Posted Jun 7, 2011, 4:07 PM
|
|
Registered User
|
|
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 1,858
|
|
Another attempt at Heron gate redevelopment...RioCan this time:
Quote:
RioCan targets $18M purchase of Herongate Mall
Elizabeth Howell, Ottawa Business Journal
Published on June 7, 2011
Plaza will be redeveloped, but anchor tenants to stay
RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX:REI.UN) plans to purchase a 75-per-cent share of Ottawa's aging Herongate Mall later this year.
The $18-million joint venture acquisition, done in partnership with Trinity Developments Inc., will trigger a long-awaited redevelopment of the 30-year-old facility, which is sandwiched between Heron and Walkley roads in the south end of Ottawa.
RioCan waived some conditions of the purchase and sale agreement, but did not specify what those were.
Media reports say the mall had a vacancy of 40 per cent, which was exascerbated when the 50,000-square-foot Convergys facility at one end of the mall closed in 2010.
Fixing up the 200,000-square-foot plaza had been discussed as far back as 2000, when then-owner Oxford Properties told OBJ it was looking to "maximize" the available space. The plan never materialized.
Current Mississauga, Ont.-based owner Transglobe Property Management bought the property in 2007 with plans to do renovations.
"The mall ... needs to be revitalized," said Paul Dillon, marketing director for TransGlobe, in a 2009 OBJ interview.
"We want to be able to provide the surrounding neighbourhood with a more visually appealing mall for their retail needs and also attract new retailers to align with the customers in the area."
Redevelopment plans fell through after real estate took a hit during the recession.
The 16-acre property will still have anchor tenants like Pharma Plus, Scotiabank and Metro after redevelopment, RioCan stated.
The transaction is expected to finish in the third quarter of 2011.
|
|