Commercial real estate owner and operator Emergia Inc. (EMER-CN) has had a very busy past 10 days, which has included the announcement of a potential new investment in the Montreal firm, a shakeup of its board of directors, and the pending sale of development land it owns adjacent to the expanding Honda plant in Alliston, Ont.

The land transaction involves a development site of about 100 acres at 6485 14th Line in the Town of Alliston, which is located between Toronto and Barrie in central Ontario. One of the key attractions for this property is its proximity to the Honda manufacturing and assembly facility in Alliston, which is about to undergo a major transition and supply chain expansion to accommodate electric vehicle production.

The Emergia property is at the intersection of 14th Line and Industrial Parkway, just across the road from the Honda operations.

Emergia has not released information about the buyer, nor the purchase price. The transaction is scheduled to close on June 13.

It acquired the property in 2021 for $14.4 million, with an eye toward future residential and retail development. Its plans at the time included selling a portion of the site, and developing approximately 500 housing units and up to 60,000 square feet of retail itself on the remaining property.

Alliston property sale to generate cash flow

"This is an interesting and important transaction for Emergia as it will allow (us) to generate cash flow and allow the corporation to consider other transactions, in line with its business model, which is to own and operate a portfolio composed of 70 per cent of income producing properties and 30 per cent of development assets," Henri Petit, Emergia’s president and CEO, said in the announcement.

Emergia has not responded to a request by RENX for further details about the property and its current status - including zoning. When acquired, the site was zoned for industrial uses, but Emergia had initiated a rezoning process with the town to accommodate its development plans.

Potential new investor and board shakeup

On the corporate front, Emergia has signed a non-binding term sheet with Palos Capital Corp., a Montreal-based boutique financial services firm and investor, for a potential investment in Emergia.

Few details were initially available, although the investment would be made through Emergia issuing convertible debentures. The term sheet is subject to a 90-day exclusivity period for completion of diligence and to negotiate binding agreements.

That announcement followed closely on the heels of Emergia’s board “refresh”, which included the departure of four existing directors and Petit stepping down as the board chair, to focus exclusively on his duties as president and CEO.

Faraj Nakhleh, who has been serving as an independent director since June 2022, was appointed the new board chair.

Leaving the board are Joseph Cianci, François Castonguay, Luigi Valeriati and Roy Scaini. Joining the board as independent directors, effective immediately, are Hasan Shawa, Yannick Richard and Stephen Reisler.