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PROPERTYlines

 
Issue No. 3 – October 15, 2020


Editor/Publisher, Mark Kolke

Contact me at your convenience: kolke@markkolke.com
PROPERTYlines ~ monthly re-cap of news, commentary, perspective – commercial real estate ~ for investors, property professionals, lawyers, lenders, accounting and insolvency practitioners; presented by Mark Kolke - publisher of FACILITYCalgary and HOUSING TRUTH
ASSET MANAGEMENT TRENDS
BUSINESS TRAVEL
+ Air Canada concluded its merger renegotiation for combination with Transat A.T. Inc.; Transat will operate as a stand-alone subsidiary; terms were amended from an original $720.0 million purchase to $188.7 million due to the business impact of COVID-19
+ WestJet cutting back service to the Maritimes  
CLIMATE CHANGE, LEED & RENEWABLE ENERGY
+ DIALOG is pitching a mass-timber net-zero tower; 105-story concept
+ Government of Canada talking about a 2nd carbon tax, harsher than its first, and nobody’s cheering; Jack Mintz points out its flaws
+ KPMG launching a new blockchain-based Climate Accounting Infrastructure
+ solar panels are moving off the roof; moving panels to building façades to generate more renewable energy – interesting idea, we’ll have to see how much traction it gains
+ solar replacing diesel fuel in a remote indigenous community in Alberta; ATCO ground-mount solar project at Fort Chipewyan partnership with support from Government of Alberta
+ TD Greystone Infrastructure Fund investing in 3 – 20MW battery storage projects in Alberta; WCSB Power Holdings LP
+ Zibi project in Ottawa – Hydro Ottawa, Kruger Products and developer Dream Unlimited et al – to be first carbon-neutral community in the National Capital Region
CONSTRUCTION NEWS + BUILDING OPERATIONS / INNOVATIONS
+ A2A – Alaska-Alberta Railway Development Corporation got its Presidential Board Crossing Permit issued by President Trump, the total capital cost is US$17.0 billion; construction will begin in Alaska and connect with existing railways there, then come through Yukon and connect with Fort McMurray area and then connect with other railways; 300 km in Alaska, 2,270 km in Canada …
+ Apple’s floating store in Singapore – very cool!
+ Bird Construction Inc. completed its acquisition of Stuart Olson Inc.
+ Canadian Construction Association launched a program to attract a new generation to join the construction industry
+ cleaning costs remain high despite low occupancy rates – how does that make sense?; check out Randy Burke’s take …
+ contractors are chosen for $601.0 million Kicking Horse Canyon project – Aecon Group et al
+ Cooper Equipment Rentals Limited acquired that Atlantic Canada assets of Herc Rentals Inc.
+ elevator science shifting in the time of COVID; Otis is experimenting with the future of the touchless elevator and offer a guide on ‘rethinking the way your ride’
+ GFL Environmental Inc. got U.S. Department of Justice approval for its US$1.212 billion takeover of WCA Waste Corporation and closed the purchase
+ how long does COVID-19 last on surfaces? … this article sums up some important details; the ‘more than three days on stainless steel’ got my attention!
+ Lane acquired eServus; terms not disclosed
+ managing risk at an anxious time
+ nominate someone, or nominate yourself! … entries are open for the Top 40 under 40 in Canadian Construction
+ PCL Construction partnering with Giatec Scientific to use cloud-based tools to concrete testing and IoT connecting construction sites
+ Pieridae Energy Limited awarded is Goldboro LNG project EPCC contract to Bechtel
+ Red Deer is getting a new courthouse; Group2 Architecture led design team, Clark Builders are the builder – completion of the Red Deer Justice Centre, 29,000 sq. m./LEED Silver project is expected spring 2023
+ ROCKWOOL introduced a new ProRox Mat (wrap) insulation for plant equipment; product prevents corrosion under insulation in wrapped pipe and pipeline application
+ Schneider Electric entered into a partnership with REV Engineering
+ SNC-Lavalin in JV with Fluor to decommission U.S. federal nuclear assets at Hanford site in Washington state; US$10.0 billion contract over 10 years
+ tunnel construction on Ottawa’s $4.7 billion western segments of Stage 2 LRT project has started
CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY + ESG REPORTS
+ Bausch Health Companies Inc. published its 2019 Corporate Social Responsibility Report
+ Canada Pension Plan Investment Board published its 2020 Report on Sustainable Investing
+ Enerplus Corporation released its 2020 ESG Report
+ Parkland Corporation published its inaugural Sustainability Report
+ Precision Drilling Corporation published its 2020 Corporate Responsibility Report
