Content about Property

Toronto -- Canadian Tire Corp. plans to spin off most of its real estate assets into a C$3.5 billion (approximately U.S. $3.49 billion) real estate investment trust, with an initial public offering expected later this year. The proposed new REIT would acquire a majority of the company's owned real estate, including approximately 250 properties comprised largely of Canadian Tire Retail stores, Canadian Tire anchored retail developments and one distribution center.  

Dallas -- SRS Real Estate Partners and Cresa announced an agreement to form a new company to perform lease administration services for retail, office and industrial clients.

The new company will be known as SRS-Cresa Lease Administration, and will deliver a spectrum of lease administration services including critical date management, CAM audits, occupancy cost reconciliations, and full portfolio lease administration services out of currently established offices in Dallas and in Chicago.

By Sandra Gold Slon, attorney, Los Angeles-based TroyGould

Last June, two organizations — Retail Industry Leaders Association and International Council of Shopping Centers — co-sponsored a sustainability initiative that ultimately would set the bar for landlord/tenant partnerships.

The last 14 months haven’t been without bumps. Forging positive, mutually beneficial programs that involve cooperation from shopping center owners and their retail tenants has long been one of this industry’s greatest — and most frustrating — challenges.

Virginia Beach, Va. -- Divaris Real Estate Inc. announced the following lease transactions were completed for several retail tenants:

A lease extension was signed with Tidewater Finance Co. for 25,516 sq. ft. of retail space in the DRE-leased and –managed Tidewater Plaza in Virginia Beach.

San Francisco -- Jones Lang LaSalle announced that John Stevens joined the firm’s San Francisco office as VP leasing specialist. A 25-year veteran of commercial real estate, Stevens will focus on leasing space in the firm’s 12 million-sq.-ft., third-party retail portfolio on the West Coast.

Lending to retailers is once again on the rise, as capital flows back into the market and retailers that stayed afloat during the recession look to strengthen their competitive positions. During the economic downturn, the more nimble and savvy retailers cut costs, reduced inventory levels, renegotiated leases and closed underperforming stores. 


Atlanta -- Jones Lang LaSalle announced it has been chosen for 13 new retail services assignments including property management, leasing and accounting services for a variety of owners throughout the United States.

During the first half of 2011, Jones Lang LaSalle has added 22 new retail assignments totaling more than 5.3 million sq. ft. of space.

By Sandra Gold Slon

Who needs an exit strategy? In this economy, most of us are aware of tenants facing difficulties in meeting their lease obligations. If we weren’t thinking about it front and center, it was brought front and center when Borders declared bankruptcy, closing hundreds of stores.

New York City -- Only 7% of executives believe their companies are extremely or very prepared to comply with new lease accounting standards proposed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), according to a recent Deloitte survey.

Eighteen months ago, the word in retail was contraction. Talk of expansion was mostly shelved, pending some kind of palpable turnaround in the economy.


Today, as 2010 comes to a close and all eyes are trained on 2011, discussion about adding stores is supplanting talk of closures. But, caution the experts, retail growth should unfold slowly and strategically, and not with the optimistic abandon of years past.