Canadian Commercial and Residential Real Estate News

Daily News - January 19, 2005

Investor Urges MI Developments to Become REIT - midevelopments.com - MIM.SV.A-T - MIM.MV.B-T - MIM-N - One of the largest investors in MI Developments Inc. is calling for the breakup of the real estate company and has demanded a shareholders' meeting to vote on the idea. New York investment firm Greenlight Capital Inc., which owns 9.9 per cent of MI, wants the company to sell or spin off its 59-per-cent stake in horse racing subsidiary Magna Entertainment Corp. (MEC) and convert the rest of its property holdings to a REIT.
Globe and Mail, January 19, 2005

Onex Enters North American Real Estate Market $200 Million U.S. - onex.com - OCX.SV-T - Onex Corp. is moving into real estate with a $200 million (U.S.) fund to buy assets in North America. The new company, Onex Real Estate Partners LP, will be headed by veteran Michael Dana, former co-head of real estate investment banking for the Americas for Credit Suisse First Boston, the parent company announced yesterday.
Toronto Star, January 19, 2005 (Also reported by Canadian Press, January 19, 2005)

Canadian Companies Spending $1 Billion Annually on Employee Relocation - irp-pri.com - Approximately 110,000 relocations by Canadian companies take place annually at a cost of about $1 billion, according to a recent report commissioned by Royal LePage Relocation Services (RLRS). The"Emerging Trends in Employee Mobility" report, an in-depth survey from 100 Canadian-based companies, notes that the average Canadian company invests almost $20,000 to move a single employee to another location in the country, while large(*) companies typically spend almost double that figure.
Canada News Wire, January 19, 2005

U.S. Owners To Sell Casino Nova Scotia Hotel - Las Vegas-based Caesar's Entertainment hired a Nova Scotia real-estate company to find a buyer for the waterfront Casino Nova Scotia Hotel, and employees were notified of the decision yesterday, a hotel spokeswoman said. The provincial government is considering buying out the company's contract to manage the Halifax and Sydney gambling establishments.
Globe and Mail, January 19, 2005

InterRent International Properties Inc. Reports Record Revenues, Reduced Loss for 2004 - InterRent International Properties Inc. today reported its highest annual revenues since the Company's incorporation in 1997. Rental revenues climbed by 29% on a year over year basis to $1,657,934, while total revenues increased by 46% over the prior year to $1,917,580.
Canada News Wire, January 19, 2005

Royal LePage Franchise Services Fund Declares Monthly Cash Distribution to Unitholders
Canada News Wire, January 19, 2005

Canadian Hotel REIT a 'buy' from Canaccord - chipreit.com - HOT.UN-T - HOT.DB-T - HOT.DB.A-T - Jonathan Kelcher, an analyst with Canaccord Capital Corp., has initiated coverage of Canadian Hotel Income Properties REIT with a "buy" recommendation and a $11.25 12-month price target, calling the company "a stable performer in a volatile industry."
Globe and Mail, January 19, 2005

RioCan REIT Announces January 2005 Distribution - riocan.com - REI.UN-T
CCN Matthews, January 19, 2005

Royal Host REIT Announces January 2005 Distribution of $0.03 to Unitholders - royalhost.com - RYL.UN-T - RYL.DB-T - RYL.DB.A-T
CCN Matthews, January 19, 2005

Canadian REIT announces January 2005 Distribution - creit.ca - REF.UN-T -
CCN Matthews, January 19, 2005

Abundance of projects means a bright future for Vancouver construction sector - With $16-billion worth of major projects on the horizon by 2010 for B.C.'s booming major construction sector, contractors can pick and chose the projects they want to compete for, an industry representative said Thursday.
Vancouver Sun, January 19, 2005

Average House Price Gains Greater than 10% in Toronto in 2004: RE/MAX - Single-detached homes in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) provided the best return on investment in 2004, with 33.7 per cent of the close to 90 Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) districts examined posting average price gains in excess of 10 per cent, according to RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada.
Canada News Wire, January 19, 2005

Ottawa Retailers bank on right mix of tenants, renovations - The majority of Ottawa's regional shopping centres enjoyed year-over-year gains in the last quarter of 2004 as many update their looks with eye-catching renovations. Carlingwood Shopping Centre, the Rideau Centre and Bayshore Shopping Centre saw a continual increase in sales over 2003 while Place d'Orleans experienced a decline in sales between September and November.
Ottawa Business Journal, January 19, 2005