+ Tervita Corporation published its inaugural Sustainability Report
+ TORC Oil & Gas Ltd. released its Inaugural 2020 Sustainability Report
COVID-19 matters ...
DATA CENTER TRENDS
+ Facebook is investing US$1.0 billion in Newton County, GA data center expansion
+ Google investing US$3.3 billion in European data center expansion program
+ Microsoft is planning US$1.0 billion data center venture in Greece
+ Webhelp, French call-center operator opened in Montreal; targeting 1,000 staff
DESIGN, ARCHITECTURE & PLANNING
+ Interior Designers of Canada – annual Awards virtual event; 2020 Value of Design Awards winners
+ Iron Mountain Inc. planning expansion at its 40-acre data center campus in Phoenix; the prelease deal they just did is for space, of course, but the key factor is the power: 6MW … will open in 3rd qtr. 2021
+ The Center for Active Design created its Viral Response module in conjunction with major landlord and developers
+ Vancouver – Broadway & Commercial – project re-jig by Westbank and Crombie REIT will have more residential than first planned
ENTITLEMENTS ~ REGULATORY
+ in British Columbia, a new Beneficial Ownership Disclosure law takes effect Nov. 30th: the Land Owner Transparency Act (LOTA) has a lotta implications for investors, foreign and domestic, in all categories of real estate; this Blake’s piece tells the story well
FINANCING NEWS & INNOVATION
+ Creditloans Canada Financing Inc. entered CCAA creditor protection
+ Dominion Lending Centres LP has new ownership; Founders Advantage Capital Corp. acquired 100%, will rename as Dominion Lending Centres Inc.
+ last month I wrote about the LIBOR TRANSITION, and now I can add more voices to this discussion; this paper published by OSLER gives a more lawyerly explanation
GOVERNMENT ACTIONS / programs - ALBERTA
+ is hydrogen a miracle future – or fantasy? A new report suggests Alberta can benefit from a $100.0 billion (yes, billion)/year opportunity; Vancouver fuel-cell companies are doing well, and Alberta might benefit too; a strong group of players is coming together to Accelerate a Hydrogen Economy in Alberta
GOVERNMENT ACTIONS / programs - CANADA
+ Canada targeting zero plastic waste by 2030 with a new program to reduce/eliminate single-use plastics
+ Prime Minister Trudeau announced plans for a Safe Restart Program; $19.0 billion to be allocated
+ the government of Canada’s Infrastructure Bank will provide a new $10.0 billion of funding to back projects and job creation
IDEAS ...
+ I want to explore running an op-ed section – looking for contributors, so if you have an idea you would like to share, send it to me: kolke@markkolke.com
INFRASTRUCTURE + P3
+ Alberta irrigation infrastructure is getting a boost; an $815.0 million program of rebuilding and job creation’ $244.5 million from Alberta, $163.0 million by the irrigation districts, and a $407.0 million investment from Canada’s Infrastructure Bank
+ A2A Rail project is getting some good press; the project, to take a rail line from northern Alberta to Alaskan tidewater is a very ambitious project; $22.0 billion freight/rail project is getting wind in its sails from Alberta Premier Kenny and U.S. President Trump saying approving words; Trump announced he will sign presidential border-crossing permit – so it seems all that’s left is regulatory processes in two countries and raising all that money …
+ Arts Commons $240.0 million expansion project moving along; the Calgary Municipal Land Corp. is staffing up for the project, design team expected to be on-board by early 2021; plans to be revealed in 2022, so don’t hold your breath …
+ Backwoods Energy Services closed the first approved Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation transaction; partners are six Alberta first nations and OPTrust -acquisition of the $1.5 billion Cascade Power Plant project – 900MW natural gas-fired plant will supply 8% of Alberta’s needs into the grid
+ Calgary historical city hall’s $34.1 million renovations is complete, reopened 113 yrs. to the day from when construction began …
+ construction of the Springbank dam is still going ahead, albeit slowing, according to Infrastructure Minister Ric McIver; 25% of the land involved has been acquired by the province … tic toc … hope we don’t have another big-flood year before this political football gets kicked through the goalposts; until then, it looks more like a can being kicked further and further down a NIMBY road
+ Crowchild Trail $87.0 million bridges and new lanes construction project is now complete
+ Government of Alberta announced it will spend $43.0 million on provincial park upgrades and repairs
+ Infrastructure Ontario issued RFQ for new Grandview Children’s Centre
