Ontario all aboard high speed rail project

Ontario all aboard high speed rail project

High-speed rail is finally picking up steam in Ontario. After years of talk, the provincial government Friday committed $15 million for a “comprehensive environmental assessment” for a rail line on new and existing track to handle 250 km/h trains running between Toronto and Windsor. The estimated $21-billion project would slash the travel time from four hours to two.

Toronto Star – CBC – Globe and Mail

Montreal’s financial sector tested by pull of TO

The 2,250 delegates from 80 countries who arrived in Montreal for this week’s Global Public Transport Summit landed at an airport plagued by logistical bottlenecks. They took cabs along an expressway so decrepit it is literally crumbling. Once downtown, they navigated an obstacle course of orange pylons testifying to an aging infrastructure in a chronic state of disrepair.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Longueuil seeks $3B in downtown investment

Longueuil plans to have a major new downtown by 2035 that will be built around its existing Metro station. “It’s the type of project that comes only once in a lifetime,” Longueuil mayor Caroline St-Hilaire told a business audience at the Montreal Board of Trade’s recent Strategic Forum on Major Real Estate Projects.

Property Biz Canada

Vancouver’s Lightworks Building: Old is new again

What’s old is becoming new again in Vancouver’s upwardly trending Mt. Pleasant neighbourhood. And a new development by PC Urban Properties will soon be a shining beacon for the revitalization of a once heavily industrialized neighbourhood that is rich in the city’s history.

Property Biz Canada

Stanford North taking shape in Surrey

An ambitious plan by Vancouver developer Lark Group to transform Surrey’s former Whalley area into what has been called a “Stanford University-type” medical research hub is gaining serious traction. Lark, with partner Dayhu Group, has sold out the first of eight office towers it has planned for its Health and Technology District.

Business In Vancouver

Vancouver’s False Creek Flats poised for office boom

Fifteen years after Finning International Inc. left the flats of False Creek, bequeathing 18.6 acres of its property on Great Northern Way to UBC, Simon Fraser University, the British Columbia Institute of Technology and the Emily Carr University of Art and Design, the area is finally coming into its own as the office hub it was long intended to be. 

Business In Vancouver

New European Commercial REIT buys second property

Maple Knoll Capital founder Phillip Burns and CAPREIT president and CEO Tom Schwartz are the driving forces behind the new European Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust, formed to aggregate assets in European markets. The REIT, formerly capital pool company European Commercial Real Estate Ltd., has a “non-prime core” investment strategy.

Property Biz Canada

‘Banner year’ ahead for Ottawa CRE transactions; CBRE

The commercial real estate investment market in the National Capital is poised for a “banner year” in 2017, according to the CBRE Ottawa Market Outlook. But many building owners – or purchasers — in the city will have some work ahead to capitalize on Ottawa’s large and rapidly growing tech sector.

Property Biz Canada

REIT problems go beyond Home Capital woes

As the fate of Home Capital Group Inc (HCG-T) hangs in the balance, investors are finding another way to play Canada’s potential housing slump: bet against REITs. The iShares S&P/TSX Capped REIT Index ETF has fallen 3.1 per cent since April 19 — steeper than the benchmark gauge’s 1.7 per cent decline — when regulators accused Home Capital of misleading investors.

Bloomberg

Number of gas stations grows nationally

The number of gasoline stations in Canada grew for the second consecutive year in 2016 after a 10-year decline that resulted in the loss of one in five outlets. The Kent Group’s annual census showed a net increase of 15 outlets in 2016, taking the total to almost 12,000 or about three stations for every 10,000 people. Just over 100 stations were added in 2015.

Western Investor

‘Quick wins’ can elevate your class-B buildings

Modern data-driven technologies mean owners of class-B buildings no longer need to rely on “one-size-fits-all” solutions to engineer significant improvements in their properties. That was the message when influencers in the green economy gathered at Conflux Canada forum May 10 in Ottawa.

Property Biz Canada

Retailers forced to step up e-commerce game

Canadian retailers are getting serious about selling stuff over the internet. You can thank Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN-Q). After years in which e-commerce seemed like an afterthought for many Canadian stores, more and more retailers are making the pricey investments in online shopping platforms that are needed to attend to a vast and sparely populated country. 

