Northern Light
Superstar
So.....
Over at the Union Centre thread for Toronto............. @ProjectEnd and I have been having too much fun.
LOL
At the risk there will be more people who know more things and post them first here at UT...........
I'm going to provide a manual for those who want to be more 'in the know'.
Caveat, people with industry ties will often have a head's up before anything is remotely public; often they/we/I are very limited in what we can or should say.
That isn't always a matter of an NDA (non-disclosure agreement); but sometimes a matter of having found out about something through a professional contact or friends or fellow UT member on the QT and not wanting
to cause them any trouble.
That said, most of us come here to learn from others and to share what we know as much as is practical.
One of the ways I do that is by drawing attention to public statements or documents that are not my own and may reveal something.
But I do realize that can seem a tantalizing tease if you don't know what you're looking or listening for.........
So here's a guide on where you can look for things and how.
*******
1) Whether its commercial (office); or retail, most large tenants have preferred landlords/development partners. This is not a secret. Walmart does a lot of business with 'Smart Centres' would be one example in retail.
Loblaws tends to work with Choice REIT; and TD can be found in an awful lot of Cadillac Fairview owned office properties.
It needs to be said, everyone of those I noted above has space in properties not controlled by their 'preferred partner'. So that's not a hard rule. Tenants do shift according to their needs and opportunities. But its a good thing to keep in mind, when wondering where a given company might choose to locate.
2) The status of a development has several public points where things can be seen. Notably, in Toronto, at the application stage, via the Application Information Centre. But the City also maintains a Building Permit Status portal which logs building permits, but also demolition permits.
3) On the subject of applications, when items come before Committee/Council you will often see stakeholder letters. These are sometimes innocuous, but sometimes have very interesting information in them.
4) Landlords/developers do what? They build............and.....they lease. Sometimes marketing brochures for a property reveal a great deal. Their absence (you can't find any leasing info for that proposal?) tends to mean one of two things.........it hasn't yet hit the market; or, the space is already leased out. I'm over simplifying.........but its info to consider.
5) While we're at it...........do those prospective tenants have existing space? Is there an existing building in the way of the new one? Why not see if the existing space appears to be marketed? Maybe check out of the space that you think needs demo'ing is still leasing out space to tenants. Also, if there's a major tenant in the way of a redevelopment; chances are they will be relocating; and therefore signing a new lease elsewhere.
6) On the above, outsiders may find it hard to gain info from someone high up in a developer/landlord's office; but you can always wander into a retail concourse and casually say......' Is it true that they are redeveloping this place?' Its amazing what info might spill your way.
6) Construction Trades sites often have good info mixed in with suspect info. They usually tend to get the broad strokes right, but info can be quickly stale-dated as proposals evolve or work their way through the application process. But man do those trades love lists.......and often those lists include words like 'status'.......... while it isn't always accurate........ it may tell you where to look.
7) Just like clients often have preferred landlords/developers; developers often have preferred GC's or lead contractors; paying attention to those may net you some info too.
*****
The players in development change over time.........but some of the current biggies in Toronto would be (in no particular order)
Cadillac Fairview
Oxford
Ivanhoe Cambridge
Hines
Allied
Dream
Brookfield
Kingsett
Sun Life/Bentall Kennedy
Aside from that, there are a few others who tend to play below that level in this market...........but have more than enough capital to build big should they choose.
Over at the Union Centre thread for Toronto............. @ProjectEnd and I have been having too much fun.
LOL
At the risk there will be more people who know more things and post them first here at UT...........
I'm going to provide a manual for those who want to be more 'in the know'.
Caveat, people with industry ties will often have a head's up before anything is remotely public; often they/we/I are very limited in what we can or should say.
That isn't always a matter of an NDA (non-disclosure agreement); but sometimes a matter of having found out about something through a professional contact or friends or fellow UT member on the QT and not wanting
to cause them any trouble.
That said, most of us come here to learn from others and to share what we know as much as is practical.
One of the ways I do that is by drawing attention to public statements or documents that are not my own and may reveal something.
But I do realize that can seem a tantalizing tease if you don't know what you're looking or listening for.........
So here's a guide on where you can look for things and how.
*******
1) Whether its commercial (office); or retail, most large tenants have preferred landlords/development partners. This is not a secret. Walmart does a lot of business with 'Smart Centres' would be one example in retail.
Loblaws tends to work with Choice REIT; and TD can be found in an awful lot of Cadillac Fairview owned office properties.
It needs to be said, everyone of those I noted above has space in properties not controlled by their 'preferred partner'. So that's not a hard rule. Tenants do shift according to their needs and opportunities. But its a good thing to keep in mind, when wondering where a given company might choose to locate.
2) The status of a development has several public points where things can be seen. Notably, in Toronto, at the application stage, via the Application Information Centre. But the City also maintains a Building Permit Status portal which logs building permits, but also demolition permits.
3) On the subject of applications, when items come before Committee/Council you will often see stakeholder letters. These are sometimes innocuous, but sometimes have very interesting information in them.
4) Landlords/developers do what? They build............and.....they lease. Sometimes marketing brochures for a property reveal a great deal. Their absence (you can't find any leasing info for that proposal?) tends to mean one of two things.........it hasn't yet hit the market; or, the space is already leased out. I'm over simplifying.........but its info to consider.
5) While we're at it...........do those prospective tenants have existing space? Is there an existing building in the way of the new one? Why not see if the existing space appears to be marketed? Maybe check out of the space that you think needs demo'ing is still leasing out space to tenants. Also, if there's a major tenant in the way of a redevelopment; chances are they will be relocating; and therefore signing a new lease elsewhere.
6) On the above, outsiders may find it hard to gain info from someone high up in a developer/landlord's office; but you can always wander into a retail concourse and casually say......' Is it true that they are redeveloping this place?' Its amazing what info might spill your way.
6) Construction Trades sites often have good info mixed in with suspect info. They usually tend to get the broad strokes right, but info can be quickly stale-dated as proposals evolve or work their way through the application process. But man do those trades love lists.......and often those lists include words like 'status'.......... while it isn't always accurate........ it may tell you where to look.
7) Just like clients often have preferred landlords/developers; developers often have preferred GC's or lead contractors; paying attention to those may net you some info too.
*****
The players in development change over time.........but some of the current biggies in Toronto would be (in no particular order)
Cadillac Fairview
Oxford
Ivanhoe Cambridge
Hines
Allied
Dream
Brookfield
Kingsett
Sun Life/Bentall Kennedy
Aside from that, there are a few others who tend to play below that level in this market...........but have more than enough capital to build big should they choose.
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