Railtown zoning change spurs redevelopment

Railtown zoning change spurs redevelopment

Boe Iravani, a vice-president with Cushman and Wakefield, strolls up Railway Street and points out no fewer than 11 buildings he says either can or will be redeveloped in the old industrial heart of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Development application signs are visible on many of the old commercial buildings is a four-block stretch north of Alexander Street which butts up against the rail lines of Vancouver Harbour.

Vancouver Sun

Burnaby’s office vacancy rate lowest in a decade

Burnaby’s office space vacancy has plunged to its lowest rate in a decade. “It’s a good-news story for Burnaby,” according to Glenn Gardner, a principal with Avison Young. By mid-2018, seven per cent of Burnaby’s office space was vacant, down from 13 per cent a year ago. Gardner said this shows the city is an attractive home for businesses new and old.

Burnaby Now

Cannabis retailers face varying models across Canada

Canada’s new recreational cannabis industry is set to boost retail opportunities from coast to coast, but it’s becoming increasingly clear those businesses and their products will not be consistently available across Canada.  Varying retail regulations and business models within the provinces and territories are making some markets more attractive than others, experts say. 

Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada – Globe and Mail (Subscription required) – Calgary Herald

CaraCo Group a dominant player in Kingston, Ont.

The CaraCo Group of Companies was founded in Kingston, Ont., in 1959 by Ann and Cornell “Case” Blommestyn as a building and renovation company called CJM Blommestyn Construction Ltd.  CaraCo has grown and diversified into five branches since, and the family-owned company has expanded from its Eastern Ontario base into Florida. 

Property Biz Canada

EY monitoring Walton’s Ottawa and Edmonton lands

Proposals are being sought for the sale of, or investment in, industrial lands in Edmonton and pre-development lands in Ottawa once held by Walton International Group Inc. Debt restructuring proceedings for Calgary-based Walton International Group Inc., the Walton Group of Companies’ main Canadian operating entity, and some of its affiliates started on April 28, 2017 through court-ordered protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).

Property Biz Canada

Prince Rupert’s port thrives amid Trump tirades

Prince Rupert, B.C. is hardly the place one would expect to find an international gateway weathering the Trump trade storm better than any other Pacific port in North America. There’s just one bakery in the town of 12,000 people tucked away in a misty corner of Western Canada. The local Walmart Inc. outlet is affectionately known as “Smallmart.” Shuttered storefronts mark its main street.

Bloomberg

Port of L.A. seeks developer for 87-acre marina

The Port of Los Angeles has been working for years to transform its San Pedro industrial waterfront into a destination for dining, shopping and entertainment. It’s been investing in public space upgrades such as promenades, attractions such as the Battleship Iowa, and public-private partnerships like the high-profile redevelopment of its aging 40-acre fisherman’s village retail strip formerly known as Ports O’ Call, underway now.

CoStar Group

20 unanswered questions about GTH land deal

The NDP and the Canadian Taxpayers Federation say crucial questions about the GTH land deal in Regina are still lingering, despite the RCMP announcing it would not be laying criminal charges. RCMP announced the end of its investigation on July 25. The government of Saskatchewan said all of the questions have now been answered and it’s time to turn the page.

CBC – Canora Courier

Balzac says it’s ready for Alberta’s Amazon warehouse

A southern Alberta hamlet says it’s ready to accommodate potentially thousands of new workers joining an Amazon shipping depot under construction. The online commerce giant has opened applications for 1,000 jobs at its soon-to-open facility in Balzac, just north of Calgary, past the airport and before Airdrie. The reeve of Rocky View County says he understands the facility, known as a fulfilment centre, may employ up to 3,000 people.

CBC – Property Biz Canada

Partners REIT sells B.C.’s Mariner Square

Partners REIT (PAR-UN-T) announced it has agreed to sell the Mariner Square property in Campbell River, B.C.  After repaying two mortgages the net cash proceeds to Partners REIT will be approximately $13 million. This is the first property to be sold by the REIT pursuant to its previously announced plans to offer for sale up to 11 properties in Western Canada.

