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Best Space Use Models for CRE Properties During & After COVID19

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Due to COVID-19 health concerns, many businesses across Canada are operating at a limited capacity. Some provinces in the country, just this month, closed non-essential stores to prevent the further spread of the virus.

That accelerated the growth of online shopping, takeout orders and the need for more delivery service. Now retailers and CRE property owners are facing a more significant challenge – what to do with their empty or limited retail space?

Here are some of the best space-use models retailers are using right now.

Industrial is the new Retail. Retail is now Office. Restaurants are kitchens-only.

Mixed-use properties have always included retail, but now retail spaces themselves are becoming more mixed-use.

Not only are retail mall spaces converting to warehouse use, but retail centres are also welcoming office workers to help businesses with high workplace density. Many are turning their retail space into medical offices, research centres, daycare centres, self-service grocery stores, and more.

When it comes to food, people now mostly rely on delivery services and takeouts. Thus this is causing restaurants to make the switch to the ghost-kitchen model, where they only use the kitchen space to make food and prep food for delivery.

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2021 Looks Bright for the Canadian CRE Sector

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The Canadian CRE sector has been growing for years, managing to remain strong despite the ongoing pandemic. According to Andy Warren, a PwC real estate research director, Canada’s CRE executives are highly optimistic about 2021 as well.

In collaboration with Urban Land Institute (ULI), PwC conducted a survey on emerging real estate trends. Here are some of the most important findings from their report, which show that 2021 will be an excellent year for Canada’s CRE sector.

The Most Promising Commercial Real Estate Niche Assets

Canada’s most promising CRE niche assets include mixed-use commercial properties, single-family rentals, self-storage, life sciences, and production studios.

Mixed-use properties that combine retail with medical office, with traditional office or with housing will continue to thrive.

The single-family rental sector is expected to grow mostly because of the rise of remote work. People are looking for bigger properties to accommodate their home offices.

Many of those living in smaller multifamily and single-family homes are struggling with space, which is why the need for self-storage facilities is likely to grow in 2021.

Investing in life sciences will also remain strong next year, primarily due to the ongoing vaccine development for COVID-19.

Given the increasing demand for online streaming services, investing in production studios for TV and film will be quite profitable, too.

News

Wal-Mart Canada Breaks into Vaughan Distribution Centre – Expected Completion: 2024

Walmart has been growing within Canada for a while now, consistently grabbing new commercial real estate “CRE” opportunities all over the country. With how Wal-Mart’s Canadian portfolio seems to grow every day, this is great news for their further growth. New brick-and-mortar and online stores are coming up out of the woodworks everywhere to bring the best experiences to customers.

The newest distribution centre, located in Vaughan, Ontario, is another store in the chain making up more than 400 stores Canada-wide.

Breaking Ground with Condor Properties

Condor Properties, a local Vaughan real estate developer has teamed up with Walmart Canada to make this happen. Condor Properties boasts more than 100 diverse real estate properties in the Toronto area and the surrounding towns and cities.

The ground-breaking ceremony for these two partners’ and their new 550,000 ft2 Vaughan distribution centre was just held in August 2020. The project is expected to provide hundreds of jobs not only when the building opens and retail positions are available, but also job opportunities for local construction workers to build the facility.

The target location is at 11110 Jane Street. Not so far from residential and shopping areas so customers will be able to shop for any food or merchandise their hearts desire. It’s estimated that over 70 million products will be on the shelves coming from over 3,000 renowned suppliers, which far exceeds any other Walmart store that Canada offers so far.

The CEO and president of Wal-Mart Canada, Horacio Barbeito, couldn’t help but express his excitement about the project during the ceremony in August, saying: “These are challenging times for everyone, but we are investing for growth because we believe in Ontario and Canada’s future are proud to do business in this great country.”

The project aims for their slated completion in 2024.

Other Wal-Mart Canada’s Investments

Wal-Mart isn’t just working on this new storefront, they are set up to build many other distribution centres all throughout Canada, and some of are already in the process of development.

One such example is the new centre in Surrey, British Columbia, another grand project that aims to provide much more of Wal-Mart’s products with its 300,000 square feet of space.

