Loblaw the latest to experience the ‘Amazon effect’

Loblaw the latest to experience the ‘Amazon effect’

Loblaw (L-T) is the latest grocer to commit to offering home delivery. Starting in December, Canada’s No. 1 food retailer is looking to deploy the strategy from coast to coast. It intends to deliver food at home, for a fee of course. Loblaw is just the latest grocer to realize the socioeconomic fundamentals that have supported large big-box stores are weakening rapidly. 

Globe and Mail

Amazon’s cashierless store nearly ready for prime time

For the past year,  Amazon employees have been test driving Amazon Go, an experimental convenience store in downtown Seattle. The idea is to let consumers walk in, pick up items and then pay for them without ever standing in line at a cashier. Amazon is vague on the mechanics, but the store relies on a mobile app and sensing technology.

Bloomberg – CP Executive – The Guardian

Boardwalk plans to add up to 15,000 apartments

Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust (BEI.UN-T) is forging ahead with a new plan to grow its overall portfolio in strategic locations, providing it with more geographic diversification. Boardwalk intends to strategically partner, acquire and/or develop 10,000 to 15,000 apartment units in high-growth, undersupplied markets, while also divesting some of its non-core assets in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

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

H&R REIT to sell 91 U.S. retail, industrial properties

H&R REIT (HR-UN-T) will sell all 79 of its wholly owned U.S. retail properties and its 12 remaining U.S. industrial properties as part of an overall strategic review.  H&R values its U.S. retail assets at about US$750 million and its U.S. industrial properties at about US$145 million.

Property Biz Canada

2017 shaping up as record year for U.S. industrial

Almost any way you look at it, from rising rents and e-commerce-related leasing demand, to strong investment sales and pricing, 2017 is shaping up as possibly the strongest year on record for U.S. industrial real estate. “It’s really hard to find anything negative to say about the current market,” said Rene Circ, director of U.S. research, industrial at CoStar Portfolio Strategy.

CoStar Group – Globe and Mail

Tourism boom boosts bottom line for Vancouver hotels

A booming tourism sector in the first half of 2017 helped boost the bottom line for B.C. hotels which showed higher occupancy rates and increased revenue, according to a new report. At the end of June, occupancy in B.C. hotels increased the equivalent of two percentage points to hit 67.4 per cent over the same period a year ago, according to U.S. hospitality research firm Marcus & Millichap.

Vancouver Sun – Western Investor – CP Executive – Property Biz Canada

Who decides if land is ‘sacred’?

Ktunaxa elder Chris Luke Sr. lives in B.C.’s Purcell Mountains, about 600 kilometres east of Vancouver.  For eight years, the elder’s religious vision has seized the attention of Canada’s top courts, demanding the focus of hundreds of lawyers, judges, civil servants and politicians.

Vancouver Sun

Partnership supports Calgary’s Centre Street businesses

A working relationship developed over the past 10 years between Certus Developments and David Lam of Meiga Development has led to several Calgary projects. Among them is the redevelopment of single-storey retail shops on the east side of Centre Street N. between 8th and 9th avenues. Lam partnered with Certus to buy the whole block with plans to build six storeys of 90 rental units above new retail.

Calgary Herald

Colliers International wins workplace award

Colliers International, (CIGI-T), a global leader in commercial real estate services, received top honours on Nov. 15 at the annual REmmy Awards Gala. The firm walked away with the award for Best Workplace, 5,000 – 50,000 square feet. Colliers International’s newly constructed Canadian headquarters in Toronto was honoured for its people-first approach.

Globe Newswire

Costco coming to Edmonton airport outlet mall

Costco (COST-Q) plans to open a new warehouse store near the Edmonton International Airport  late next year, the retail giant announced Thursday. Construction has already started on what will be the company’s seventh outlet in the Edmonton area, a 150,000-square-foot  facility on the west side of Premium Outlet Collection Edmonton International Airport set to open next spring. It will include a gas station and liquor store. 

