Vacant skyscrapers ‘albatross’ for Calgary

Vacant skyscrapers ‘albatross’ for Calgary

Naheed Nenshi was first elected mayor of Calgary in 2010 when the iconic Bow tower was rising to re-top the city’s skyline, new companies were opening their doors, established ones were expanding and luxury retailers were setting up shop. Office vacancy in the city’s bustling core was so tight, “You couldn’t get space downtown for love or money,” Nenshi recalled. 

Financial Post – Property Biz Canada

Vancouver rejects Chinatown tower proposal

A controversial proposal for a new condo building in Chinatown was shot down Tuesday by Vancouver City Council in a vote that also split political parties. Two Non-Partisan Association councillors and one Vision Vancouver councillor supported the 12-storey project by Beedie Development Group, saying they couldn’t reject the project’s promise of social housing and community space for seniors.

Globe and Mail – CBC – Vancouver Sun – Business In Vancouver

Partners REIT sells Thunder Bay shopping centre

Partners REIT (PAR.UN-T) says it has an unconditional agreement to sell the Thunder Centre retail power centre in Thunder Bay, Ont., for $39.75 million. The buyer was not disclosed in a release sent by Partners to announce the sale. Partners said the sale price “represents a gain on Partners’ current book value of the asset.” 

Property Biz Canada

NADG NNN REIT files prospectus for Canadian IPO

NADG NNN Real Estate Investment Trust has filed a preliminary prospectus in Canada for an initial public offering of trust units worth up to US $50 million. The preliminary prospectus qualifies the distribution of a minimum of US $20 million and a maximum of US $50 million of class-A units, class-I units, and/or class-U units of the REIT at a price of Cdn $10 per class-A unit and class-I unit and US $10 per class-U unit.

Property Biz Canada

NADG unveils redevelopment plans for Agincourt Mall

North American Development Group (NADG) recently presented the initial concepts for the ambitious plans for the redevelopment of Agincourt Mall in Scarborough. Two-thirds of Agincourt Mall’s 26-acre site, is currently a parking lot and NADG’s plan is a mixed-use community with commercial, retail, residential space, and a strong focus on the public realm.   

Newinhomes.com – Urban Toronto – BuzzBuzzNews

Developers call for changes to Ontario rent-control measures

Ontario developers say rent-control measures are too harsh and are already causing builders to cancel apartment construction projects. Jim Murphy, CEO of the Federation of Rental-Housing Providers of Ontario, said representatives have met with Ontario government officials to urge them to remove rent controls on buildings constructed in the future while maintaining the limits on existing properties.

Globe and Mail

Boomers, millennials filling downtown core in Halifax

After decades of unplanned urban sprawl, Halifax is starting to grow smart by “filling in the missing teeth” in the downtown core and building out from there — just as planned. Bill MacAvoy, managing director of the commercial real estate company Cushman and Wakefield, said Halifax is joining the global trend of “repatriation to the core.”

Halifax ChronicleHerald

Sun, Province vacate downtown for East Vancouver

The Vancouver Sun, The Province and 24 Hrs have set up shop in East Vancouver, joining one of Vancouver’s burgeoning employment zones that the city hopes will expand by nearly 20,000 jobs in the next two decades. By mid-May, all of the publications’ staff were working in a 29,000-square-foot space at the Broadway Tech Centre near Renfrew Street and East Broadway.

Vancouver Sun

CBRE buying majority stake in Caledon Capital

CBRE Group, Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase a majority interest in Toronto-based Caledon Capital Management Inc., an investment management business specializing in private infrastructure and private equity investments. Caledon manages about US $7 billion in assets for institutional investors through a combination of direct investments, co-investments, secondaries and primary funds.

CoStar Group – CP Executive – Nasdaq

Firm Capital JVs on U.S. multi-family portfolio

Firm Capital American Realty Partners Corp. (FCA-X) announced an affiliate of its asset manager has entered into a conditional agreement to acquire a 50 per cent ownership interest with a NYC-based real estate owner and operator. The multi-family residential portfolio in Bridgeport, Conn., comprised of 14 buildings and 462 apartment units, has a purchase price of approximately US$30.5 million (US$66,100 per unit).

Canada Newswire – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada

Claridge unveils plans for airport hotel, retirement residence

Alhough Claridge Homes calls to mind high-rise condos and new-built suburban homes, the Ottawa family-owned residential developer is continuing to diversify its portfolio with a new retirement residence and eventual hotel on a plot of land near the airport. The eight-storey retirement residence would contain 145 units, with an accompanying hotel of comparable size anticipated for a later date.

