Costco Wholesale has started construction on a 162,000 square foot store on a 21-acre site on Meadowlands Dr, west of Main St. in West St Paul, a community located about 20 kilometers north of Winnipeg. Scheduled for an August 2027 opening, the unit is in the master planned Meadowland West St Paul community and along with its traditional retail offering, will include a garden centre, auto service station and food service. Presently there are four Costco stores, including one Business Centre, in Manitoba, all in Winnipeg. Costco will shadow-anchor the proposed 110,000 square foot Meadowlands Place neighbourhood shopping centre. (Costco Wholesale – www.costco.ca)…………
In response to the recent unsolicited take-over bid by Curaleaf Holdings Inc., Edmonton-based Aurora Cannabis Inc. has advised its shareholders to take no action until the Board of Directors of Aurora has made a formal recommendation to shareholders. Miguel Martin, Executive Chairman and CEO of Aurora stated, “The strong shareholder support demonstrated at our 2026 AGM reinforces our commitment to the long-term strategy we are executing. We believe Curaleaf made a strategic decision to make its offer public to pressure our shareholders into making a short-term decision for the benefit of Curaleaf shareholders. We will not do that. We are building this Company for the long term and will always do what is right for Aurora shareholders.” The Board has formed a special committee of independent directors. The Special Committee will consider the offer with its advisors before making a recommendation to the Board. ((Curaleaf Holdings – www.curaleaf.com) & (Aurora Cannabis – www.auroramedical.com)………
White Plains, New York-based Mavis Tire Express Services has completed its approximately $700 million(US) acquisition of Pep Boys from Icahn Automotive Group. Pep Boys will continue operating under its existing brand, while adding nearly 800 locations to Mavis’s network. The deal expands Mavis to more than 4,400 service centres across the U.S., significantly strengthening its presence in the Western United States. Icahn Enterprises retained Pep Boys’ former real estate holdings, along with the AAMCO and Precision Tune Auto Care businesses. (Mavis Tire Express Services – www.mavis.com) & (Pep Boys – www.pepboys.com)……………
Canadian Urban Ltd, a real estate investment and asset management firm, reports that The Shops at Highland, a 111,000 square foot neighbourhood retail centre in Kitchener in Southern Ontario, has been acquired for $31 million(Cdn) on behalf of a Canadian institutional investor. Completed August 17, 2026, the property is 97 percent leased and anchored by a prominent pharmacy retailer. Its strong occupancy, below-market rents and diverse tenant mix provide stable cash flow and rental-growth potential. Located at Highland Rd West and Westmount Rd, the centre benefits from strong traffic, established residential neighbourhoods and opportunities for future repositioning, beautification and intensification. (Canadian Urban Ltd – www.canadianurban.com)……….
Unless someone pulls a rabbit out of the hat in the time from when I’m writing this and when it lands on your in-box on Monday morning, Canada is in a Trade War. And with this political pissing-contest driven by power, pride and dominance, about 385-million average citizens, yes, that’s the population all across both countries, will be faced with higher prices and increased economic uncertainty. Those customers that are visiting your store, your restaurant and your shopping centre will immediately see higher costs.
The ‘uncertainty’ will be immediately felt in the retail/restaurant real estate category too. The brokerage community will be spending hours and days fielding calls from clients that are putting ‘done-deals’ on hold and cancelling meetings. Planned investments have overnight gone from sure-things to let’s-wait-and-see.
Hopefully the dust will settle over the next few weeks and down-to-earth economics with kick in. Cooler heads will recognize that new deals and expansion are what makes our industry move forward. Doing nothing is not the answer. There is a national convention coming up in Toronto in a few weeks. This is your opportunity to save some of those deals. And yes, it’s an opportunity to start some new ones.
It might be time to take a page out of the ‘Old School’ leasing manual…………the best deal is when both parties walk away smiling……….