Brookfield in talks to buy London, U.K. tower

Brookfield in talks to buy London, U.K. tower

Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (BAM.A-T) is in exclusive talks to acquire CityPoint Tower, a London office building less than a mile from the Bank of England. The 36-story building will probably sell for less than $976 million according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

Financial Post

How Sobeys vaporized half of Safeway’s value

When Sobeys headed to Western Canada to snap up Safeway for $5.8 billion, it was on top of the world. Since then, it has booked billions in write downs and dumped its CEO. Sobeys finds itself having to reinvent itself to woo customers back to Safeway. It won’t be easy. 

Globe and Mail

Monit has full ownership of Montreal’s Scotia Tower

Monit Investment is now the sole owner of downtown Montreal’s Scotia Tower after paying $79 million to acquire Scotiabank’s 50-per cent share of the property’s land and 27-storey tower. “Our real estate growth strategy is to own 100 per cent of our investment properties and continually improve them,” said Monit president Barry Kotler.

Property Biz Canada – Montreal Gazette

Toronto’s Trump Tower nears auction as developer defaults

JCF Capital, a closely held firm, recently bought the construction loan on the 65-story hotel and condo the Trump International Hotel & Tower, and claims developer Talon International Inc. and related companies defaulted on making payments since last year. JCF Capital is seeking a court-supervised sales process for the property.

Toronto Star

The repositioning of commercial property in Ottawa

The Ottawa commercial real estate market can no longer count on the rising tide created by declining capitalization rates that has prevailed for the past 10 years to boost the value of its properties. “It is time for specific work on buildings” was a takeaway provided by Sandy McNair, chief curator of the Altus Group.

Property Biz Canada – RioCan to start Silver City Gloucester redevelopment

Solar rooftops bring big dividends for Ottawa

The City of Ottawa is making money off of sunlight thanks to an innovative rooftop solar project the city has put in place along with Energy Ottawa. Energy Ottawa, a subsidiary of Hydro Ottawa, has leased eight rooftops from the city on which to install large solar installations.

Sustainable Biz Canada

CoStar growing fast, now in Canada

CoStar Group is on a roll.  The Washington, D.C.-based commercial real estate technology company was included on Fortune magazine’s “100 Fastest Growing Companies” list earlier this month and, this week, it announced it was hiring 730 researchers and software developers in Richmond, Va.

CoStar Group

ReDev Properties Ltd. sells Parkdale Square in Edmonton

Richard Crenian, President of ReDev Properties Ltd. announced the sale of Parkdale Square located at 8004 – 8036 118^th Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta. The property is fully leased with ground floor retail including major tenants such as Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Kentucky Fried Chicken/Taco Bell, Parkdale Liquor Store, and Subway.

Canada Newswire

First major new downtown Edmonton hotel opens

The first major new downtown Edmonton hotel in a generation finally welcomed its inaugural guests Thursday. Constructing the eye-catching Hyatt Place Edmonton on 96 Street was delayed by underground gasoline contamination and city permit holdups. No other private development in the surrounding Quarters has occurred.

Edmonton Journal

Meet the woman managing the NHL’s newest arena

Two hours before the puck drops at an Edmonton Oilers preseason hockey game, Susan Darrington begins her last-minute rounds at the NHL’s newest and fanciest arena. Casting a critical eye, she stops at the Chairman’s Club at Rogers Place. In a few minutes, the doors to the exclusive restaurant on ice level will open.

Globe and Mail

Colliers Project Leaders on how to do sustainability

Putting together Colliers Project Leaders’ newly released Sustainability Impact Report, Ralf Nielsen got hit with a sudden insight. Nielsen, the company’s director of sustainability, realized that Colliers could do much more than just help a client put in high-efficiency technology or achieve a LEED Gold building.

Sustainable Biz Canada

Slate Retail REIT to buy North Hixson Marketplace in Tennessee

Slate Retail REIT (SRT.UN-T), an owner and operator of U.S. grocery-anchored real estate, announced today that it has entered into a binding agreement to acquire North Hixson Marketplace, an 80% occupied Food City-anchored centre, in the Chattanooga, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Marketwired

YVR named best airport in the world

Vancouver’s airport might not be everyone’s favourite place to hang out, but in 2016 it has been named the world’s best airport by the CAPA Centre for Aviation. CAPA gives the award to the airport that is considered the biggest standout strategically and the one that has advanced the progress of aviation internationally. 

CBC

Cushman & Wakefield realigns U.S. leadership role

In a major shift at the top of Cushman & Wakefield‘s senior leadership, Joe Stettinius will move into the newly created position of chief executive, Americas brokerage and capital markets, while Tod Lickerman will shift from the position of global president to chief executive of the Americas.

