Uber to open engineering hub in Toronto

Uber to open engineering hub in Toronto

Uber is doubling down on its autonomous research efforts and investing in a research hub positioned to reduce the likelihood of future accidents. The San Francisco-based company announced Thursday it is expanding its Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) in Toronto and opening a new engineering lab — its first in Canada. Uber says it plans to spend $200 million Cdn on the Toronto hub over the next five years.

CBC – CTV

Oxford raises Investa offer, topping Blackstone

A unit of Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System sweetened its bid for Australian property company Investa Office Fund to $3.27 billion Cdn, escalating a bidding war with Blackstone Group LP. The Canadian pension fund’s Oxford Properties Group real estate unit raised its bid to $5.24 a share, topping Blackstone’s latest $5.16 offer, according to a statement Thursday. Investa Office shares were unchanged at $5.18 at 3:10 p.m. in Sydney.

Bloomberg – Australian Financial Review

Holloway Lodging to build residential towers in Ottawa

Holloway Lodging Corp.‘s (HLC-T) plan to build residential towers in Ottawa is a departure from the sector in which the company made its name, but that doesn’t mean it is making a significant shift in focus. The proposal for Holloway’s West Ottawa property on Carling Avenue, where a Travelodge Hotel currently sits, would take place in two phases. In the first phase, it will build two residential towers.

Property Biz Canada

Zibi building a ‘there there’ in Ottawa, Gatineau

It will take a decade to build-out Ottawa and Gatineau’s massive mixed-use Zibi site, but its developers are already building a live-work-play downtown community. With Phase 1 under construction, Zibi president Jeff Westeinde says there will be homes, retail/professionals, entertainment, offices, public spaces and hotels in place on the 37-acre property within a couple of years.

Property Biz Canada: Part II – Property Biz Canada: Part I

Colliers International acquires Landmark Properties

Leading global commercial real estate services firm Colliers International (CIGI-T) announced the acquisition of Montreal-based Landmark Properties, a market-leading asset advisory services and real estate management firm. Landmark and its team of more than 30 professionals provide a full range of real estate asset advisory services. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Globe Newswire – Property Biz Canada

Agellan REIT exploring strategic alternatives

Agellan Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust (ACR-UN-T) Thursday confirmed it is currently engaged in a formal review process to explore strategic alternatives, which may include a sale of all or substantially all of the assets or units of the REIT. The REIT’s Board of Trustees has engaged RBC Capital Markets and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC as financial advisors.

Business Wire – Property Biz Canada

New industrial space scarce; Victoria market tightens

Greater Victoria’s industrial vacancy rate continues to drop as demand to buy and lease workspace in the region outstrips the pace of new supply. Industrial vacancy fell from 2.4 per cent in 2017 to a decade-low 1.71 in 2018, according to Colliers International’s summer 2018 regional industrial market report. The report said demand from residential and commercial construction, Department of National Defence contracts, technology and manufacturing have all kept demand surging.

Property Biz Canada

Intel opening graphics-chip plant in Toronto

As Intel Corp. (INTC-Q) prepares to battle against Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. in the market for standalone graphics chips, it is setting up shop in a familiar setting: the Toronto region.The multi-national computing giant plans to set up a new engineering lab for graphics processing units, or GPUs, in North York, just south of Markham, where ATI Technologies Inc. became a global GPU-making powerhouse.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required) – Financial Post

Cineplex to bring up to 40 VR installations to Canada

Cineplex Inc. (CGX-T) is partnering with technology company VRstudios Inc. to bring between 30 and 40 virtual reality installations to Canada. The theatre giant says the partnership includes an investment by Cineplex to acquire a significant ownership interest in VRstudios, but did not disclose the financial terms of the deal. Cineplex says the partnership could lay the groundwork for broader expansion of the technology across North America and the globe.

Winnipeg Free Press – Canada Newswire

ATCO expands its global infrastructure portfolio

ATCO (ACO-X-T) Wednesday announced it is further diversifying its extensive portfolio of infrastructure assets and services with an agreement to acquire 40 per cent of Neltume Ports, a leading port operator and developer in South America, for approximately $450 million. Neltume Ports, a subsidiary of Ultramar, operates in 16 port facilities and three stevedoring businesses primarily located in Chile and Uruguay.

Globe Newswire

New subway will transform Vancouver’s Broadway corridor

The new subway line along Vancouver’s Broadway corridor will provide a welcome boost for property owners, but the city’s moratorium on rezonings in the area will tamp down speculation in the area for at least the next two years, commercial brokers say. PM Justin Trudeau, Premier John Horgan and TransLink confirmed the funding for the Broadway subway line extension that would add 5.7 kilometres of track and six stations.

Vancouver Sun – Business In Vancouver

Rona offered to buy Lowe’s Canada years ago: Ex-CEO

Rona Inc. offered to acquire the Canadian operations of Lowe’s, years before it was gobbled up by the American giant, according to an autobiography by the retailer’s former CEO. Robert Dutton said he first offered to buy Rona’s competitor during a meeting with Lowe’s senior management at a restaurant in Old Montreal on July 27, 2011 when they shared the difficulties the hardware chain was having breaking into the Canadian market.

Montreal Gazette

CPPIB, Hermes sell Aldgate House to City Developments

City Developments Limited (CDL) has bought Aldgate House from Hermes Investment Management and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s (CPPIB) London office joint venture. The Singapore-listed real estate company said it bought the 211,000-square-foot office building for $312 million Cdn. In November 2013, Hermes and CPPIB acquired Aldgate House from Railways Pension Trustee Company as part of their 50-50 office joint venture.