The Wal-Mart distribution centre though, like the one in Cornwall, Ontario; has new plans to move towards renovating it. The upcoming improved centre will have more automated systems to help with managing health and beauty products, general merchandise, apparel, and more.

Retail investment of $3.5 Billion will benefit Canada

Only about a month ago, Wal-Mart Canada announced its newest five-year investment plan that is seen to be worth a whopping $3.5 billion, this will help Canada grow and prosper even further.

One of the things included in the plan is constructing more distribution centres and working to upgrade more than 150 of the already existing facilities to upgrade the shopping experiences to Canadian consumers and make it better.

The brick-and-mortar stores will be upgraded and made to work much smarter with digitization, and also adding new bigger self-checkouts. They will also start to introduce much more merchandise pick-up services, as well as hybrid locations for both a faster pickup and delivery for everyone.

This isn’t all though, they have the goal of having stores employ robotics and computer vision cameras to reduce any touchpoints; which helps to increase efficiency and accuracy.

Summary

Canada, and particularly Ontario, offers great potential in developments within retail commercial real estate, and it’s being recognized by many investors such as Wal-Mart. As Wal-Mart’s Canadian continues to grow, all of Canada’s consumers will have a much more efficient, faster and enjoyable shopping experience – both online and offline in-store.

The retail company aims to also make full use of the newest and best technology to help enhance Canada’s growth, partnering with a number of high-tech companies in the country.

Learn more about this and Walmarts growth in Canada here:

https://www.redevgroup.com/news-article/wal-mart-canada-breaks-ground-on-the-vaughan-distribution-centre

Media, News

Fast-Food Joints Eyeing The Canadian Market and All It’s Growth

What’s one thing that tourists and locals alike look for when they are out and about in the city? Food. Whether you are looking for something quick to eat or looking for an aesthetically pleasing meal, you will end up settling on a place to do so. Since food is such a popular medium for so many, major food chains have taken notice. Larger Canadian provinces such as Alberta and Ontario have become home or will become home to a plethora of major food chains that have seen success outside of the country.

Chick-Fil-A

Chick-Fil-A is a well knowing fast-food joint across the United States, third-largest to be exact. The company plans to expand that success further by opening up 100 new locations across Canada. Toronto, Ontario saw the opening of the first Canadian Chick-Fil-A. Despite the controversy surrounding the fast-food joint, many waited in line for hours to get their hands on the menu items.

Jollibee

Jollibee is an extremely popular fast-food joint originating from the Philippines. The food simultaneously acts as a comfort to those accustomed to the cuisine and a new experience for those looking to try something beyond what is typically offered. The success in the Philippino market has allowed Jollibee to extend well beyond the country. Today, Jollibee has more than a thousand restaurants across the globe.

Currently, there are six Jollibee locations in Canada, with talks of a new one opening up in Alberta in the near future. The success generated from this fast-food joint could be grounds for even more locations across the country.

In-N-Out Burger

Yet another popular food joint from the United States. In-N-Out is known for its burgers and animal style fries. While the other fast-food joints mentioned are making Canada their home, In-N-Out isn’t doing so just yet. In-N-Out is testing the market via a one-day pop-up shop in Aldergrove.

While the chain isn’t settling down in Canada right now, the move to test the Canadian market could mean plans for expansion are in the making.

Eataly

Eataly might not be as well-known outside of the American market, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t a massive competitor. Eataly is an Italian-style food chain that mixes both in-house, restaurant-style dining as well as a grocery store that allows patrons to purchase the food and have it prepared in the dining area. The concept has been doing exponentially well in the U.S. and is expanding beyond the borders to Ontario.

There are many fast-food chains eyeing the Canadian market as it continues to grow both in size and popularity. Beyond these, we could see quite a few new food joints opening up in Canada.

Learn more here: https://www.redevgroup.com/news-article/major-food-chains-coming-to-alberta-and-ontario

Media, News

Omnichannel: Creating Online and Offline Experiences for Customers

The way consumers shop has changed exponentially over the years. To no surprise, consumers are now shopping both online and offline. With the rise of e-commerce, the ability to obtain goods has grown significantly. Some brands choose to stay brick-and-mortar while some choose to stay strictly e-commerce. While sticking to one stream works for many, the best way to encapsulate a wider array of consumers is to create experiences both online and offline which is also known as omnichannel retailing.