Globe Newswire – Property Biz Canada

A guide to Walmart’s ragtag alliance against Amazon

Battling Amazon isn’t easy — even for the world’s largest retail chain. Walmart has in recent years forged alliances with Google, Microsoft, China’s JD.com and other tech players. The members of the unofficial coalition all share a common goal: preventing Amazon from ruling the digital galaxy. It’s like a movie in which a ragtag alliance faces down an all-powerful foe.

Bloomberg

HQ2: Where Amazon goes, other companies follow

To measure Amazon’s impact on whatever city it selects for its second headquarters location, don’t think buildings. Think people. The draw of so many tech-savvy workers to one area can be an irresistible lure to other corporations that depend on such talent. At least 31 Fortune 500 companies now have some presence in Amazon’s home city of Seattle, up from seven in 2010, when the company moved its headquarters downtown.

CoStar Group – USA TODAY

Canada Infrastructure Bank aims to take P3s ‘a step further’

Much of the federal cash up for grabs in Canada’s $180-billion infrastructure plan will reach construction firms through tried and true methods, such as provincial and municipal contracts or public private partnerships (P3s). But there’s at least one wildcard in Ottawa’s infrastructure deck. The much-touted Canada Infrastructure Bank  could coax a new breed of investors into what’s traditionally been government territory.

On-Site

Northland Properties buys historic Fort Worth tower

The owner of the NHL’s Dallas Stars has expanded his real estate footprint in North Texas with the acquisition of a historic 1920s-era office building and surface parking lot in downtown Fort Worth, ripe for a conversion to a hotel. Tom Gaglardi, through his real estate company Vancouver-based Northland Properties, acquired the 20-storey, 119,846-square-foot W.T. Waggoner Building. A purchase price was not disclosed.

CoStar Group – Property Biz Canada

CalPERS earmarks $4.8B for real estate

California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) plans to invest up to $4.8 billion US in real estate over the next 12 months. The $352 billion pension fund will set aside $1.4 billion to maintain and improve existing holdings and $3.4 billion for new investments through its separate account managers and new commingled funds, according to documents seen ahead of its board meeting on Monday.

IPE Real Assets

Market Trends and Research

Healthcare facilities management market to soar

According to a Zion Market Research report, global healthcare facilities management market was valued at approximately US$211.07 billion in 2017 and is expected to generate revenue of around USD 515.31 billion by the end of 2024, growing at a CAGR of approximately 13.60% between 2018 and 2024. 

Globe Newswire

Real Estate Companies

Heart and Stroke Foundation closing 26 offices

Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada is closing 26 offices across Canada, including one in Sudbury, as the national charity grapples with “a challenging and shifting fundraising environment.” Sites in Sault Ste. Marie, Timmins, Thunder Bay and the Greater Toronto Area will also close by month’s end. Twenty-two offices will remain, with another 24 communities served by home-based offices. Thunder Bay will be cared for by such an office in Barrie.

Sudbury Star

Brookfield closer to launching Aussie office fund

Brookfield Asset Management (BAM-A-T). has begun to sound out Australian institutional investors about a debut multi-billion-dollar core office fund. Industry sources say it will be seeded with $1.34 billion Cdn of assets currently held on Brookfield’s balance sheet. Potential investors have received documentation and are holding meetings with Brookfield.

