Quote:
Originally Posted by TheRitsman
Real Properties needs to get over themselves. They have a gold mine sitting there and they have chosen to squander it for whatever reason. This is what happens when you have a company that doesn't believe in the city they've invested in at all. If they filled the office towers with cheaper leases they would have a full and incredibly profitable property in the centre of one of Canadas largest cities. Instead they allowed the entire place to deteriorate.
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I don't disagree with you.
Every city has its share of owners that are mainly just sitting on their properties, without doing much to improve them or maximize their use. Probably waiting for the tide that will "float their boats" and using what they own to help finance other purchases.
The Real Group companies are owned by Yale and Manulife. Yale's history of minor changes to Jackson Square over the last few decades is one thing, but Manulife is probably risk averse and invested with a hope of a big payoff down the road when part/all of it is sold. Why spend a bundle doing what was noted in those 2014 news stories (fixing the "numerous problems with the building that require a complete overhaul" and using that as an opportunity to "redesign parts of the mall") when you can probably keep the issues in check long enough for someone else to make the investment? If they did get the longer lease on land, that just makes the whole thing more valuable.
We'll probably see parts of the mall demolished or substantially replaced, either by the current owners or whomever they eventually sell to. Another reason not to do much overhauling of the existing stuff in the shorter term.