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SmartCentres REIT

#3521

Rank

$3.16B

Marketcap

CA Canada

Country

SmartCentres REIT
Leadership team

Mr. Mitchell Goldhar (Exec. Chairman & CEO)

Mr. Rudy Gobin (Exec. VP of Portfolio Management & Investments)

Mr. Mauro Pambianchi (Chief Devel. Officer)

Products/ Services
Construction, Property Management, Real Estate
Headquarters
Vaughan, Ontario, Canada
Established
1994
Net Income
500M - 1B
Revenue
100M - 500M
Traded as
SRU-UN.TO
Social Media
Overview
Location
Summary
SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust is one of Canada's largest fully integrated REITs, with a best-in-class portfolio featuring 166 strategically located properties in communities across the country. SmartCentres has approximately $10.4 billion in assets and owns 33.8 million square feet of income producing value-oriented retail space with 97.4% occupancy, on 3,500 acres of owned land across Canada. SmartCentres continues to focus on enhancing the lives of Canadians by planning and developing complete, connected, mixed-use communities on its existing retail properties. A publicly announced $11.9 billion intensification program ($5.4 billion at SmartCentres' share) represents the REIT's current major development focus on which construction is expected to commence within the next five years. This intensification program consists of rental apartments, condos, seniors' residences and hotels, to be developed under the SmartLiving banner, and retail, office, and storage facilities, to be developed under the SmartCentres banner. SmartCentres' intensification program is expected to produce an additional 59.3 million square feet (27.9 million square feet at SmartCentres' share) of space, 27.1 million square feet (12.3 million square feet at SmartCentres' share) of which has or will commence construction within next five years. From shopping centres to city centres, SmartCentres is uniquely positioned to reshape the Canadian urban and urban-suburban landscape. Included in this intensification program is the Trust's share of SmartVMC which, when completed, is expected to include approximately 11.0 million square feet of mixed-use space in Vaughan, Ontario. Construction of the first five sold-out phases of Transit City Condominiums that represent 2,789 residential units continues to progress. Final closings of the first two phases of Transit City Condominiums began ahead of budget and ahead of schedule in August 2020 and as at September 30, 2020, 766 units (representing approximately 70% of all 1,110 units in the first and second phases) had closed with the balance of units expected to close before year end. In addition, the presold 631 units in the third phase along with 22 townhomes, all of which are sold out and currently under construction, are expected to close in 2021. The fourth and fifth sold-out phases representing 1,026 units are currently under construction and are expected to close in 2023.
History

SmartCentres was founded in 1994 by Mitchell Goldar, as FirstPro Shopping Centres. It was renamed SmartCentres Inc. in 2006. In 2015, it was taken over by Calloway REIT, which then renamed itself SmartREIT. It changed its name to SmartCentres REIT in 2017.

As of 2011, SmartCentres had opened a new mall once every 3 weeks for its history. As of 2015, it had developed 50 million square feet of space.

Relationship with Calloway REIT

In 2003, SmartCentres began to sell some of its malls to Calloway REIT, then a small REIT based in Calgary, to raise additional funds for construction. Its first transaction was the sale of nine malls for $100 million in November 2003. In 2004, 12 malls were sold for $300 million. In 2005, it sold 35 malls for $1.1 billion. This transaction doubled the size of Calloway, and led to Goldar greatly increasing his control and equity stake in Calloway. In 2006, SmartCentres sold 16 properties, worth $1 billion, to Calloway. In 2008, it sold 6 malls for $375 million.In 2015, SmartCentres was formally taken over by Calloway REIT for $1.1 billion. As a result of the deal, Calloway acquired 24 properties.

Controversies

SmartCentres has been involved in a number of controversial developments, often because of its close association with Walmart. In the late 2000s, there was considerable opposition to a SmartCentres plan to build a power centre in eastern Toronto. The plan was eventually turned down by the Ontario Municipal Board. In 2009, its shopping mall in Salmon Arm, British Columbia was delayed because of environmental concerns. The mall was eventually built in 2013.

Mission
SmartCentres REIT is committed to providing Canadians with safe, secure and convenient retail properties that are designed to meet residents' everyday needs.
Vision
SmartCentres REIT's vision is to create a better future for generations to come by providing an outstanding shopping centre experience for our tenants and our customers.
Key Team

Mr. Peter L. Slan CA (Chief Financial Officer)

Ms. Shea Nerland Calnan (Legal Counsel)

Mr. Fernando Vescio (Sr. VP of HR & Corp. Services)

Ms. Erin Shirley (Director of Asset Management)

Ms. Paula Bustard (Exec. VP of Devel.)

Mr. Allan Scully (Exec. VP of Devel.)

Ms. Julia Mok (Director of Operations Accounting)

Recognition and Awards
SmartCentres REIT has been recognized with numerous awards, including being named a Top REIT of the Year by Institutional Investor Magazine in 2018.
References
SmartCentres REIT
Leadership team

Mr. Mitchell Goldhar (Exec. Chairman & CEO)

Mr. Rudy Gobin (Exec. VP of Portfolio Management & Investments)

Mr. Mauro Pambianchi (Chief Devel. Officer)

Products/ Services
Construction, Property Management, Real Estate
Headquarters
Vaughan, Ontario, Canada
Established
1994
Net Income
500M - 1B
Revenue
100M - 500M
Traded as
SRU-UN.TO
Social Media