Edmonton Journal

HBC to delay deal that would see Rhone Capital buy stake

The Ontario Securities Commission announced on Friday Hudson’s Bay Co. (HBC-T) has agreed to temporarily postpone a deal that would see private equity firm Rhone Capital buy a sizable stake in the retail giant. U.S. activist investor Land & Buildings Investment Management LLC applied for the regulator to review the TSX’s Nov. 7 decision to provide conditional support to New York-based Rhone’s $632-million equity investment. 

Toronto Star

Alibaba spending $2.9B to challenge Walmart in China

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s (BABA-N) $2.9-billion US deal to buy a slice of China’s largest hypermart chain pits it against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT-N) in the world’s largest retail arena. China’s biggest e-commerce company agreed to acquire 36 per cent of Sun Art Retail Group Ltd., which operates about 400 hypermarkets under the Auchan and RT-Mart banners.

Bloomberg – Fortune – Bloomberg

Cold storage becoming hot property investment

The Blackstone Group (BX-N), which reportedly attempted to buy one cold storage warehouse operator earlier this year, has found a willing partner in another. Sioux City, Iowa-based Cloverleaf Cold Storage has agreed to a recapitalization that will see private equity funds affiliated with Blackstone make a majority investment in Cloverleaf alongside the firm’s existing Feiges and Kaplan family shareholders, who will continue to operate the business post-closing. 

CoStar Group

Facebook to add 1.8 million square feet to Los Lunas Data Center

Facebook has expanded plans for the Los Lunas Data Center, currently under construction just outside Albuquerque in Los Lunas, increasing the project size to a total of 2.8 million square feet and the price tag to a whopping $1 billion. The original plan, bolstered by $10 million in Local Economic Development Act financing administered through the New Mexico Economic Development Department, called for a 510,000-square-foot building at a cost of $250 million. 

CP Executive – Santa Fe New Mexican

Global real estate M&A sets record in 2017

Mergers and acquisitions of real estate companies have hit record levels in 2017. Through Nov. 15, more than 3,300 real estate deals were announced worth $387 billion US. They account for 12.1 per cent of the total global M&A market by value, according to data compiled by Thomson Reuters. Each figure is a year-to-date record, eclipsing marks set in 2007 on the eve of the financial crisis when there were 2,500 deals worth $380 billion.

Business Insider

Market Trends and Research

Top five current CRE lending industry issues

In an already stringent lending environment, banks further tightened standards for commercial real estate loans this year. CRE transactions and lending have slowed, along with new multifamily construction, though the pace of office and industrial development has increased. Signs point to a flattening of growth in 2018. Lending patterns may shift towards secondary and tertiary markets and more manageable small and mid-size deals.

GlobeSt.com

Winnipeg taking fresh approach to CRE listings

Winnipeg has a new multiple listing service dedicated to commercial real estate properties, and industry officials predict it could help attract new investment to the city. The commercial division of the Winnipeg Realtors Association has partnered with Michigan-based Catylist Real Estate Software to create the new Winnipeg Realtors Commercial Property Information Exchange (CPIX).

Winnipeg Free Press

Top 10 October construction project starts

The accompanying table records the 10 largest construction project starts in Canada in October. Also included is the latest trend graph on starts. This looks at 12-month moving totals of the civil and non-residential building categories in Canada.

Daily Commercial News

Real Estate Companies

Metro Vancouver employees move to Metrotown offices

After more than a year of preparation and three busy weekends of moving, the employees of Metro Vancouver are settling into a new head office. Until last week, the regional district, which provides services such as drinking water, liquid and solid waste disposal, regional planning, regional parks and affordable housing, was located in adjacent buildings in Burnaby.

Vancouver Sun

National Access setting up Edmonton cannabis clinic

An Ottawa company announced Friday it’s setting up a medical marijuana clinic in Old Strathcona that could become a retail outlet when recreational pot is legalized next July. National Access Cannabis Corp. intends to open a 195-square-metre office in January where staff will discuss medical marijuana options with patients, the company said in a news release.