+ Q-Energy sold its Spanish solar assets (73 photovoltaic plants / 216MWh capacity) to Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec; terms not disclosed
+ Stoney Trail upgrade will improve access to Fish Creek Park and improve safety; $70.0 million eastbound bridge replacement announced
+ the Calgary Southwest leg of the ring-road won’t be completed until 2021, however, the 12-km section across Tsuut’tina first nation lands is now opened; the transaction involved access and land swap transactions to enable the Government of Alberta to build that section – protracted negotiations over 70 years led, finally, to this historic event
+ the Trudeau government announced it will invest $10.0 billion in infrastructure initiatives; funding will be via Canada Infrastructure Bank … no promises on criteria or timing, just that will ‘fuel pandemic economy recovery’ …
+  TransAlta Renewables Inc. commenced commercial operation of its 10 MW WindCharger battery storage project; WindCharger is Alberta's first utility-scale, lithium-ion energy storage project and utilizes Tesla Megapack technology. It has a nameplate capacity of 10MW and total storage capacity of 20MWh - acquired from TransAlta Corporation, the capital cost of approximately $14.5 million, 50% funded by Emissions Reduction Alberta
INSOLVENCY
+ Chandos win at Supreme Court of Canada – Deloitte as Trustee for Capital Steel lost, and new ground is broken; details of the case as detailed by Norton Rose is a worthy read; the folks at Osler covered it as well, or you can read the judgment
+ Ernst & Young Inc., as court-appointed receiver is soliciting proposals to acquire the assets of Willow Park LP, Wesley Church Building Inc., Wesley Church Building LP, Paramount Building Ltd., and Paramount Building LP
INVESTMENT/DEALS - development / re-development
+ Ford of Canada will re-work its Oakville Assembly Complex; investing $1.8 billion to build full battery electric vehicles in that facility
+ QuadReal Property Group and Barney River are planning a 54-story redevelopment of Toronto’s Harbour Castle Conference Centre
+ The Bay flagship store on St. Catherine Street in Montreal is for sale; the Bay will retain 250,000 sq. for its’s store; leaving the potential for 400,000 sq. ft. of development going up
+ The United Church of Canada established United Property Resource Corporation, plans to unlock the value of real estate held by large donors and develop affordable rental housing; CHMC has provided them a $20.0 million line of credit through the Affordable Housing Initiative Fund
+ Windsor Private Capital raised $150.0 million in its WPC Real Estate Opportunity Fund LP with plans to acquired distressed projects in the GTA and Golden Horseshoe markets
INVESTMENT/DEALS - hospitality
+ Colony Capital is selling 197 properties (22,676 keys) to Highgate Hotels for US$2.8 billion
+ Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences opened in Madrid
+ Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts opened the Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco at Embarcadero, 155-key facility (top 11 floors of 48-story 345 California Center building)
+ Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) groundbreaking, 119-key first avid hotel in Canada; Vaughan, ON location for its first Canadian flag on a PI Cap property
+ Trepp report suggests ¼ of U.S. hotels are at risk of foreclosure based on delinquencies on financing and low occupancy due to COVID-19 and resulting economic difficulty and impact on business travel
INVESTMENT/DEALS - development / long term care & medical
+ Fitzrovia Real Estate Inc. working with Cleveland Clinic Canada to provide residents of its facilities to facilitate on-site non-emergency medical services
INVESTMENT/DEALS - industrial, storage, logistics
+ conversion of retail-to-logistics for obsolete malls could be tricky; Prologis questions the economics
+ Metro Supply Chain Group acquired Supply Chain Alliance
+ Oxford Properties Group invested $474.0 million in the largest cold storage sector firm Lineage Logistics of the US$1.6 billion equity raise
+ U-Haul reported to have acquired 90,000 sq. ft. former Calgary Sun building at 2615 – 12 St. NE from Post Media; originally listed at $6.2 million two years ago – sales terms not disclosed
INVESTMENT/DEALS - multi-res
+ Cox Developments started construction of its ‘The Wedge’ building in downtown Victoria; $50.0 million LEED Platinum project – 93 residences / 15-storey
+ Firm Capital American Realty Partners Trust closed its acquisition of a 50% interest in a 235-door project in Washington, DC area for US$37.5 million
+ QuadReal Property Group agreed to acquire 50% of CA Ventures US$4.0 billion portfolio
