TD joins other banks seeking TO office space

TD joins other banks seeking TO office space

Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD-T) is looking for up to 550,000 square feet of office space in Toronto, following the lead of other lenders that have snapped up additional real estate in North America’s fourth-largest city. TD is rethinking its office needs and studying various options, issuing a request for information on space available about six months ago, spokeswoman Alicia Johnston said. 

Bloomberg

Edmonton tower could be W. Canada’s tallest

A new 80-storey tower approved Wednesday for The Quarters could set a record for height in Western Canada and the clock is now ticking for construction. It passed 7-5 — with those in favour celebrating the coming change to Edmonton’s skyline. Alldritt Group has 10 years to start construction before the zoning expires.

Edmonton Journal – Global News – CBC

PC Urban a fan of stacked industrial buildings

With residential, office and even retail buildings going vertical due to limited land in many cities, the next step may be to do the same thing with light industrial projects. “We’re terribly excited about it and we’re all in . . .” said Brent Sawchyn, principal of Vancouver-based PC Urban Properties Corp.

Property Biz Canada

Slate spends $165M for Toronto, Fredericton offices

Slate Office REIT (SOT.UN-T) has completed the acquisition of three office properties in Toronto and Fredericton for a total purchase price of $165 million. Among the properties is the three-building West Metro Corporate Centre in Etobicoke along the Highway 427 corridor.

Property Biz Canada

Edmonton City Centre mall getting a revamp

After successfully moving both its food courts out of the basement last year, the Edmonton City Centre mall now wants to ramp up the facility’s outside sex appeal. A major Shoppers Drug Mart offering groceries is scheduled to open next March, Olympia Trencevski, general manager of the Edmonton downtown portfolio for Oxford Properties Group, said Tuesday.

Edmonton Journal

Fortress receives grant to help build Winnipeg’s tallest tower

The Toronto-area firm hoping to build Winnipeg’s tallest building has secured a $6.5-million city grant that replaces tax rebates no longer on the table because the developer missed a construction deadline. City council voted to offer Fortress Real Developments an economic-incentive grant worth up to $650,000 a year for 10 years after the developer completes SkyCity Centre.

CBC – Western Investor

Toronto school board, charity build $70M ‘community hub’

The Toronto Catholic District School Board and Villa Charities are teaming up to create a $70-million “intergenerational community hub” along Lawrence Ave. in the city’s North York district. Announced on Friday, the partnership will create a new Columbus Centre and Dante Alighieri Academy.

Property Biz Canada

Hamilton moving forward on LRT project

Hamilton agreed to move forward with a highly contentious $1-billion light-rail project after the province promised to work on extending the route. After a series of marathon debates that didn’t reach any conclusions, city councillors in Hamilton finally voted late Wednesday to amend the project’s environmental report and send it on to the province.

Globe and Mail – CBC – CBC – CBC

Winnipeg’s RRC announces Innovation Centre

The announced development of a $95.4-million Innovation Centre at Red River College’s Exchange District Campus is expected to add fuel to the catalytic impact the college has had on the neighbourhood since it opened 14 years ago. The 100,000-square-foot development — which will include the restoration of the five-storey Scott Fruit Company warehouse — will bring another 1,200 students downtown.

Winnipeg Free Press – CBC – Winnipeg Free Press

Withdrawals hitting Home Capital hard

Home Capital Group (HCG-T) has seen a further dwindling in on-demand deposits, giving the company less of a financial buffer and raising more concerns about how long Thursday’s multibillion cash infusion will last the company. Friday, Home Capital said it had $521-million in high interest savings accounts, compared to approximately $814-million a day earlier – a drawdown of $290-million.

Globe and Mail – Bloomberg – Financial Post – Financial Post

Starwood’s acquisition of Milestone closes

Milestone Apartments REIT (MST.UN-T) today announced the closing of the previously announced going private transaction whereby an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group acquired all of Milestone’s subsidiaries and assets, all outstanding trust units of the REIT were redeemed in accordance with certain amendments to Milestone’s Declaration of Trust and the REIT was wound up and terminated. 

Canada Newswire

Sask. premier defends free land for CP

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall is defending his government’s agreement to give Canadian Pacific Railway 300 acres of serviced land at Regina’s Global Transportation Hub for free. Back in 2009, when the deal was signed, CP’s rail yard was  just north of downtown Regina. Wall said the City of Regina made it clear to the province it wanted the rail yard moved.

CBC – CBC

Kit and Ace lays off staff, closes stores

Kit and Ace, the clothing company started by the family of Lululemon founder Chip Wilson, is laying off a number of its head office staff and closing stores in three countries. The layoffs and showroom closures in the U.S., Australia and the U.K. come as the company moves to simplify its business plans and operations.

Vancouver Sun – CBC – Business In Vancouver

Billion-dollar mixed-use project kicks off in D.C.

Hines, Urban Atlantic and Triden Development have teamed up for the construction of The Parks at Walter Reed, a $1-billion mixed-use project in Washington, D.C. The project gets underway as TPWR Developer LLC—a joint venture of Hines, Urban Atlantic and Triden Development Group—breaks ground on the 3.1 million-square-foot transformative undertaking.

CP Executive

U.S. office vacancy rises for first time since 2010

The U.S. office vacancy ticked up 0.1 per cent in the first three months of 2017 to 10.3% marking the first quarterly increase since 2010. Total net absorption in the US office market slipped approximately nine per cent from the same period a year ago as developers added an additional 19 million square feet of new office space across the country.