Edmonton Journal – Canada Newswire

Brookfield, Park Tower land financing for Greenpoint Landing tower

Brookfield Property Partners (BPY-UN-T) locked down $137 million in financing from the Bank of Nova Scotia for one of the apartment towers it’s developing at the massive Greenpoint Landing project in Brooklyn with the Park Tower Group. The Canadian lender provided the financing for 37 Commercial Street, where the developers are building a 30-storey, 373-unit residential tower spanning nearly 300,000 square feet.  Greenpoint Landing Associates bought the site 2005 for $44 million.

The Real Deal

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Real Estate Investment Trusts

VEREIT selling Cole Capital to CIM Group affiliate

In a move to focus on its real estate portfolio, VEREIT, Inc. (VER-N) has agreed to sell non-listed REIT operator Cole Capital to an affiliate of Los Angeles-based CIM Group, Inc. in a transaction valued at up to $200 million. Phoenix-based Cole Capital has $7.6 billion in assets under management and sponsors five public non-traded REITs. 

CoStar Group

Artis boasts of diversified portfolio, experienced management

Artis REIT (AX-UN-T) has been reporting stable and growing financial and revenue results since it started in 2004. Managing its portfolio of office, retail and industrial properties, Artis is one of the largest diversified commercial REITs in Canada. As a closed-end REIT, it is focused on creating value through ownership and astute management of quality assets. 

South China Morning Post – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada

REIT FFO ebbs from Q2’S record high: Nareit

U.S. REITS took a half-step backward in the third quarter, with funds from operations declining 4.5 per cent from Q2’s record levels to $14.8 billion, Nareit said Tuesday. On a year-over-year basis, though, the total FFO for listed REITs was up 7.8%, and other Q3 metrics represented gains. Nareit’s quarterly Total REIT Industry Tracker Series showed occupancy rates for all equity REITs rose 50 basis points in Q3.

GlobeSt.com

Retail

Hurricanes batter Best Buy growth

Best Buy Co.’s (BBY-N) latest results are raising fresh doubts about its turnaround. The world’s largest electronics chain posted third-quarter comparable sales that missed analysts’ estimates, as major hurricanes in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico and earthquakes in Mexico trimmed revenue during the period. 

Bloomberg

Victoria’s Secret suffering from slumping sales

Victoria’s Secret, which has struggled to pull out of a sales slump, just posted its second straight quarter of declines in its panties business, Jefferies LLC analyst Randal Konik noted. Before the latest downturn, the category hadn’t suffered a drop since 2009, when the recession hurt demand for high-end underwear.

Bloomberg

Restaurants and Eateries

Death of another iconic Calgary restaurant

Another iconic downtown Calgary restaurant is closing its doors and in so doing is opening a wider window into understanding just how tough things are for many small businesses in the city’s downtown.  On Friday night, Catch & the Oyster Bar served its last dreamy bowl of New England clam chowder and its last plate of wonton-crusted tempura prawns.

Calgary Herald

High Van. rents force Italian Kitchen to move

Glowbal Restaurant Group has moved its Italian Kitchen restaurant several blocks south to 860 Burrard Street.  High rents on Alberni Street forced the move, with Italian Kitchen’s landlord asking to double the rent at the former location of 1037 Alberni Street, according to Glowbal Group owner Emad Yacoub.

Business In Vancouver

New Development

The Polygon Gallery creates Vancouver art destination

On Saturday, a new stand-alone art gallery for the city of North Vancouver opened to the public. The Polygon Gallery, a sparkling two-storey building designed by Patkau Architects at the foot of Lonsdale, is part of a renewal of the surrounding waterfront neighbourhood on the North Shore.

Vancouver Province

Sustainability

North Saanich, B.C., takes over 83 acres for agricultural use

The district of North Saanich now owns an 83-acre parcel of the Sandown lands for agricultural use.  “It’s had its ups and downs, but mostly it’s been a very exciting process and prospect for North Saanich to have this amount of land in the Agricultural Land Reserve,” said North Saanich Mayor Alice Finall. Sandown’s 95 acres operated as a horse and harness racetrack for 50 years.

Victoria Times Colonist

Other

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