IPE Real Assets

Brookfield lands 73,000-sq.-ft. Houston office lease

Brookfield Property Partners (BPY-UN-T)  has completed a 72,903-square-foot lease renewal with Haynes and Boone LLP at LyondellBasell Tower in Houston. The class-A office tower is part of Houston Center, a 4.2 million-square-foot complex in the city’s central business district. Brookfield Properties paid $875 million for the mixed-use centre in late 2017. Spanning 6.5 blocks, Houston Center is the largest property in the city’s central business district.

CP Executive

Brookfield, Fairfield close $1B Multifamily Value Fund

Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (BAM-A-T) and Fairfield Residential marked the final closing on their Brookfield Fairfield U.S. Multifamily Value Add Fund III with total equity commitments raised of $1 billion, another sign of investor demand for U.S. apartments that can be refurbished to boost returns. Launched in December 2016, this is the third multi-family fund managed by Brookfield and Fairfield.

CoStar Group

Market Trends and Research

Montreal port traffic boosted by Canada-EU trade deal

The free trade deal between Canada and the European Union has boosted container shipping and prompted a hiring spree at the docks, Montreal port officials say. The volume moving through the gates of the country’s second largest port jumped 19.7 per cent in July compared to the same month last year, hitting the equivalent of about 147,000 20-foot (six-metre) containers, according to the Maritime Employers Association.

Toronto Star

Real Estate Companies

Firm Capital announces Atlanta mortgage refinancing

Firm Capital American Realty Partners Corp. (FCA-X) Thursday announced the refinancing of its $4.0-million first mortgage loan secured by 120 single-family homes located in Atlanta and provided a positive update regarding the Atlanta Single Family Homes Disposition Program. The company had previously entered into a conditional contract with an unrelated third party to dispose of all 120  homes for an anticipated gross value of approximately $10.6 million.

Canada Newswire – Property Biz Canada

Real Estate Investment Trusts

Inovalis REIT yielding 7.9 per cent

Toronto-based Inovalis REIT (INO.UN-T) holds a portfolio of office properties located in Europe. The REIT currently has an interest in 14 office properties, of which eight properties are located in France and six properties are located in Germany. The weighted average occupancy rate across the 14 properties stood at 96.8 per cent as of June 30.  Inovalis has a diversified tenant composition with 67 tenants from various industries.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Retail

Walmart launches one-hour GTA grocery delivery

Walmart Canada Thursday rolled out one-hour grocery delivery today for customers in parts of the Greater Toronto Area. The discount grocer says it’s partnered with Instacart,, a California-based company, to provide the service. The service will also be available in Winnipeg on Sept. 27 as part of a pilot program between the two companies. Walmart Canada already offers next-day delivery in parts of the GTA.

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

Dollarama enters unfamiliar sales slowdown territory

Dollarama Inc. (DOL-T) is hitting a slow patch. The Montreal-based dollar store, which has gotten investors used to a regular stream of good news, lowered its forecast for comparable store sales this year after a second-straight quarter of below-expectations growth. It now expects sales to rise about 2.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent, down from a previous range of four to five per cent.

Bloomberg – Toronto Star – Canada Newswire

DavidsTea reports $10 million net loss

 DavidsTea (DTEA-Q) reported a $10-million net loss in the first results since founder Herschel Segal took back control of the company’s board. The Montreal-based retailer said Thursday the results for the quarter works out to a loss of 39 cents per share, compared with a $5.6 million, or 22 cent per share, year-over-year loss. Comparable sales were down 14.8 per cent after its product offering “did not resonate with customers.”

CTV – Globe Newswire

Restaurants and Eateries

Tim Hortons reaches agreement with ex-franchisee

The parent company of Tim Hortons says it has reached an agreement with the head of an unsanctioned franchisee group who had his four restaurants seized after he allegedly leaked sensitive corporate news to the media. “Both parties have agreed that Mr. (David) Hughes has left the Tim Hortons business and an agreement was reached that is satisfactory to both parties,” said Restaurant Brands International (QSR-T) spokeswoman Jane Almeida.

CBC – Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Cannabis industry news

Rejected cannabis entrepreneurs facing ironclad leases

Dozens of would-be pot barons may be stuck with long-term leases if their cannabis shop dreams go up in smoke, warns Calgary-based Orange Group Commercial Real Estate. Company president Grant Kosowan said with just weeks to go until cannabis is legalized in Canada, there are growing signs some who had hoped to get in on the ground floor of the booming new sector won’t make the cut.

Vancouver Province

Infrastructure

Edmonton unveils plan for towering new LRT bridge

A large cable-stayed bridge across Yellowhead Trail would reshape Edmonton’s northern skyline based on concept designs released Thursday by city officials. Long spans will be required to get the LRT across the Yellowhead Trail and CN Rail yards, which means 75-metre-tall towers to support the weight. The designs for the proposed northwest leg of Edmonton’s LRT were shared with the community at an open house Thursday evening.

Edmonton Journal – CBC

International

Imax plans 14 new laser theatres in China

Big-screen movie company Imax Corp. has signed a deal to open 14 of its laser theatres in China, a country that has become essential to the success of blockbuster films. Imax signed a deal with Wanying Cinema Line, a subsidiary of a major state-owned developer, which will use the theatres to anchor shopping malls across the country, the company said Tuesday.

Toronto Star

Other

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