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February 19, 2014
Surrey's New Centerpiece
Surrey's new City Hall—a new landmark in City Centre—is now officially open for business as of this week. (You might have read about it in International City Halls Quarterly... if it were a publication that existed.)
Mayor Dianne Watts (shown at a recent event, left) lauds the opening as a milestone for the city, an iconic piece of architecture, and a further catalyst for investment in the area. The vision is to transform Surrey's City Centre into an economic, social, and cultural hub. Since the announcement that there'd be a new city hall, the private sector has attracted more than $3B in current and future investment into the area.
The grand opening for the new city hall will be held April 26. New city hall amenities for the community include a gathering/celebration venue and urban park space, a theatre and performing arts venue (a perfect place to put on our play NNN Leases: a Play in Three Acts), a public daycare, and public art areas.
PIRET Closes The Deal
We spoke with Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust president Kevan Gorrie about the REIT's growth strategy for 2014. “With the pullback in the fixed-income market, we've had to be more patient and selective in raising capital and putting it work,” he tells us. The Vancouver-based REIT announced yesterday the successful closing of a single-tenant industrial property in Calgary for $12.1M and a portfolio of five multi-tenant and single-tenant industrial properties in the greater Toronto area for $93M. PIRET's portfolio now totals 161 properties totaling 13.9M SF of leasable space.
Fairmont Hotel Renovations On Track
An update on construction progress at Ivanhoe Cambridge's Fairmont Hotel Vancouver: According to GM Michael Pye, unanticipated construction delays have pushed back the opening of The Roof restaurant on the 15th floor. The opening, which was scheduled for Feb. 14, will still happen this month. This year, the hotel is celebrating its 75th anniversary. (Traditionally, it's the diamond and gold anniversary if you're looking to buy it something nice.) The venue opened when the hotel debuted and became known as a classic destination for dinner and dancing (above).
Overall, the hotel is undergoing $12M in renovations for the lobby area. The Roof renovation is part of that budget. With a free-standing Christian Dior store still rumoured to be the future occupant of a two-level space, Ivanhoe Cambridge has been expanding retail space within the hotel for select luxury retailers. Other retailers on the lobby level already include Gucci, Omega, Louis Vuitton, and St. John, so whoever goes into the new retail space will have wonderful neighbours, a Fairmont spokesperson tells us.
Balanced Budget A Welcome Sight
One group that's happy with the news that the B.C. government is balancing the budget is the province's $10B restaurant industry. (Because it means government employees will be ordering out while working late?) Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association VP of Western Canada Mark von Schellwitz says a balanced budget reduces debt servicing costs and takes the pressure off government to raise personal and business taxes. That translates to more disposable income for British Columbians to spend in restaurants. A balanced budget will also attract new investment and encourage job creation in the hospitality industry, Mark adds.
YOU TELL US: Should Fido Be Welcome?
Dogs seem as ubiquitous as interns in some office buildings (though we haven't been as successful in training the latter to fetch our coffee). We've also seen cats sprawled across lobby desks and Fluffy faithfully trailing his owner in the supermarket's canned food aisle. It's a common sight in tech and creative strongholds, but is it a trend we shouldembrace? Or should owners leave their furry friends at home? Tell us how pets impact you by clicking our survey.
Keep those cards and letters coming in. We are always looking for industry new, announcements, events to cover -- anything you want to talk about. Email mark.keast@bisnow.com
