First Capital REIT’s “Super-Urban” Strategy

WRITTEN BY GREG PEACOCK

Location
Real Estate Expert Speaker Series at Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto

Topic
First Capital REIT’s “Super-Urban” Strategy

Speaker
Adam Paul, President & CEO of First Capital REIT

We recently attended one of the Real Estate Experts Speaker Series at Rotman Business School. The event featured Adam Paul, the President and CEO of First Capital REIT. The topic was based around First Capital REIT’s “Super-Urban” Strategy where Adam discussed why First Capital prioritizes location and high density over property use and how they are amongst one of the leading urban property owners in North America.

Adam highlighted a number of First Capital developments such as Liberty Village, the King High Line, and the former Hazelton Lanes, known today as “Yorkville Village” and additional acquisitions along Yorkville Avenue. A key takeaway, the Yorkville portfolio alone equates to 10% of First Capital’s balance sheet.

Adam also touched on First Capital’s proposed 7-million square foot multi-building mixed-use project at the 28-acre former Christie Cookies site located at Lake Shore & Park Lawn. This New York High Line inspired development is sure to become a Toronto “next neighbourhood”.

Behind the scenes, First Capital is doing a great job by balancing out their capital structure. Former prominent owner, Gazit Group, has recently had their ownership reduced from 32% to 6.2%.

At the end of the day, Adam stated that First Capital’s mantra is centered around the phrase “good retail does not compete with bad retail”. They believe that performance and overall intrinsic value, will trump negative headlines. While Class B and C retail are struggling, Adam classifies the majority of their portfolio as Class A retail.

Thank you Adam Paul and the University of Toronto for hosting such a wonderful event. We look forward to attending more Speaker Series in the future to learn more about how our great city of Toronto is evolving and where real estate is heading throughout this next decade.