Sidewalk Labs unveils plans for timber towers

Sidewalk Labs unveils plans for timber towers

Torontonians are learning more from a Google sister company about heated, illuminated roadways, wooden skyscrapers and other innovations proposed for the Quayside district. What Sidewalk Labs won’t shine more light on, at least for now, are protections for data security, privacy and ownership — concerns that have dogged internationally watched plans to build a sensor-laden, 12-acre live-work-shop “Smart City” district on Toronto’s waterfront.

Toronto Star – Globe and Mail – Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Ontario housing market major boon for CAPREIT

Canadian Apartment Properties, one of the largest landlords in the country, said the booming housing market in Ontario is helping to lift rents as consumers are driven out of home ownership because of affordability. “Clearly the (Greater Toronto Area) is the strongest,” Mark Kenney, chief operating officer of CAPREIT (CAR-UN-T), told Bay St. analysts on a Q2 results conference call.

CoStar Group

Brookfield to build Toronto’s Bay Adelaide Centre North tower

Brookfield Property Partners L.P. (BPY-UN-T) says it will commence development of the third and final office tower of Bay Adelaide Centre in downtown Toronto. Scotiabank has signed a commitment to lease 420,000 square feet – approximately 51 per cent of the building – for 15 years as the anchor tenant of Bay Adelaide Centre North.

Property Biz Canada

Hollyburn purchases Vancouver’s Shorehill Building

Hollyburn Properties Limited has purchased the Shorehill Building at 1155 W. Pender St. in Vancouver and will move its head office there in early 2020. The seven-storey, 83,068-square-foot Shorehill Building was acquired by the Vancouver-based property management, real estate investment and purpose-built rental development company for an undisclosed price in an off-market transaction.

Property Biz Canada

Bayview Hospitality proposes ByWard Market Hampton Inn

Another prominent hotel chain is planning to add to Ottawa’s ByWard Market’s stable of accommodations with a new lodging near the Andaz Hotel. Toronto-based Bayview Hospitality Group has submitted a planning application to build a 17-storey, 224-room hotel at 116 York St. under the Hampton Inn by Hilton banner. A surface parking lot currently occupies the site.

Ottawa Business Journal

The People Space: New execs at CT REIT, RBC real estate, AY Montreal

Lesley Gibson will take over as chief financial officer at CT Real Estate Investment Trust (CRT-UN-T) when its current CFO, Louis Forbes, retires later this year. Forbes has served in the position since CT REIT’s initial public offering in 2013. During his tenure, CT REIT has increased its distribution four times and has delivered a total return to unitholders of more than 70 per cent.

The People Space

Constellation Brands to invest $5B in Canopy Growth

Constellation Brands (STZ-N) has signed a deal to invest $5 billion in Canopy Growth Corp. (WEED-T) to increase its stake in the marijuana company to 38 per cent — marking a record strategic investment in the cannabis space. As part of the deal, the global producer of beer, wine and spirits will make Canopy its exclusive global cannabis partner, while Canopy intends to use the cash to further ramp up its global expansion.

CTV – Canada Newswire – Business Insider

Edmonton gives up on Centre Line LRT bridge over river, for now

Edmonton’s Centre Line LRT is likely two decades away from being built, but on Tuesday city councillors agreed the train should go down Whyte Avenue all the way to the University LRT Station. In the initial design, released in February, the line went to 112th Street then headed north across the North Saskatchewan River and connected to the Valley Line west LRT at 102nd Avenue downtown.

CBC

Avison Young remains focused on U.S. expansion

By and large, this year has been a rough one for U.S. middle market firms. However, middle-market focused Avison Young is, by their executives’ accounts, thriving. The Toronto-based brokerage’s New York office has grown from 80 to 130 people in just three years, with 35 of those coming aboard since earlier this year when James Nelson ditched Cushman & Wakefield to head Avison Young’s New York metro area investment sales.