Ottawa Business Journal

Montreal approves Devimco’s mixed-use project

A mixed-use redevelopment plan that could radically alter the urban landscape at the former site of the Montreal Children’s Hospital is one step closer to becoming reality. The city’s executive committee gave the go-ahead for Devimco‘s contentious $400-million project, which includes six towers of residential and social housing, a park, a municipal library, offices, stores and a hotel.

CBC – Canada Newswire – Property Biz Canada

Sears Canada raises doubts about future, seeks buyer

Ailing Sears Canada (SCC-T) has raised “significant” doubt it can continue as a going concern and is looking at a possible sale or restructuring of its operations. The retailer said Tuesday it has hired BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. as its financial adviser and Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP as its legal adviser to look at alternatives.

Globe and Mail – CBC – Financial Post – Fortune

Neiman Marcus abandons hope of sale to HBC

Reuters – Reuters

Brookfield acquires interest in downtown L.A. asset

A private equity fund of Brookfield (BAM.A-T), Los Angeles’ biggest landlord, acquired an interest in California Market Center, a 1.8 million-square-foot property in the Fashion District of downtown Los Angeles, as part of a JV with Jamison Properties. According to Yardi Matrix, Brookfield acquired the controlling interest in the property for $582 million Cdn.

CP Executive

Real Estate Companies

Home Capital naysayers squeezed

Home Capital Group Inc.’s (HCG-T) stock has crumbled after a regulator alleged executives misled investors, so you might expect short sellers would be pouncing on the Canadian stock. But bets against it have plunged in recent weeks as the bearish arguments slammed into a wall of economic reality: the Toronto-based company is probably too costly to short. 

Bloomberg – Financial Post

Starlight files final prospectus for fund

Starlight U.S. Multi-Family (No. 1) Value-Add Fund announced it has received expressions of interest and commitments that in the aggregate exceed US$56 million and has obtained a receipt for a final prospectus for an IPO. The final prospectus qualifies the distribution of a minimum of US$56 million.

Canada Newswire

Ottawa broker takes ownership stake of Proveras

A commercial real estate firm specializing in tenant representation has brought one of Ottawa’s more experienced brokers on board as a new partner. Proveras Commercial Realty announced 30-year industry veteran Bruce Wolfgram has joined the company. Wolfgram had spent the past 7 1/2 years as vice-president of tenant representation at another locally owned brokerage, Primecorp Commercial Realty.

Ottawa Business Journal

REOC Financial Reports

Latest financial results:

* Romspen Mortgage Investment Fund, Canada Newswire

Real Estate Investment Trusts

CT REIT announces offering of unsecured debentures

CT Real Estate Investment Trust (CRT.UN-T) announced it has agreed to issue, on an agency basis, $175 million aggregate principal amount of series E senior unsecured debentures with a 10-year term and a coupon of 3.469% per annum  of CT REIT. The debenture offering is being made under CT REIT’s short form base shelf prospectus dated April 5, 2017.  

Canada Newswire

D.C. region dramatically grows number of REITs

Just five years ago, we tracked only 10 locally based public REITs. The Washington Business Journal List now numbers 21. That list includes Hospitality Investors Trust Inc. (public but not traded), which changed its name from American Realty Capital Hospitality Trust Inc. upon receiving the first part of a $400 million investment from Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (BAM.A-T) in March. 

Washington Business Journal

Slate Retail announces increase in term loan

Slate Retail REIT (SRT.U-T), an owner and operator of U.S. grocery-anchored real estate, announced it has increased its existing term loan and revolving credit facility each by $70 million for an additional $140 million. The increase in the term loan and revolving credit facility further enhance the REIT’s liquidity and provides flexibility to capitalize on future acquisition and redevelopment opportunities. 

Marketwired

SmartREIT announces new credit facilities

SmartREIT (SRU.UN-T) announced it has entered into an agreement with a syndicate of Canadian financial institutions for a new unsecured credit facility totalling $500 million with an accordion option for up to an additional $250 million. The new credit facility replaces the existing $350-million unsecured credit facility maturing in September 2017 and has a five-year term maturing on May 31, 2022. 

Marketwired – Motley Fool – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada

Retail

Liquor Stores’ vote-buying scheme attacked

The controversial practice of paying brokers to solicit proxy votes from their clients, but only paying them if the management nominees are elected as directors, is now before the Alberta Securities Commission. It is the latest step in the proxy battle at Calgary-based Liquor Stores NA (LIQ-T ) where the dissident group led by Toronto-based PointNorth Capital filed an application.

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

Gymboree files for bankruptcy, to close stores

Children’s clothing retailer Gymboree has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it attempts to escape from a crushing amount of debt. The retailer will seek to eliminate more than $900 million of debt from its balance sheet and will also close at least 375 stores, according to the filings.

Forbes – Globe and Mail

Other

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