Krispy Kreme ousts CEO, warns of 'significant' drop in Q4 sales - krispykreme.com - Krispy Kreme Doughnuts shares rose 10 per cent after the company announced it had dumped CEO Scott Livengood. The company said Livengood will retire and be replaced by Stephen Cooper, who recently stick-handled Enron Corp. through bankruptcy reorganization.
CBC.ca, January 19, 2005 (Also reported by Canada News Wire, January 19, 2005)

Profit wilts at 1-800-Flowers.com - 1-800-Flowers.com - 1-800-Flowers.com posted a 36-per-cent drop in profit in the latest quarter from last year, when it was not required to reserve for taxes, but results met Wall Street's lowered expectations. Net income came to $8.7-million (U.S.) or 13 cents a share for the second quarter ended Dec. 26, compared with $13.7-million, or 20 cents a share, a year ago.
Globe and Mail, January 19, 2005

Priszm Canadian Income Fund Announces January Distribution - priszm.com - QSR.UN-T
Canada News Wire, January 19, 2005

Liquor Stores Income Fund Announces January Cash Distribution
Canada News Wire, January 19, 2005

Foreign Property Values Could Finally Moderate - The sky-high prices for commercial real estate in Europe and a growing interest in China are expected to dominate a summit of global real-estate executives this weekend at the resort city of St. Moritz in Switzerland. The most pressing question for many investors is whether current price levels for real estate can be sustained on a long-term basis, says Henri Alster, president of American European Investment Bankers and chairman of the New York-based Global Real Estate Institute, which organized the conference.
Wall St. Journal, January 19, 2005

Regent Park development clears key hurdle - The proposed redevelopment of Regent Park, home to more than 7,500 low-income tenants in the central city, cleared a key hurdle yesterday. Toronto and East York community council approved the $1-billion revitalization that requires city council approval at its next meeting in early February.
Globe and Mail, January 19, 2005

Big Pipe court fight goes ahead. Judge quashes region's challenge Fish habitat dying - In his private prosecution, environmentalist Jim Robb is alleging that construction of the Big Pipe is critically damaging an important fish-spawning creek that flows into Rouge Park. When finished, the Big Pipe will move up to 740 million litres of raw sewage daily from communities across York and Durham to treatment facilities on Lake Ontario in Pickering.
Toronto Star, January 19, 2005

Toronto Businss Improvement Area Responds to Property Tax Policy - toronto-bia.com - When the Province of Ontario introduced Current Value Assessment (CVA) the large majority of shops on Toronto's main thoroughfares were faced with huge increases in assessment and correspondingly huge increases in their property taxes. Small businesses were most seriously affected, the family-owned boutiques, restaurants and shops. When the then Conservative Government realized how destructive Current Value Assessment (CVA) would be to Toronto, it put certain protections into place.
Canada News Wire, January 19, 2005

Regional Divide in High-speed Internet Access to continue, Sabia says - The highly anticipated launch this spring of Canada's first affordable broadband satellite service won't be enough to bridge the high-speed divide, according to the head of phone giant BCE Inc. Michael Sabia, chief executive of Montreal-based BCE, parent of Bell Canada, said satellite services are one part of a puzzle that will include the expansion of existing high-speed wireline networks.
Toronto Star, January 19, 2005

Mississauga Gets New GO station. 1st addition in city in 25 years - On the Milton line, the new Lisgar station will be situated between Meadowvale and Milton stations at the northwest corner of Tenth Line and the CP Rail tracks. It is scheduled to open in 2007.
Toronto Star, January 19, 2005

The Real Estate News Exchange (RENX)
P.O. Box 5642, Stn. A, Toronto, Ontario, M5W 1N8
Tel: 416-368-6741, Email: thankyou@renx.ca

Disclaimer: Squall inc., the owner of RENX.ca, provides the information, recommendations and comments presented in RENX.ca publications for information purposes only. It is not to be relied upon by recipients of the newsletters, investors or any other persons who may read it. All readers of the information are advised to conduct their own research into individual stocks, or any other matter concerning the information, as they may deem appropriate. Neither Squall Inc. nor its advertisers and sponsors guarantees, warrants nor assumes any responsibility or liability of any kind with respect to the accuracy, correctness, completeness, suitability or decisions derived from the Information.