Commercial Observer

Rising interest rates creating headwinds for Home Capital

Home Capital Group Inc. (HCG-T) is feeling the sting as rising interest rates make it more expensive to raise term deposits, putting pressure on a key source of funding as the alternative mortgage lender continues to recover from a liquidity crisis last year. The company’s Q2 financial results show it is gradually increasing the pace at which it issues new mortgages as it seeks to rebuild a diminished loan book.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required) – Bloomberg – Home Capital Group media release

SNC-Lavalin faces ‘new level of risk’ in Saudi feud

Canada’s diplomatic clash with Saudi Arabia is threatening a key pillar of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc.’s (SNC-T) growth plan. The Montreal-based builder gained additional exposure to the kingdom with its two biggest acquisitions, the 2014 purchase of Ireland’s Kentz Corp. and last year’s deal for WS Atkins of the U.K. SNC CEO Neil Bruce is counting on the Middle East in order to increase profit more than 50 per cent by 2020.

Bloomberg

The top 10 biggest real estate projects coming to NYC

Manhattan dominated the list of New York City’s top 10 largest real estate projects in July. The borough took four of the top 10 spots, including the number one spot thanks to Marx Development Group’s roughly 213,000-square-foot hotel and retail project at 450 11th Avenue in Hudson Yards. The development will be 43 stories tall and contain 531 residential units.

The Real Deal

Trump forcing HNA to sell NYC office tower: Report

HNA has already sold more than $17 billion in assets in 2018, but that may not be fast enough for the U.S. government, which is now said to have given the Chinese conglomerate an ultimatum to sell off its 90 per cent stake in a Manhattan office tower. The shotgun sell-off of 850 Third Ave  adds to pressure on HNA which just last week raised around $332 million by selling Radisson Hotels AB.

Mingtiandi

U.S. toughens criteria for some foreign investment

International real estate investors could have another hoop to jump through with President Donald Trump signing into law the National Defense Authorization Act. The new law contains the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018, which strengthens and modernizes the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. The reforms in that section are what potentially open more real estate deals to federal review.

CoStar Group

The South’s tallest tower targets techies

It’s not easy to overlook a 1,023-foot-tall tower on Peachtree Street in Atlanta as the technology community seemed to do with Bank of America Plaza. In the past decade, the 55-storey building, by far the tallest office tower in the U.S. South, lost its lustre and several key tenants as other parts of Midtown Atlanta blossomed into Atlanta’s hottest market.

CoStar Group

Real Estate Companies

Parkit announces sale of Florida JV asset

Parkit Enterprise Inc. (PKT-X) announced one of the single-purpose entities held by OP Holdings JV LLC has sold Terra Park, its parking facility located in Jacksonville, Fla. Terra Park was bought by the joint venture in 2015 for US$6.4 million (consisting of an equity investment of US$2.4 million), and was sold for US $6.83 million plus an additional sum of US$750,000 paid in equal monthly installments over one year.

Canada Newswire

Shopping mall bear Alder Hill doubles down

Alder Hill Management, a hedge-fund manager known for wagering on the demise of the weakest American malls, is raising the stakes, betting some of the hardest-hit shopping centers are in a death spiral. This more aggressive stance is an example of how some bearish investors are becoming bolder in these risky bets against shopping malls, defying a recent pick up among certain brick-and-mortar retailers and shares of mall owners.

Toronto Star

REOC Financial Reports

Latest financial results:

* Canopy Growth  Corp., (WEED-T), Canada Newswire

* Dream Unlimited Corp., (DRM-T), Globe Newswire

* Dundee Corp., (DC-A-T), Globe Newswire

* Genesis Land Development Corp., (GDC-T), Canada Newswire

* Great Canadian Gaming  Corp., (GC-T), Canada Newswire

* Invesque Inc., (IVQ-U-T), Canada Newswire

* Trez Capital Mortgage Investment Corp., (TZZ-T), Canada Newswire

* Trez Capital Senior Mortgage Investment Corp., (TZS-T), Canada Newswire

REIT Financial Reports

Latest financial results:

