jun 13 2024
RBC Place London
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