For those of us in Canada, Wednesday was Canada’s 148th birthday.  Happy Birthday Canada and thank you for giving all of us a day off to spend with family and friends!  A short week with Canada Day as a statutory holiday caused many of us in the industry to cram 5 days of work into 4 days.  Commercial Real Estate is humming along with deals still materializing as many begin their summer vacations.

Late last week, it was announced that the Sheppard Centre in Toronto has received its zoning approval for an upcoming redevelopment of this centre at the northeast corner of Yonge and Sheppard.  A new 39-storey apartment will be erected on the site as well as the introduction of Longos and LA Fitness.
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It’s interesting when many people think about commercial real estate, they focus on the sexy retail and office component of the business.  However, industrial buildings are a major component to many successful business operations.  The GTA currently has the strongest industrial real estate market in North America.  New industrial buildings have recently been built on spec (some with LEED certification) as this area of GTA commercial real estate is thriving (Western Canada is struggling with the difficulties in the energy market).
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I assist many clients with their commercial real estate lease renewals.  Assuming that a deal negotiated 5 or 10 years prior to renewing your lease is still satisfactory (except for monthly rent) is the wrong way to potentially continue a business relationship with your landlord.  Hiring a broker to provide you with market rents in your respective area, a synopsis of upcoming changes in the area (i.e. new public transportation like the LRT that may affect traffic, new buildings and amenities) is essential to making an informed decision.
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Well, another busy week in the world of commercial real estate!   My week has involved working with several clients in Brampton, downtown Toronto, north Toronto and midtown Toronto.  I am working on deals for clients who are looking for retail, office and industrial space.

Here are some of the notable headlines from the CRE industry this week.

In the retail business, sales per square foot is a key measure of how successful a business operation is.   As everyone knows, Target had major struggles operating its business in Canada and that is why they recently closed all of their stores.  It has been reported that Walmart’s sales in Canada were five times higher than Target which was one of the reasons for Target’s demise.
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It was announced this week that successful Quebec retailer, La Maison Simons will be opening 2 new stores at Yorkdale and Square One.  This will be a nice addition to these very successful shopping centres.
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As July approaches and the start of the summer travel season beginning, many of us will be travelling through airports in North America and elsewhere.  LS Travel Retail which operates the Relay stores has launched a new store concept at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport to improve the shopping experience for travellers.    Check it out this summer as well as other new retail stores that have recently opened at Pearson.
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This has been a very hectic week for me!  Finalizing a few deals for my clients, meeting with new clients and receiving a few new referrals from past clients.  However, the most satisfying occurrence this week was receiving a very positive testimonial from a recent client.  Telling prospective clients that you will work hard for them, represent their best interests and give them enough information to make informed decisions is all well and good, but actually following through and ensuring complete satisfaction from clients is a different story.  Read More to see what a client recently wrote about the way I conduct my business to see how I can help you with your commercial real estate needs.

As I am sure most of you know, Union Station in Toronto, has undergone a huge renovation.  New retailers, food tenants and more are being brought in to upgrade this aging terminal.  In an effort for change, there will be an 8 week food market this summer giving business people, residents and tourists the opportunity to try new foods from these vendors.
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Big news announced this week in the commercial real estate industry was that Sunlife Financial has acquired investment manager Bentall Kennedy Group for $560M.  Bentall has assets under management of $27 billion with 91 million square feet of properties and combined they will have $47 billion of assets under management.
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Some law firms, accounting firms and other businesses are changing the way employees work.  Gone are the days of businesses giving all senior management private offices with large windows and privacy.  Many businesses are choosing to have open work environments, improved amenities for employees and some are even converting offices to paperless environments enabling employees to work from home, client’s offices or elsewhere.
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Enjoy your weekend as the first day of summer is Sunday!

May has finally arrived!  I bet you never thought you would see sunshine and warmth after the winter/early spring we have had.   The continuing announcements of new condo developments, shopping centre expansions/renovations, new office tower developments and many retail store closures continues to make the commercial real estate industry interesting and robust.