What is omnichannel in regards to retail?

Omnichannel includes the sale of goods/service in both physical and digital means. For example, a clothing store has a physical location where people can shop as well as an online catalogue/website where they can make purchases as well. In essence, omnichannel is being wherever the customer is.

How can adopting an omnichannel model help retail shop owners?

With the growth of e-commerce becoming more and more prevalent, there have been many retailers who have been forced to close their doors due to their inability to compete with the convenience factor e-commerce shopping has. On the other hand, e-commerce lacks that in-person experience many look for.

Omni-channel caters to those who want a convenient method of shopping and those who yearn for that in-person experience. The ability to cater to two different demographics can help retail owners increase their profit and reach significantly more consumers than they would sticking to one stream.

How can retail shop owners create a digital presence?

Creating a digital presence takes time, but is a well worth it process. Many retailers create (or hire someone to create) a catalogue-type website that displays all the products eligible to be sold online. Retail shop owners can connect this to social media, create digital ads, or promote it through their physical location.

Adopting an omnichannel model can help retail businesses increase their overall traffic and profit. It all comes down to analyzing whether the business can cater to the digital space and how it will and work for the other all betterment of the business.

Want to learn more about the omnichannel experience? Read on here!

Media, News

Retail Real Estate: A Worthwhile Investment Going Strong in 2019

When deciding where you want to invest, it’s imperative that you conduct a significant amount of research into various investment streams in order to ensure you are making the optimal choice for your needs. Some investments, such as stocks or opening your own storefront, come with some potentially high risk and can be vastly time-consuming. Albeit, these investments have proven successful for a plethora of individuals, however, some are still in search of opportunities to allocate their funds elsewhere.

Despite the rise of e-commerce businesses, shopping plazas are still going strong. Malls continue to be filled with eager shoppers, smaller plazas continue to see visitors coming for niche products they may not get elsewhere. Similar to any other investment, retail properties require a high-degree of time, research, and planning. Location, space, and size are amongst some of the factors one must keep in mind when considering a retail property and returns are often contingent on said factors. For example, a shopping plaza in Toronto’s downtown core will cost more than one further out from the city, however, due to a higher saturation of potential consumers in the downtown core, the ability to generate significant profit within a shorter time frame is plausible.

Aside from the aforementioned factors, there are many surfacing trends that are contributing to the continual success of retail shopping plazas. From the rise of cannabis post-legalization to massive retail giants pledging astronomical funds to aid the growth of retail real estate, there are several indicators that pose benefits for shopping plaza investors.

What is driving the retail world to success currently? Why is an investment in retail real estate beneficial? Read the full article here: https://www.redevgroup.com/news-article/it-pays-to-be-in-retail-5-great-signs-for-shopping-plaza-investors

Media, News

Investment in Commercial Property Surges in Canada

According to Canada’s Real Estate News Exchange (RENX), investment in commercial property hit a new record high in the first six months of 2018, at $26.8 billion. That could put the entire year well above the annual record set in 2017 of $43.1 billion.

Current appetite for investment together with the safety and yields Canadian commercial property offers leads experts to believe that this trend is unlikely to waiver in 2019. Everyone wants a bit of the action, including big tech giants like Google.

While many analysts and biased promoters are doing a smooth job of downplaying the risks in these other markets and sectors, individuals need to be realistic about the dangers and look at the data for themselves.

It’s true that while commercial properties may offer brick and mortar security, the yields on many prime properties are trading low. Yet, many will find greater returns and yields in more localized properties just out of the center, and in more suburban and secondary markets. Of particular note, according to RENX, the reinvention of retail and spending patterns are expected to keep boosting retailer expansions at the discount and luxury ends of the market. Furthermore, mixed-use properties with retail and apartments could perform well, as vacancy rates dip below 3% and encourage rental rate increases.

Read more at https://www.redevgroup.com/news-article/investing-commercial-property-surges-but-will-canadians-bring-capital-home-in-time