Rio...still buyingGreat day all...Gary
RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust Quick Quote: REI.UN 18.46 (Even)
RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust Announces Acquisition Of New Format Retail Shopping Centres
2/3/05
TORONTO, ONTARIO, Feb 3, 2005 (CCNMatthews via COMTEX) --
RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust ("RioCan") (TSX:REI.UN) today announced that it has acquired a portfolio of three new format retail shopping centres in Quebec which will comprise over 1.9 million square feet (including shadow anchors) of new
ly constructed, state-of-the-art retail space. This transaction is being completed in stages and RioCan has now completed the acquisition of 620,000 square feet for a purchase price of $113 million. Acquisitions of a further 500,000 square feet are expected over the next two years as construction is completed. The user-owned shadow anchors, which aggregate approximately 800,000 square feet, are, in the main, already completed.
Mega Centre Notre Dame in Laval will ultimately comprise 700,000 square feet anchored by (user-owned) retailers Super C (Metro Richelieu) and Zellers. National tenants include Winners, HomeSense, Mexx, Blockbuster, Guess, Tristan, Penningtons and Fairweather. An additional 326,000 square feet will be completed and acquired by RioCan over the next two years such that RioCan's owned interest will be over 500,000 square feet.
Mega Centre Lebourgneuf in Quebec City will total 870,000 square feet anchored by (user-owned) retailers Costco, Home Depot, Canadian Tire and Loblaws. National tenants include Aubainerie, Winners, HomeSense, Sports Experts, Staples/Business Depot, Tommy Hilfiger, Tristan, Jacob, Aldo, La Vie en Rose, Reitmans and Moores. An additional 165,000 square feet will be completed and acquired by RioCan over the next two years such that RioCan's owned interest will be over 455,000 square feet.
Mega Centre Beauport in Quebec City will comprise 330,000 square feet anchored by (user-owned) retailer Reno Depot. National tenants include Cineplex Odeon, Staples/Business Depot, Sports Experts, Addition Elle and Burger King. An additional 23,000 square feet will be completed and acquired by RioCan over the next two years such that RioCan's owned interest will be over 165,000 square feet.
In addition to the three shopping centres acquired, RioCan has entered into a firm agreement with the vendors to purchase a 50% interest and become equal partners in Quartiers 10/30 in Brossard, Quebec, which is currently under development. Upon expected completion in the fall of 2006, this centre will comprise over 1,375,000 square feet of retail space, including shadow anchors. Extensive preleasing has commenced and tenancies include Canadian Tire, Cineplex Odeon, Sport Chek and the site will also be home to a user-owned Loblaws.
The vendors retain responsibility for development and leasing of the yet to be completed portions of these shopping centres until all these acquisitions are completed by RioCan.
Mr. Edward Sonshine, Q.C., President & CEO of RioCan, said, "We are very excited about this transaction, which has resulted in our adding a significant amount of prime new format retail space to our portfolio in what is an extremely competitive market for acquisitions. Furthermore, this new partnership with Devimco, an established developer in Quebec, will hopefully lead to yet another ongoing pipeline of new format retail shopping centres for RioCan."
About RioCan
RioCan's purpose is to deliver to its unitholders stable and reliable cash distributions, which continuously increase over time. RioCan is Canada's largest real estate investment trust with total assets of approximately $4.1 billion. It has ownership interests in a portfolio of 187 retail properties across Canada containing an aggregate of approximately 45 million square feet including partners' and shadow anchors' interests.
RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust Edward Sonshine, Q.C. President & CEO (416) 866-3018 www.riocan.com NEWS RELEASE TRANSMITTED BY CCNMatthews