Brookfield sells 50% stake in Bay Adelaide

Brookfield sells 50% stake in Bay Adelaide

A buyer from the United Kingdom has paid $850 million to acquire a 50 per cent stake in Brookfield Properties‘ (BPY-UN-T) Bay Adelaide Centre in the largest commercial real estate deal of the year, CoStar News can confirm. Property transfer documents indicate VPMA Bay Adelaide Property Ltd. acquired a 50 per cent interest in the 2.2 million-square-foot complex, the paperwork on the deal being sent to Guernsey-based Dadco Investments Ltd. 

CoStar Group

Telesat moving to Ottawa’s Place Bell building

As Telesat prepares to turn 50 next year, the satellite technologies firm is preparing to move from its east-end campus to two floors inside the office tower at 160 Elgin St. as part of a bid to attract new talent. Within the next 18 months, Telesat will move into the 20th and 21st floors of H&R REIT’s (HR-UN-T) Place Bell building in a multi-year lease amounting to roughly 76,000 square feet of space. 

Ottawa Business Journal

Real estate gender parity a slow process

While the presence of women in C-suites and boardrooms in the Canadian real estate industry is even more rare than in the rest of the Canadian corporate world, steps are slowly being taken to remedy the situation. “I’ll admit that we’re not getting this right as a society, as an industry or at Oxford (Properties),” said Blake Hutcheson, who becomes president and chief pension officer of OMERS on April 1.

Property Biz Canada – Toronto Star

B.C. reviewing Anbang ‘s purchase of retirement home operator

The B.C. government has launched a review of the new ownership structure of one of the province’s biggest retirement-home operators, after Chinese officials took control of the Beijing-based holding company that bought the chain. Health Minister Adrian Dix said he is concerned about the potential impact on seniors who reside in Retirement Concepts homes in B.C., and promised strict monitoring to ensure standards of care are upheld.

Globe and Mail

B.C. moving quickly on green building initiatives: Panel

British Columbia’s commitment to the green building market is accelerating at a rate that would likely surprise even the keenest of observers, Vancouver’s Board of Change heard at a recent panel discussion. “I don’t think anyone in this room can perceive of how rapidly (the sustainable building market) is changing in a very significant way in B.C.,” said panelist Sean Pander, Vancouver’s manager of green buildings.

Sustainable Biz Canada

Marijuana industry to spur space demand

Canada is on the verge of legalizing recreational marijuana, a move expected to create fresh demand for vast indoor growing spaces. A select group of Canada’s largest marijuana growers will need an additional eight million square feet of industrial space over the next two years, according to JLL research. Yet across the country, warehouse space is already in short supply. And with pot legalized, the market is likely to get even tighter. 

JLL Reviews – CP Executive

PIRET shareholders to vote on Blackstone takeover

Shareholders of Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust (PIRET) will decide at a special meeting called for March 23 whether to approve Blackstone Property Partners‘ (BX-N) $3.8 billion bid to take the trust private. Management sent out notice of the meeting last week, along with an information package about the pending acquisition. Blackstone’s all-cash bid for PIRET (AAR-UN-T) was announced on Jan. 9.

Property Biz Canada

Blackstone REIT acquires $1.8B industrial portfolio

Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. (BREIT) announced it has successfully closed on a $1.8-billion transaction to acquire a 22 million-square-foot portfolio consisting of 146 infill warehouse and distribution properties across the U.S. Known as the Canyon Industrial Portfolio, the properties were sold by a pair of funds sponsored by Boston-based Cabot Properties: Cabot Industrial Value Fund IV, L.P. and Cabot Industrial Value Fund IV Manager, LP.

CoStar Group – CP Executive

Bill Teron, the ‘Father of Kanata’, dead at 85

William “Bill” Teron was, among other things,  a developer, a building innovator, a patron of the arts, a philanthropist and a senior public servant. Teron was the last surviving member of the “big three” developers of postwar Ottawa who helped to shape the rapidly-expanding city, along with the Greenbergs of Minto and Robert Campeau. Teron had been hospitalized twice in recent weeks and died early Monday. He was 85.

Ottawa Citizen – Ottawa Business Journal – CBC

Boyne to assume outright ownership of six ski resorts

Michigan-based Boyne Resorts has reached an agreement to assume outright ownership of six ski resorts it’s operating under long-term lease agreements. The agreement covers Brighton Resort near Salt Lake City; Cypress Mountain in West Vancouver; Loon Mountain in New Hampshire; Sugarloaf and Sunday River in Maine; and The Summit at Snoqualmie near Seattle. Also included is the Gatlinburg Sky Lift in Gatlinburg, Tenn.

Winnipeg Free Press

Alterra investing in Station Mont Tremblant infrastructure

Alterra Mountain Company has announced a first set of capital investments in its properties that translates into significant improvements for Station Mont Tremblant infrastructures. The $17 million worth of improvements includes replacing the Lowell Thomas chairlift, renovating and expanding summit chalet Le Grand Manitou, creating new glades, renovating La Fourchette du Diable on the North Side base, as well as other notable additions and upgrades.

Canada Newswire – Business Wire

Costco eyes fresh grocery delivery in Canada

Costco is exploring ways to deliver fresh groceries to consumers in Canada after finding early success with its new online food delivery services in the U.S. Canada’s biggest warehouse retailer, whose grocery market share has increased substantially over the last decade along with Walmart’s, introduced online grocery delivery of non-perishables to U.S. customers in October.