Bloomberg – Bloomberg

Feds seek to put infrastructure cash into flood mitigation

The federal Liberals are looking to push more of the billions they plan to spend on infrastructure in the next decade directly into flood mitigation, hoping to avoid repeats of disasters in Quebec and Ontario this month. Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi said the idea the Liberals will promote is to spend over and above the $2 billion already set aside.

Globe and Mail

Teachers’ fears interference at Infrastructure Bank

Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is raising strong concerns over the independence of the proposed Canada Infrastructure Bank, warning it could be vulnerable to political interference unless changes are made. Andrew Claerhout, who leads the infrastructure-investment division of the Teachers’ board, suggests changes to the $35-billion bank that would soften cabinet’s power to fire the bank CEO and its directors. 

Globe and Mail (Subscription required) – Daily Commercial News

U.S. retailers eager to save NAFTA

The largest U.S. retail associations called on new Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to support the North American Free Trade Agreement. Leaders of the American Apparel & Footwear Association, the National Retail Federation, Retail Industry Leaders Association and U.S. Fashion Industry Association sent a letter to Lighthizer on Tuesday urging him to tread lightly on the 23-year-old pact.

Bloomberg

Featured Column

Three questions to ask when leasing industrial

Even the most seasoned tenant can miss some pretty vital points when investigating new space. It’s certainly more challenging for new businesses that have never occupied commercial real estate before. Here are a few tips to look out for.

The Saskatchewan Edge

Market Trends and Research

Office vacancies surge in British capital

Modern office buildings are all the rage in central London, with a swath of companies including UBS Group AG moving into new premises. The problem for landlords is finding someone to replace them. The overall office vacancy rate climbed to 5.8 per cent at the end of the first quarter from 3.9 percent a year earlier, the biggest increase since 2009.

Bloomberg

Retaining office tenants in transitional times

The trends shaping office tenant retention suggest a period of transition ahead. Fundamentals now favour landlords, but the balance of power in many major markets is gradually shifting to tenants. Tenants also tend to value a property’s appeal to their workers more highly than amenities, contends Steve Purpura, executive managing partner & Northeast market leader for Transwestern.

CP Executive

Global Awards: U.S. RE to benefit under Trump

The U.S. real estate sector is set to benefit under the presidency of Donald Trump, according to a group of investors and managers gathered at this year’s IPE Real Estate Global Conference & Awards in Munich. A straw poll of delegates at the conference was split over the question. 53.8 per cent of delegates believe Trump’s actions would drive growth.

IPE Real Estate – IPE Real Estate – IPE Real Estate – IPE Real Estate

Real Estate Companies

Home Capital garners some Bay Street support

Even as Home Capital Group Inc (HCG-T) issues warnings about the company’s future, a growing number of financial firms, brokers and money managers are backing the company. “Home Capital does have a very loyal following,” said Gary Mauris, president of Dominion Lending Centres, Canada’s largest mortgage brokerage and the biggest provider of clients for Home Capital. 

Bloomberg – Bloomberg – Winnipeg Free Press – Toronto Star

Brookfield buys big with TA Realty portfolios

Brookfield-sponsored private equity funds have purchased a 37-asset, 7.6 million-square-foot national logistics portfolio and a nine-asset, 1.1 million-square-foot diversified office portfolio from TA Realty LLC for a total of $854.5 million. The transactions include assets across 12 states in key metro areas including Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and Washington. JLL’s Capital Markets experts completed the sales and secured $475.5 million in acquisition financing.

PRNewswire – CP Executive

Silvershore now trying to sell 57 buildings

An even larger chunk of Silvershore Properties’ New York City real estate holdings is up for grabs. The NoMad-based landlord had been looking to sell 44 of its nearly 100 rental buildings across the city in March. The firm has now added more properties to the portfolio, bringing the total to 57 buildings spanning 430,615 square feet, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

The Real Deal

Trivago getting lift from alternative accommodations

Trivago NV (TRVG-Q) is benefiting from a surge in the listing of alternative accommodations, even as hotel referrals generate the lion’s share of sales, CEO Rolf Schromgens said, after the company reported a 68 per cent jump in quarterly revenue.