+ Symphonia SOL project underway for Nun’s Island near Montreal; ground was broken on $65.0 million 94-unit waterfront condo project – completion spring 2022
+ The United Church of Canada established United Property Resource Corporation, plans to unlock the value of real estate held by large donors and develop affordable 5,000 rental housing units; CHMC has provided them a $20.0 million line of credit through the Affordable Housing Initiative Fund
INVESTMENT/DEALS - office
+ Amazon is beefing up staff (3,500) at Vancouver and Toronto Tech hubs
+ in Chicago, IL, a JV of The Howard Hughes Corp. and Riverside Investment & Development are developing the tallest building in Chicago in three decades; US$722.6 million, 550-storey/1.5 million sq. ft. development at 110 North Wacker Drive; 80% pre-leased
+ Ernst & Young Inc., as court-appointed receiver is soliciting proposals to acquire the assets of Willow Park LP, Wesley Church Building Inc., Wesley Church Building LP, Paramount Building Ltd., and Paramount Building LP
+ in San Jose, CA, Google megaproject achieving entitlements and project momentum to create 7.3 million sq. ft. of office space in mixed-use megaproject
+ Rester Management agreed to acquire ELAD Canada Realty for $508.0 million
+ Shopify is closing one of it’s Toronto offices, its former Ottaway H.Q., and overhauling other Canadian locations – shifting to digital working/working from home
+ SL Green/Hines JV opened Manhattan’s newest supertall – One Vanderbilt, 1,401 ft./77-floors in Manhattan
+ space-as-a-service is a new trend; not like Regus, not like WeWork, more like AirB&B for office space – major U.S. cities, Toronto, and Montreal – check out Breather
+ WeWork sold a controlling interest in its China unit to Trustbridge Partners
INVESTMENT/DEALS - pension funds, insurance co.
+ BentallGreenOak (on behalf of subscribing pension funds and Sun Life) set to invest up to $10.0 billion in Japan real estate
+ Cadillac Fairview/Ontario Teachers’/Aimco consortium acquired White City Place in London, UK for $1.6 billion
+ CPP Investments committed US$300.0 million to Baring Private Equity Asia acquisitions
INVESTMENT/DEALS - REITS
+ Artis REIT facing a proxy fight; Sandpiper Group trying to oust most Artis board trustees and prevent the spin-off of $819.0 million retail portfolio into a NEW REIT … tic toc
+ Boardwalk REIT acquired a 226 unit portfolio in Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge, ON for $63.0 million
+ Brookfield Asset Management is on the market to raise $600.0 million for its Indian REIT by a U.S. IPO + BSR REIT acquired a 276-door residential project in Dallas/Fort Worth, TX, for $51.8 million
+ BTB REIT sold an office property in Montreal for $4.35 million
+ CAP REIT acquired a property/lease buyout of a mobile home community in midtown Toronto for $7.8 million
+ CAP REIT closed its acquisition of two properties in London, ON and Sarnia, ON – a total of 301-doors
+ Cominar REIT initiated a strategic review process; will evaluate alternatives to increase unitholder value
+ Crombie REIT is on the market to raise $300.0 million in unsecured debt + Firm Capital American Realty Partners Trust agreed to acquire a 50% interest in a 235-door multi-res property in Hyattsville, Maryland; going-in cap rate 5.7%
+ Dream Hard Asset Alternatives Trust is changing its name to Dream Impact Trust
+ ERES REIT acquired 5-property portfolio/113-doors in the Netherlands for €26.25 million
+ Flagship Communities REIT closed US$93.75 million equity financing by IPO
+ Marwest Apartment REIT closed $500,000.0 equity raise by IPO
+ NexPoint Hospitality Trust and Condor Hospitality Trust US$318.0 million merger terminated – the deal is dead
+ Subversive Real Estate Acquisition REIT LP closed US$182.8 million acquisition of industrial and retail properties in the United States
+ Summit Industrial Income REIT agreed to acquire the 50% interest it does not already hold in an 11-building portfolio of Montreal light industrial properties from its JV partner Group Montoni for $88.0 million
+ Summit Industrial Income REIT agreed to sell a 50% interest in a Montreal office building to Group Montoni for $5.8 million
+ Summit Industrial Income REIT is acquiring 244,633 sq. ft. single-tenant warehousing and logistics facility in Vaughan, ON for $47.3 million
INVESTMENT/DEALS - retail
+ American Dream mall in East Rutherford, NJ, open but challenged by COVID
+ Bed Bath & Beyond is closing 200 stores over the next two years, 63 to close by end of 2020
; also, they’ve sold their 80-store Christmas Tree Shop unit and distribution center
+ Cineplex has reopened all its theatres nationwide; I’ve been to several movies in recent weeks and, notwithstanding social distancing and masks, attendance was abysmal; if we want theatres to survive, we’ve got to skip our Netflix a bit and go out to the movies …
