Commercial Real Estate News – June 2009

Cracks form in Toronto’s property plan – buildtoronto.ca – Toronto’s powerful executive committee approved the handover of 30 parcels of city-owned land to a new city agency that will attempt to develop them. But even among Mayor David Miller’s staunchest allies, there was unusual anxiety as the city began transferring properties to Build Toronto, to either be developed in partnership with the private sector or possibly sold off.
National Post, May 05, 2009 Toronto Star, May 05, 2009

A borrowing squeeze for Canadian Commercial Real Estate – Finding financing for commercial real estate seems to have become much like a game of musical chairs: When the music stops, there just are not enough seats to go around. With commercial mortgage-backed securities no longer available, the supply of mortgage money has dropped by about a third from last year, according to industry sources. Construction financing has all but dried up, experts say.
Globe and Mail, May 19, 2009

Green Roofs Show Big Growth in U.S., Canada – greenroofs.org – Green roofs in North America have been booming of late: last week, the green roof industry association Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, announced the results of a survey of its members finding that more than 3.1 million square feet of green roofs were installed in 2008, a 35 percent growth over the previous year.
Reuters, May 31, 2009 Treehugger, May 31, 2009

Toronto builds bridge with developers – With GTA municipal leaders set to meet for an economic summit next week, Toronto yesterday announced new measures to bolster the development industry. The city is reducing or eliminating the amount of money developers must put up as a guarantee they will carry out required infrastructure or landscaping work around their projects.
National Post, May 02, 2009

CPP eyes office towers to counter $17.2 billion loss – cppib.ca – Canada Pension Plan Investment Board intends to feast on prime properties ? especially shopping centres and office towers in the United States and Britain ? whose prices have crumbled and whose indebted owners face pressure to sell. And the pension fund manager?s strategy is “sound and appropriate” despite a 14 per cent asset shrinkage in the past fiscal year.
Chronicle-Herald, May 25, 2009

Toronto school board selling off land through TLC – tdsb.on.ca – More than a decade ago, the old Toronto Board of Education quietly snapped up homes on Leslie St. behind Riverdale Collegiate Institute that are now for sale by the Toronto Lands Corporation (TLC). Last year, after all expenses and property taxes were paid, they brought in a dismal $6,000 total. The board created the Toronto Lands Corp. in 2008 as an arms-length body to oversee 97 properties used for non-educational purposes. Some are used for offices, others are partly or fully leased, while 16 are vacant.
Toronto Star, May 30, 2009

Toronto’s Union Station plans near completion – toronto.caunion_station – Nine years after acquiring historic Union Station, the city appears ready to soon begin a $640-million remake of the beaux arts landmark, including the addition of a new mall. City council’s executive committee will next week be asked to finalize plans for the train station that stalled after a deal with private investors sputtered out three years ago, then relaunched in 2007 with the city going it alone.
National Post, May 30, 2009

Toronto’s dome turns 20 – rogerscentre.com – It has been the site of some our greatest sporting and civic moments, this architectural wonder that doffs its top when the sun shines and the events warrant. Can it really be 20 years since the SkyDome roof first retracted for public consumption on June 3, 1989, and Mother Nature celebrated the occasion with a mocking, drenching downpour?
Toronto Star, Jun 01, 2009

Canadian office space remains one of the world’s most expensive – cbre.ca – CBG-N – A depressed global economy that has seen commercial rents fall dramatically in most major cities has knocked perennial front-runner London out of the top spot among the most expensive places to set up an office. But Toronto and Calgary remain in the global top 50 because the Canadian economy has been healthy compared with other financial centres, according to a report by CB Richard Ellis released yesterday.
Toronto Star, Jun 04, 2009 Edmonton Journal, Jun 04, 2009 Ottawa Business Journal, Jun 04, 2009

Canadian commercial real estate firms are world leaders in planning for disease outbreak – bomacanada-pandemic.ca – When news of a possible swine flu pandemic trickled out of Mexico in April, landlords and property managers across Canada congratulated themselves on their foresight. Canada’s major office buildings and retail and industrial malls are likely the best-prepared commercial structures in the world to face a global pandemic.
Globe and Mail, June 5, 2009

Canadian REITs stronger than U.S. peers – Investors looking at Canadian real estate investment trusts (REITs) and operating companies in Canada have a lot less to worry about than those picking through similar investments in the United States. When the real estate market was booming, blissfully unaware of the pending credit crisis that began in 2008, big institutional players were chasing opportunities and pouring money into the sector.
Globe and Mail, Jun 09, 2009

Cushman, Infrastructure Consultants Team Up – cushwake.com – DWH Strategic Advisors, a consulting firm spun off from Cushman & Wakefield, has formed an alliance with C&W. According to a release from C&W, the arrangement will enhance its development advisory and sustainability services for existing clients and new prospects while allowing DWH to independently pursue expansion plans. DWH?s core competencies are in sustainability and infrastructure.
Globe St., Jun 11, 2009

People’s choice awards celebrate Toronto architecture – ago.net – One St. Thomas and Transformation AGO/Art Gallery of Ontario were the big winners in the fifth annual Pug Awards. The people’s choice awards for architecture were recently announced at the McKinsey & Co. building. One St. Thomas won as the best new building in the residential category and Transformation AGO/Art Gallery of Ontario was honoured as best new building in the commercial/institutional category.
Toronto Star, Jun 12, 2009

Toronto Real Estate Board: Over 600,000 Square Feet Leased in May – torontorealestateboard.com – TREB Commercial Members reported 644,130 square feet of space leased in May through the TorontoMLS system, reported Commercial Council Chair Garry Lander. Prices declined for Industrial and Commercial space in May. Industrial space (all size categories) traded at $5.34 sfn, down 12 per cent from May of 2008 when the price was $6.08 sfn.
MarketWire, Jun 18, 2009

Parking rates continue to soar across Canada - colliers.com – Parking costs have increased nationwide for a sixth consecutive year as owners and operators of parking lots resist the economic downturn, according to results from Colliers International’s annual global parking survey released today. Monthly parking rates in Canada increased by $20.00, a robust 9.9 per cent over 2008 levels. The average daily parking rate in Canada rose 9.89 per cent over last year to $17.78 daily.
CNW, Jun 24, 2009

Long strike feared in Toronto – Make serious progress on a deal by this weekend, or settle in for a long, bitter strike. That’s the outlook from both the City of Toronto and Canadian Union of Public Employees, whose 30,000 city workers walked off the job at midnight Monday. Nobody has threatened to walk away from the table, but both sides say this weekend could be a make-or-break point.
Toronto Star, Jun 25, 2009

Office building construction markets in Toronto and Calgary – The most recent peak for office building starts in Canada occurred two years ago, in 2007. At that time, 16.0 million square feet of work was initiated across the country. This is a category of construction that can be highly cyclical. The figure this year is expected to be only 4.4 million square feet.
Journal of Commerce, Jul 02, 2009

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