IPE Real Assets

REOC Financial Reports

Latest financial results:

* Firm Capital American Realty Partners Corp., (FCA-U-X), Globe Newswire

REIT Financial Reports

Latest financial results:

* AHIP REIT, (HOT-UN-T), Canada Newswire

* Boardwalk REIT, (BEI-UN-T), Canada Newswire

* CAPREIT, (CAR-UN-T), Globe Newswire

* SmartCentres REIT, (SRU-UN-T), Globe Newswire

* Summit Industrial Income REIT, (SMU-UN-T), Canada Newswire

* True North Commercial REIT, (TNT-UN-T), Canada Newswire

* WPT Industrial REIT, (WIR-U-T), Globe Newswire

Real Estate Investment Trusts

AHIP completes renovation at Embassy Suites DFW South

American Hotel Income Properties (AHIP) REIT  (HOT.UN-T)  announced it has completed approximately US$5.2 million of renovations at its Embassy Suites DFW South, near the Dallas/Fort Worth airport in Irving, Texas. Key aspects of this renovation project included a completely rebuilt atrium, with a new bar, breakfast restaurant, communal seating areas and digital docking tables.

PR Newswire – Property Biz Canada

Retail

Commercial real estate lessons from McDonald’s

If you ask an executive to evaluate the McDonald’s (MCD-N) restaurant business model, you might receive a detailed report on food. When I analyze McDonald’s, I think real estate. McDonald’s isn’t just a fast-food chain but also a brilliant $30 billion real-estate company. A big part of its profitability comes from the fact it owns the land and buildings at most of its locations – and its franchisees pay McDonald’s rent.

Business.com

Shopify battles scammers behind fake web stores

Every day, startups all over the world set up websites in the hopes of becoming a runaway success like Casper or Warby Parker. Many of them turn to Shopify Inc., a Canadian company that makes it a snap to open a web store. Shopify charges a mere $30 a month to maintain the site and can help with shipping, payments, even inventory. More than 600,000 merchants have signed on, and most have no complaints.

Bloomberg

Canada Goose reports $18.7M loss amid expansion

Luxury jacket maker Canada Goose Holdings Inc. (GOOS-T) says it incurred a net loss of $18.7 million in its first quarter as it eyed international markets for expansion. The Toronto-based company’s loss of 17 cents per share is smaller than analyst expectations of 21 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon.

Toronto Star – Reuters

Cannabis industry news

B.C. sets 15 per cent mark-up on cannabis

The B.C. government Friday revealed it plans to levy a 15 per cent mark-up on the price of cannabis when legal sales launch on Oct. 17. That levy will be in addition to the federal government’s 10% excise tax. The federal government will then distribute 75% of the excise-tax revenue back to the provinces. The B.C. government also indicated it is now accepting applications from entrepreneurs wanting to open retail-cannabis stores.

Business In Vancouver

Pot megacrops growing in Metro Vancouver hothouses

The air in Pure Sunfarms’ harvest room is thick with a sweetly fragrant scent as workers busily separate cannabis buds from recently picked flowers, for a company in a hurry to meet the Oct. 17 deadline for the availability of legal, recreational weed. Up until last November, tomatoes would have been the crop coming out of the sprawling 10-hectare greenhouse in Delta.

Vancouver Province

New Development

Melnyk strikes upbeat tone on LeBreton Flats

An optimistic-sounding Eugene Melnyk said he’s “very confident” the RendezVous LeBreton group’s ambitious plan to redevelop LeBreton Flats will go forward after a closed-door meeting with Mayor Jim Watson and other top city officials on Friday. “I have more confidence today than ever,” the owner of the Ottawa Senators told reporters at City Hall. “There’s just some hurdles that have to be overcome.”

Ottawa Business Journal

Pointe-Claire bar to give way to new development

After a heated debate that lasted into the wee hours of the morning Friday, it was unanimously decided that The Pioneer bar in Pointe-Claire should be demolished to make way for a new development. The city’s demolition committee decided the 117-year-old building would be razed, but it’s not yet clear what would take its place, as there is a conditional refusal of the proposed land use.

CBC

Retail, office building coming to downtown Kitchener

The empty Mayfair Hotel lot in downtown Kitchener will be transformed into a five-storey building for retail, office and a rooftop restaurant space, the city says. The development will be known as One Young Street. The site plan approval process is underway and will need to be completed before a building permit can be issued. Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2019 and take about a year.

CBC

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