+ Foundation Automotive Corp. acquired Destination Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram North Shore in Vancouver
+ Groupe Dynamite (Garage and Dynamite stores) entered CCAA protection; 322 stores involved – Deloitte was appointed monitor
+ H&M is planning to cut 250 stores in 2021; 5% cut is entirely a result of COVID-19 decline in sales
+ HBC is facing legal action from mall owners in B.C., Quebec, and Florida for nonpayment of rent; the defense is ‘the malls aren’t first-class’ … tic toc
+ Lee Valley Tools have developed a contactless shopping option for its 20 locations across the country
+ Neiman Marcus exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection; new owners, US$4.0 billion less debt
+ Ranchman’s Cookhouse and Dancehall, the brainchild of its late founder Harris Dvorkin, long a fixture on Macleod Trail, will be no more; the building is still there, now for lease; BMO is in control and in the news this week as owners of ‘saddles and memorabilia on loan’ had a skirmish or two to get their gear back; word is the courts, the receiver, and or BMO relinquished claim on 50 years of accumulate rodeo cowboy gear
+ Walmart sold it’s British grocery unit, Asda, to Issa brothers and TDR Capital for US$8.8 billion
IoT (Internet of Things)and cool things 'tech'...
+ MaRS Discovery District is planning a $60.0 million tech-accelerator in partnership with the University of Calgary
+ PCL Construction partnering with Giatec Scientific to use cloud-based tools to concrete testing and IoT connecting construction sites
+ we’ve all become Zoom users recently, but do you know the story? Founded by Eric Yuan, it’s success has been incredible; enjoy this Walker/Dunlop webinar interview of Eric Yuan
NEW PROJECTS IN THE PIPELINE
+ Canadian Pacific Railway Limited and Maersk Canada reached an agreement to build and operated a world-class transload and distribution facility in Vancouver; the facility will be an expansion of CPR’s existing Vancouver Intermodal Facility and will be operational in 20201
+ Chestermere Golf Course to be redeveloped; Stokker Homes planning a JV residential development – subject to Chestermere council approval
+ Crestpoint led venture broke ground on 1.1 million sq. ft. Amazon fulfillment center in Ajax, ON
+ Seacliff Properties is working on plans for a 2,850 home project in Collwood, BC (Victoria suburb)
PROPERTY SERVICES / SUPPLIER NEWS
+ Schneider Electric launched its EcoStruxture Building Operation 3.2 – open integration platform to address the entire building ecosystem
SECURITY ISSUES / TRENDS
+ GardaWorld Security Corporation made a £2.97 billion takeover bid for G4S plc hostile takeover bid; G4S said no; unlikely this is over … tic toc
TECH Corner ...
+ a review of the new Apple Watch – Series 6 – Brian Heater full review
+ Dye & Durham Limited agreed to acquire Property Information Exchange Ltd. for $52.9 million
+ electric vehicle charging support from GOC for 2020 is now closed; funding eligibility criteria
WORKING FROM HOME OFFICE
+ can you force people to come back? … work-from-home has gained traction
+ desk-friendly yoga
+ Gartner survey of U.S. CFOs shows 74% are shifting some employees to remote work permanently
+ Herman Miller store concept caters to work-from-home trend
+ impact of windows and sunlight on health – healthier by design
WORK / ASSIGNMENTS / LISTINGS WANTED:
+ listings – FOR SALE, FOR LEASE – Calgary, Red Deer, and Edmonton markets
+ foreclosure/court-ordered receiverships – commercial property Calgary, Red Deer, Edmonton, and Southern Alberta
+ commercial and residential property management assignments/tasks; lease enforcement, negotiation of renewals, single properties, and small portfolios
 
~ call me to discuss your requirements: Mark Kolke, 403-444-6939
~ or email me: kolke@markkolke.com

PROPERTY LINES - a monthly newsletter on happenings in the commercial real estate marketplace in Alberta and in other jurisdictions. This publication will be of interest to a wide audience of readers interested in the real estate industry and is particularly focused on issues of interest to:

- investment real estate professionals

- landlords, financial institutions and real estate lenders

- real estate lawyers, accountants, appraisers

- property managers and asset managers

- insolvency professionals, foreclosure services, service trades/contractors

- commercial, development, and income property investors

 

 

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PLANDflex Corporation -  Mark Kolke, President / Publisher
Agent/Realtor/Property Mgr. - under contract to MaxWell Capital Realty
 
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