CoStar Group

Market Trends and Research

Calgary hotels hurt by economic downturn

Fewer tourists visited Calgary last year, leaving hotel rooms sitting empty and some local attractions a bit lonely. Tourism Calgary reported 850,000 fewer visitors last year, down from 8.05 million in 2015 — a 10.5 per cent drop.  Fewer people meant more empty hotel rooms, with occupancy dropping 5.5 percentage points to 58 per cent citywide.

CBC

Real Estate Companies

Cineplex is betting big on eSports

John Bruno, 18, can’t remember the last time he took in a movie at a local theatre, but he is actually a Cineplex (CGX-T) regular. Bruno — or Xotic16, one of the country’s top competitive gamers — is a stone-cold killer in the Call of Duty video game. And Cineplex is quickly becoming a leader in live competitive video gaming. 

Globe and Mail

CPPIB targets new investment avenues in India

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is exploring opportunities in India’s financial services, telecoms and logistics sectors to expand its bets in the South Asian economyAsia Pacific head Suyi Kim said on Wednesday. CPPIB has already poured more than $4 billion into real estate and other investments in the country.

Reuters – Globe and Mail (Subscription required

ReDev receives refinancing for three properties

ReDev Properties Ltd. announced three of its commercial properties have been approved for mortgage refinancing in the first quarter of 2017. Imperial Square in Guelph Ont.; Mall 58 in Calgary; and Parsons Place in Edmonton are working with three different mortgage lenders to secure new refinancing terms resulting in increased savings for the company.

Canada Newswire – Property Biz Canada

Brookfield Office to issue preferred shares

Brookfield Office Properties Inc., a subsidiary of Brookfield Property Partners L.P., (BPY.UN-T) announced it has agreed to issue to a syndicate of underwriters 10 million cumulative minimum rate reset class-AAA preference shares, Series GG. The shares will be issued at a price of $25.00 per share, for aggregate proceeds of $250 million. 

Marketwired

REOC Financial Reports

Latest financial reports:

* European Commercial Real Estate Limited, (ERE-X), Marketwired 

Real Estate Investment Trusts

Summit files final base shelf prospectus

Summit Industrial Income REIT (SMU.UN-T) announced it has filed and obtained a receipt for a final base shelf prospectus. The final base shelf prospectus was filed with securities regulatory authorities in each of the provinces and territories of Canada on April 26 for the purpose of the sale of securities. 

Canada Newswire

Which REIT sector is best?

REITs focus on having a diversified portfolio of assets, and generally spread a large pool of investment over a large number of properties, typically located in diverse geographical and demographic areas. The industrial, residential, and office REIT sectors each have upside and downside for investors,

Motley Fool – Motley Fool

Legal Corner

Retail

Sears Canada eyes groceries, dash buttons

Sears Canada Inc. (SCC-T) is looking to expand its plan to sell organic groceries and build so-called dash buttons to help customers purchase products from home as the retailer looks to reinvent itself. Executive chairman Brandon Stranzl said he expects three to five locations where Sears will give some space to a partner grocer.

Financial Post

Jean Coutu profit affected by generic prices

The Jean Coutu Group (PJC.A-T) hopes Quebec can reach an agreement with generic drug manufacturers to reduce drugs costs without resorting to the tendering of certain medications that will hurt its business. “It’s always best when you have a deal with the players of the industry,” CEO Francois Coutu said during a conference call about its Q4 results. 

Globe and Mail – Marketwired

Amazon revenue soars

Amazon.com Inc‘s (AMZN-Q) retail and cloud-computing sales rose in the first quarter, inching above Wall Street’s expectations and sending the company’s shares to an all-time high in extended trading. The world’s largest online retailer said Thursday net sales rose 23 per cent to $35.7 billion US, just beating analysts’ average estimate.

Reuters – Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Restaurants and Eateries

Starbucks results disappoint

Starbucks Corp‘s (SBUX-Q) new chief executive has a tall order to fill in keeping the world’s biggest coffee chain’s promise to return to historic growth rates amidst stubborn U.S. restaurant and retail slumps. Kevin JohnsonThursday presided over an earnings call where the company cut its full-year profit target on the heels of disappointing second-quarter sales.

Reuters

New Development

BC Lottery Corp. planning new HQ

The BC Lottery Corp. is planning a new Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified headquarters for Kamloops. The government-run casino operator recently issued a request for pre-qualifications from developers with a May 9 deadline to create a shortlist of potential companies to execute the project.

Business In Vancouver

Sports Venues

Mayor seeks Oilers assist with Coliseum facelift

Mayor Don Iveson wants the Edmonton Oilers to be part of a proposal to convert their former home at the Northlands Coliseum into a multi-rink hockey training centre. Hockey Canada wants to build four ice sheets, a 200-metre track, a dryland training area, classrooms and offices in the coliseum.  City officials estimate the scheme would cost at least $102 million.

Edmonton Journal

Infrastructure

Banff’s proposed rail hub a ‘game-changer’

Banff’s historic rail lands are set to be transformed into a mass transportation hub for the town. The goal is to have the heritage train station serve as the arrival and departure point for current and future mass transit options, including regional public transit and shuttles from Calgary.

CBC – Bow Valley Crag & Canyon

Technology

Google brings ‘Wifi’ product north of the border

Google is expanding its physical hardware lineup in Canada with the addition of Google Wifi, a product not only supposed to help people improve their Wi-Fi networks but also one with significant Canadian roots. Google Wifi is essentially a wireless router available in the U.S. since December and launched in the U.K. earlier this month.

Financial Post

Other

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