Notable happenings in commercial real estate from April 2015:
The retail landscape has significantly changed in the past several months.  With Target closing up shop in Canada, being the most significant news in the retail industry since….Target announcing in 2011 it would be acquiring the leases of 189 Zellers stores.    Other retailers announcing closures recently, Future Shop, PF Changs, Sony, Mexx and more, leads us to believe that retail in Canada is different than operating stores in the US.  Online shopping, price conscious shoppers and product differences/availability offered by US retailers expanding to Canada has hurt many retailers.  The market is sophisticated in the great white north and customers are brand conscious and price focused.   High end retail is thriving (look no further than Bloor Street, Yorkdale, Square One and Sherway Gardens) enabling lots of expansion projects throughout Canada.  More mixed-used developments (with increasing amounts of retail) are being considered throughout Toronto (residential condos, retail and office space) which brings more potential consumers/business people to these bustling neighbourhoods.
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As you look around the Toronto skyline you will undoubtedly see cranes everywhere.  Everybody knows about the condo boom but what about the office building boom…..There are approximately 114 class “A” buildings in downtown Toronto.  Eight former trophy properties in the downtown core including First Canadian Place and Scotia Plaza each have approximately 200,000 square feet of vacant space currently or becoming vacant in the near future.  Many corporations are relocating their offices to newer buildings that are LEED certified with a focus on water savings, energy efficiency, improved indoor air quality and green roofs.  Lower energy use, increased sunlight and better use of recyclable materials circles back to a business’s social responsibility.  Supply of office space in the downtown core is outpacing demand 3:1.   Large corporations are the key drivers of the new office developments however, smaller businesses may or may not be planning to move into these new towers.  Many smaller corporations are concerned with their bottom line, not necessarily willing to shell out more rent to open offices in a LEED certified building.  Only time will tell (based on the vacancy rates in Toronto) how successful these new developments/filling the older office towers will be.
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Educating my clients on a day-to-day basis to ensure the entire commercial real estate process, from finding a space to finalizing negotiations, is smooth and simple is my most important role.  With that in mind, explaining somewhat complicated terminology while giving real world examples (from past experiences) ultimately should help my clients with their decisions.  A key term in the commercial real estate industry that many of my clients are not familiar with is the difference between useable and rentable square footage.  Useable square footage is the actual square footage of your premise (wall to wall).  There is a gross-up factor added to the useable square footage (building’s shared space) that takes into consideration the common areas of the building (whether office, retail or industrial space) including lobbies, restrooms, stairwells, parking lot and common corridors.  In commercial real estate, rent is always calculated on rentable square footage.
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As I am sure you can imagine, I receive many inquiries from those wanting to invest in commercial real estate/investment properties.  I often hear from clients/friends who want to “get into” the commercial real estate market.  Looking for investment properties isn’t easy and requires substantial time and effort using a qualified broker who has knowledge of the industry and is connected to potential buyers/sellers.  Check out what Mark Gelfand, LL.B., from Kronis, Rotsztain, Margles, Cappel LLP wrote about Important Items to Consider When Purchasing Property.
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Stay connected!

Well…today is May 1st.  Sunny day, temperatures warming up to reasonable levels and it is my birthday!!  Thank you to all of my family, friends and clients for the well wishes on this special day!  Everyone should be reflective on their birthday and to be thankful for all the good things in life.  Being my birthday, I thought I would change the type of content presented to my readers to make it about things I like to do.  I have a keen interest in retail, cycling/spinning and travel.

The retail industry is in a state of transition.  Many shopping centres are spending significant capital dollars to expand and renovate while attracting the world’s top retailers.  Specifically in Toronto, many malls are in this state of mind…Yorkdale, Sherway Gardens and Square One.  We are lucky in Toronto to have so many retail options weather enclosed malls, Bloor Street, Queen Street or outlet malls.
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When I travel to the United States, I always try to seek out a Flywheel spin studio.  Their classes are high energy, with very motivational instructors and I love that TorqBoard!  I saw this inspirational testimonial written by a Flywheel participant and was very moved by it.
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I have stayed at a few Four Season’s hotels in my lifetime (not enough) and the quality of service, amenities and hotel rooms is far superior than any other hotel chain in the world.  They are offering a flight around the world on a Four Seasons private jet,  if you have $119,000 to spend.  Who’s in?
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