* Agellan Commercial REIT, (ACR-UN-T), Business Wire

* Automotive Properties REIT, (APR-UN-T), Canada Newswire

* BSR REIT, (HOM-U-T), Canada Newswire

* InterRent REIT, (IIP-UN-T), Globe Newswire

* Minto Apartment REIT, (MI-UN-T), Canada Newswire

Real Estate Investment Trusts

REIT an absolute Dream for long-term investors

There are few investments in the market right now that can draw as much attention from me as the changing face of REITs. Dream Office REIT (D-UN-T) in particular is one REIT that continues to pique my interest despite first realizing the opportunity the stock posed well over a year ago. Since then, that opportunity has remained, and in some ways is greater than before.

Motley Fool – Globe Newswire – Property Biz Canada

Maplewood receives nod to dispose of sole property

Unitholders of Maplewood International REIT (MWI-UN-X) have approved a plan to dispose off its sole property in the Netherlands. The approval was obtained by the REIT via a resolution that was passed at a special meeting on Monday.

REITsWeek – Globe Newswire

Raymond James analyst lowers SmartCentres’ rating

Though its second-quarter financial results fell largely in-line with expectations, Raymond James analyst Ken Avalos lowered his rating for SmartCentres REIT (SRU-UN-T) to “sector perform” from “outperform,” citing both the recent performance of its stock and slower same property net operating income growth than its peers. The Vaughan, Ont.-based REIT reported second-quarter funds from operations of 57 cents per unit, excluding $1 million in CEO severance fees.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required) – Property Biz Canada

Retail

Higher grocery store prices coming, Metro warns

Canadian grocery giant Metro Inc. (MRU-T) is already facing pressure from suppliers to accept higher prices in light of a recent tariff war with the United States and consumers should expect slightly higher food bills in the future, its CEO said Wednesday. “We’re starting to get demands from some suppliers who are, whose products will be, affected by the new tariffs,” Eric La Fleche said during a conference call with analysts Wednesday.

Financial Post – Globe and Mail (Subscription required) – Canada Newswire

Home Depot’s second-quarter sales rebound, shares rise

Home Depot Inc.’s profit and revenue topped estimates on Tuesday despite signs of a slowdown in the housing market, boosted by a rebound in demand for seasonal products and as shoppers spent more to remodel their homes. The No. 1 U.S. home improvement chain also raised its earnings and revenue forecasts for the year.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required) – Canada Newswire

Cannabis industry news

Ontario to allow private retailers to sell cannabis

Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government announced Monday it will allow recreational pot to be sold in retail stores while the province will handle online sales. Minister of Finance Vic Fedeli and Attorney General Caroline Mulroney laid out the government’s plan for a hybrid system in an announcement at Queen’s Park, stressing their priorities would be ensuring public safety and eliminating the black market.

CBC – CBC – Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Drugstores, in-store pharmacies push for right to sell

A number of drugstores and major retailers with in-store pharmacies want to start selling medical and recreational cannabis but some of their own regulatory bodies are opposed to the idea. A tangle of rules currently prevent them from selling recreational and medical cannabis, prompting some to press governments across Canada to open up the market to them as legalization of recreational marijuana approaches.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Infrastructure

Mid-year container volumes up at Port of Vancouver

Cargo movement percentages are still increasing at the Port of Vancouver despite uncertainties in the shipping industry. The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority released its 2018 mid-year statistics for goods moving through Port of Vancouver which showed overall cargo movement is up 4.4 per cent to 72.1 million metric tonnes over the same time last year, reaching record mid-year volumes.

Business In Vancouver

Other

The Forks earns CSLA Legacy Project Award

The Forks, Winnipeg’s foremost destination, has won the Legacy Project Award (2018) from the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA). Located at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, the Forks has been a meeting place for over 6,000 years. Indigenous peoples traded at The Forks, followed by European fur traders, Scottish settlers, railway pioneers and tens of thousands of immigrants.

REMI Network

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