Financial Post

Cara’s stock sizzles following acquisition spree

Cara Operations Ltd.’s (CARA-T) drive to scoop up and refurbish some of Canada’s biggest chains is giving the restaurant giant a much-needed boost in a moribund casual dining sector. Shares of the country’s biggest restaurant company jumped 12 per cent in afternoon trading Monday after reporting improved traffic and higher than expected fourth-quarter and annual sales at its 1,272 restaurants across the country.

Financial Post – Globe and Mail

BGIS’ Carillion acquisition cancelled

BGIS, a leading global real estate and facility management services provider and a a subsidiary of Brookfield Business Partners (BBU-UN-T), announced its previously announced agreement to acquire a portfolio of Carillion facility management contracts in the United Kingdom will not be proceeding, as certain closing conditions have not been met.

Globe Newswire

China likely to see first real REIT this year: DBS

Investment bank DBS Vickers said Tuesday China is likely to launch the first authentic REIT this year, as regulators seek to provide retail investors an additional investment platform and companies a fresh fund raising channel. Obstacles such as high transaction taxes and regulations that restrict mutual funds from investing in commercial properties have delayed the REIT market in China from taking off for years.

Reuters

Market Trends and Research

Real estate job sector balloons in B.C.

British Columbia’s addiction to real estate has created a job sector that’s ballooned over the past decade, with real estate jobs growing 53 per cent in the Lower Mainland. In the province, full-time jobs related to real estate have grown 39 per cent in that time span. Those jobs don’t include construction jobs, which grew in the Lower Mainland by 27 per cent from 2007 to 2017, according to Stats Can data.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Vancouver, Abbotsford top economic growth projections

Vancouver and Abbotsford-Mission are forecast to be the fastest-growing census metropolitan areas in Canada this year, and Victoria is also expected to rank in the top 10, according to The Conference Board of Canada’s Metropolitan Outlook: Winter 2018. “The pace of growth in Vancouver and Victoria’s economies are expected to moderate this year, with the slowdown led by housing and consumer spending . . .,” said associate director Alan Arcand, Centre for Municipal Studies.

Canada Newswire – Calgary Herald

Alberta’s best farmland lost to urban expansion: Study

Development on the outskirts of Edmonton is paving over the province’s most valuable farmland, new research at the University of Alberta shows. The loss of the highly productive land is hard to avoid, considering a lot of it is just outside of Alberta’s major cities, said Brent Swallow, an author of the study.

CBC

Office development booming in Los Angeles

L.A.’s office market is booming, thanks in part to developers targeting submarkets that can accommodate new inventory and ensure steady absorption rates throughout 2017. As average asking prices keep increasing in well-established submarkets, tenants are expected to look for alternatives in those with lower rental rates and similar office stock, such as Burbank and Culver City. Los Angeles is also the only West Coast city shortlisted for Amazon’s second headquarters.

CP Executive

REIT Financial Reports

Latest financial results:

* BTB REIT, (BTB-UN-T), Canada Newswire

Real Estate Investment Trusts

CAPREIT assumes management of Maryland apartments

CAPREIT (CAR-UN-T) Tuesday announced it has taken over management responsibilities of Barclay and Fairfax Court, a pair of garden-style apartment communities with prime access to Washington D.C. Located in the Chevy Chase neighborhood near downtown Bethesda, Md., the communities feature a combined 175 apartment homes contained within three- and four-storey mid-rises. 

PR Newswire – Property Biz Canada

Choice-CREIT deal likely winner for investors

If you invest in high-quality companies, sooner or later someone with much deeper pockets will come along and take a great investment off your hands. In February, CREIT (REF-UN-T) found itself on the receiving end of a $3.9-billion (excluding debt) offer from Choice Properties REIT (CHP-UN-T), the real estate arm of the Loblaw Cos. Ltd. (L-T) grocery empire.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Retail

Victoria attracting notable retail names

In June, hundreds of shoppers lined up along Lower Johnson Street in downtown Victoria, waiting for hours in the blistering heat, to attend the opening of John Fluevog Shoes. The new store, in American Apparel’s former space, was a homecoming for the Vancouver-based shoe designer, who had a boutique in Victoria in the 1970s with then-partner Peter Fox.

BCBusiness

Amazon Canada attributes success to customer-first focus

Online shopping sales in Canada will more than double in the next few years, so established brands need to “hit the reset button” with a customer-first approach, says the advertising manager for Amazon Canada. “So many larger brands are starting to realize that what led to success in the past — or what led to success offline —just won’t automatically transfer and extend online,” Tamir Bar-Haim said.

Toronto Star – Canadian Grocer

Sobeys parent Empire beats profit expectations

Sobeys owner Empire Co. Ltd. (EMP-A-T)  reported higher sales and doubled its net earnings in the third quarter as the grocery retailer’s cross-Canada restructuring efforts showed signs of positive progress. Net earnings in the 13 weeks ended Feb. 3 were $58.1 million, or 21 cents per share, compared with $30.5 million (11 cents) in the same period a year ago.

Financial Post – Globe and Mail – Canada Newswire

Walmart expands U.S. home delivery in fight with Amazon

Walmart Inc (WMT-N) will expand its grocery home delivery services to more than 100 metro areas this year from an existing six cities as the retailer steps up a fight against rival Amazon.com Inc (AMZN-Q).  Walmart said Wednesday the service would be rolled out to more than 40 per cent of U.S. households by the end of the year. Deliveries will cost $9.95 with a minimum $30 order.

Reuters

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