Reuters

REOC Financial Reports

Latest financial results:

* Starlight U.S. Multi-Family (No. 5) Core Fund, (STUS.A-X), Canada Newswire 

REIT Financial Reports

Real Estate Investment Trusts

Dream’s interest in Dream Office has increased

Dream Unlimited Corp. (DRM-T) announced its interest in Dream Office REIT (D.UN-T) is deemed to have increased as a result of the deemed acquisition by Michael Cooper of 1,375 REIT units, Series A of Dream Office REIT, representing less than 0.01 per cent of the issued and outstanding units, pursuant to the vesting of the same number of deferred trust units under Dream Office REIT’s Deferred Unit Incentive Plan.  

Marketwired

It’s time to buy Killam Apartment

Killam Apartment REIT (KMP.UN-T) is stable, offering investors a generous 4.93 per cent yield and the comfort of not being exposed to frothy hotspots in an overheated Canadian housing market. Most of Killam REIT’s earnings come from the Maritimes, which appears a safe and stable market is insulated from the risky hotspots that may be on the brink of collapse. 

Motley Fool

A compelling reason to invest in RioCan

There are plenty of minor reasons to avoid RioCan REIT (REI.UN-T), but there is one compelling reason to invest: RioCan’s payout, unchanged in four years, is set to rise. Canada’s largest REIT, which focuses on shopping centres, has long been a go-to name for dividend-loving investors. Since early 2013, the payout hasn’t budged from an annualized distribution of $1.41 per unit. 

Globe and Mail (Subscription required) – Motley Fool

U.S. REIT FFO rises 8.1 per cent

US REITs’ aggregate funds from operations posted a 3.9% decline in the first quarter from 2016’s strong quarterly finish, but posted a more substantial year-over-year gain. The mixed results on FFO were offset by gains in other operating metrics, including NOI and occupancy. NAREIT’s latest Total REIT Industry Tracker Series report shows Q1 FFO totaling $14.3 billion, up 8.1% Y-O-Y.

GlobeSt.com

Legal Corner

Van. developer used investor dollars to pay mortgage

A Vancouver developer has been ordered to pay back investor dollars he used to finance his own mortgage, according to documents released by the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC). Brendan James Schouw, director of Hornby Residences Ltd., was found to have solicited  $1 million from an investor in 2009 to finance the Artemisia  development that never broke ground.

CBC – Vancouver Sun – Canada Newswire

Retail

Wal-Mart’s digital sales jump 63 per cent

Wal-Mart‘s (WMT-N) U.S. business is thriving as aggressive pricing helped bring more shoppers into stores, while efforts to expand its digital business are paying off in robust growth. Wal-Mart’s e-commerce sales rose a whopping 63 percent, compared with 29 percent growth last quarter. Despite making a number of acquisitions, the majority of these sales were organic through Walmart.com.

CNBC – Bloomberg – CNBC

Target CEO sees market opportunity in retail’s carnage

Target (TGT-N) CEO Brian Cornell said the turmoil ripping through the retail industry could provide a big opportunity. As competitors close more stores, Cornell believes between $45 billion and $60 billion in consumer spending will be up for grabs over the next three years. As a result, Target is in the process of a $7-billion effort to spruce up its stores. 

Fortune

Infrastructure

Bay Street takes new run at Hydro One offering

Investment banks that underwrote Hydro One Ltd.’s (H-T) $2.8-billion equity sale are taking a second stab at selling a large chunk of the shares after investors balked at the initial deal. Last week, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal government announced the bought-deal offering, selling 120 million shares at $23.25 apiece and reducing its stake to 49.9 per cent.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Human Resources

Marc Seaman to be named new NCC chair

A local Microsoft executive appears to be the federal government’s choice for the next National Capital Commission chairman. Marc Seaman, the chair of the Shaw Centre, is expected to be named to the job vacated by Russ Mills at the end of April.

CBC

Other

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