CoStar Group

Blackstone buying apartment portfolio from Bridge Investment Group

Blackstone Real Estate Partners is purchasing a 16-property apartment portfolio in the U.S. from affiliates of Bridge Investment Group Partners. The total price for the transaction, including transactions three of the properties with still pending closings, has been reported at $750 million.

CoStar Group

Market Trends and Research

Clicks expected to catch up with bricks in holiday season

This year’s Deloitte Holiday Survey signals another strong holiday season for U.S. retailers, with total 2016 holiday sales expected to exceed $1 trillion, an increase of up to 4% from November through Jan. 1 as an improved job market, rising consumer confidence and a bump in disposable income.

CoStar Group

Real Estate Companies

High cleanup cost puts PEI industrial site on hold

Higher than expected cost estimates have put plans to clean up the fabrication yard in Borden-Carleton on hold.  The government purchased the fabrication yard eight years ago for $359,000. It is the site where pieces of the Confederation Bridge were constructed in the 1990s.

CBC

Real Estate Investment Trusts

American Hotel Income Properties REIT completes U.S. portfolio acquisition

American Hotel Income Properties REIT LP (HOT.UN-T) completed its previously announced acquisition of a portfolio of four Marriott-branded, select-service hotels for an aggregate purchase price of US$47.0 million excluding approximately US$2.8 million for brand-mandated property improvement plans and other adjustments.

Marketwired

	RENX 2017 media kit now available
	A blended ad program, take-over advertising, writing services and a second weekly edition of Property Biz Canada in 2017. Advertising that reaches thousands of professionals in the commercial real estate industry every business day. Contact sales@renx.ca, 1-855-569-6300

 

Retail

GoodLife Fitness is cutting jobs at HQ, clubs

The sleek new headquarters of GoodLife Fitness include a coffee bar, employee fitness centre and meeting rooms named for Jimmy Buffett songs. The company’s website boasts of its status as one the country’s 50 best managed companies and 50 most engaged workplaces.

Calgary Herald

Sobey report card on its contribution Provincial economy

The Sobey School of Business at St. Mary’s University in Halifax released an independent report that cited Sobey’s “substantial” contribution to job creation and the economy in Nova Scotia but also revealed gaps in areas where the school thought it was strong.

Commercial

New Development

Chartwell announces retirement residence in Saint-Hubert, Longueuil

Chartwell Retirement Residences Canada’s largest owner and operator of seniors housing communities, in partnership with Bâtimo inc. and EMD Construction inc., is pleased to announce a new retirement residence in the borough of Saint-Hubert, in Longueuil, Quebec. The new residence, Chartwell Le St-Gabriel, will feature 345 suites.

Edmonton Journal – Canada Newswire

Renovation and Restoration

Graham Mall gentrification gaining momentum

Two new homegrown retailers have opened in the downtown in time for the Christmas shopping season, and two others who gave the downtown a try over the summer are also giving it another go.  The four are the latest participants in CentreVenture Development Corporation’s two-year-old Pop Up Shop Hop (PUSH) program.

Winnipeg Free Press

Infrastructure

Why does the Alberta government reject PPPs?

Several groups are urging the Alberta government to be transparent and explain why it is turning it back on public-private partnerships. The government finished a review of P3s in the spring, but decided not to make the report public.

CBC

Private infrastructure bank is not in the public interest

The advisory council on economic growth chaired by Dominic Barton has proposed to federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau the creation of an independent Canadian Infrastructure Development Bank (CIDB) to help finance $200-billion of public infrastructure projects over the next decade.

Globe and Mail

New airport terminal showcases Calgary through art, retail and design

In the departures hall of Calgary International Airport’s new international terminal, three metal pine trees tower nearly 11 metres high. Beneath their boughs, three interactive robot animals — a beaver, an owl, and a marmot — move their heads and tails, the marmot even popping down into a hole when observers get too close.

Calgary Herald

Human Resources

Joe Aguiar Joins Greenwin Inc. as VP, Commercial

Greenwin Inc. announced that veteran commercial real estate professional Joe Aguiar has joined the family owned-and-operated property management firm to oversee the strategic direction, management and growth of the company’s commercial platform.

Canada Newswire

Other

	RENX has surpassed 9,430 Twitter followers
	Follower GVG Real Estate Development is an Ottawa based firm combining years of professional home construction and real estate investing experience.
	Follow RENXca, the most comprehensive news feed on Twitter for Canadian real estate professionals.