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Canadian megamall developer's U.S. project on shaky ground due to pandemic – CBC.ca

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VIP cocktail parties, DJs, dancers, fashion shows, balloons and much more — opening day at the Canadian-owned U.S. megamall called American Dream had been planned for maximum effect and excitement.

The project in New Jersey, just across the bridge from Manhattan, was nine years in the making, and patterned on the West Edmonton Mall and the Mall of America in Minneapolis, the other two well-known destinations owned by the wealthy Ghermezian family of Edmonton.

All three properties combine retail shops with amusement park attractions. The American Dream’s approximately three million square feet includes attractions like a DreamWorks water park, Angry Birds mini golf, Legoland and an indoor ski slope plus some 450 retailers such as Levi’s, Sephora, H&M and Zara. 

But, of course, the March 19 grand opening didn’t happen. A global pandemic happened instead. The venue was shut down March 16 along with all casinos, gyms, and movie theaters in the state. 

Now an October 1 reopening is planned, but it comes amid financial turmoil.

Mortgage not paid since March

All three of the Ghermezians’ entertainment/shopping venues have been linked together in a financial arrangement that shows signs of weakness. 

In order to help finance American Dream, the family’s company, Triple Five Group, mortgaged both West Edmonton Mall and Mall of America. According to Trepp LLP, a data company that tracks commercial mortgages, Triple Five has missed payments on the $1.4 billion US Mall of America loan since March. The status of finances at West Edmonton Mall aren’t clear. 

“The Ghermezians have a very complex business empire, and shopping centres are part of it, but it’s a privately owned company so we don’t have all the information,” says Nick Egelanian, a retail consultant in Annapolis, Maryland, who’s been watching Triple Five’s gamble closely. “But it looks like this situation could put all the properties into default.”

Both Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, the New York City-based investment firms that helped arrange construction loans for the Ghermezians, declined a CBC News request for comment. 

Lineups for ski hill

Members of the Ghermezian family aren’t talking either. They are “extremely busy” with the new October 1 grand opening plan for American Dream, according to a spokesperson. The venue’s chief creative officer, Ken Downing, is handling media interviews, and he insists all is well in hand.  

“The team is super-excited,” he said in an interview from Manhattan. “We’ve been wanting to reintroduce and reopen to the public, and we want to do it the right way.”

WATCH | Dianne Buckner tours American Dream megamall under construction in 2018:

Dianne Buckner reports on the latest massive project from the Ghermezian family 5:39

The launch of American Dream was planned to happen in stages, and a few of the attractions did indeed open in the fall of 2019. Retailers and the remainder of the theme park’s attractions had originally been intended to open with a bang in March. For now, admittance to the entire megamall is restricted to a quarter of its capacity due to COVID.

“I don’t think you’d be able to find many large projects like ours that haven’t been touched by COVID,” said Downing. 

He points to the sole attraction that reopened on September 1 this year, the indoor ski hill, and says people have been waiting in line as early as 8:00 a.m. with their skis and snowboards. “People love that ski slope,” said Downing. “It’s been as busy as it can be with 25 per cent capacity.”  

Snowboarders and skiers pictured at the grand opening of Big Snow last December. The attraction shut down in March due to the pandemic, and reopened on Sept. 1. (Seth Wenig/The Associated Press)

But even before the economic catastrophe of the pandemic, there was plenty of skepticism about the wisdom of opening the new mall amid a climate marked by multiple major retailers seeking bankruptcy protection or liquidating assets.  Besides, there are already more than enough malls in the state, according to Jeff Tittel of the New Jersey chapter of environmental group Sierra Club. He says there’s no way American Dream will solve the financial predicament for all three of the Ghermezians’ properties. 

Wrong place, wrong time

“People going to New York City want to go to the Radio City Music Hall or the Empire State Building,” he said. “They’re not going to get on a bus and come to New Jersey.”  

The Sierra Club has opposed American Dream from day one due to its impact on wetlands in the area. “It’s always been the wrong project in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Tittel.

But the Ghermezian family — whose patriarch arrived in Canada from Iran in the 1950s and built Triple Five along with a fortune in real estate development, with the help of his four sons and now grandsons — is not easily discouraged.

Don Ghermezian of Edmonton’s Triple Five Group, on site in 2018 at the construction of the American Dream megamall in New Jersey. The West Edmonton Mall, also owned by his family, has been used as collateral to help fund construction in a financial arrangement that now looks shaky due to COVID-19. (Jon Castell/CBC News)

In the late 1990s, they spent four years battling a lawsuit brought by the Alberta Treasury Board and emerged triumphant. And before West Edmonton Mall and Mall of America were built, there was doubt either of those venues would ever work. Both have been remarkably successful, ranked as top tourist attractions. 

The future of malls

Steve Rappaport, a New Jersey commercial real estate broker who specializes in retail leasing, says talk of malls being doomed is off-base.

“People love to congregate,” said Rappaport. “It’s always been about much more than shopping at a mall. They are places where people go to mall-walk in the morning, and teenagers go there after school just to hang out.”

The view of Manhattan from Triple Five Group’s offices in New Jersey, located next to American Dream. ( Jon Castell/CBC News)

He believes profitability at American Dream will be a struggle, but he says he has no doubt the Ghermezians will stay the course. “I don’t think that all of the sudden they’re going to say all is lost and just hand the keys back.”

There is, however, that matter of the mortgages. Late payments on an almost $1.4 billion loan are no small thing.

The managing director of Trepp LLP, Manus Clancy, says everything hinges on the lenders. 

“They have to assess does the borrower want the property, and do they have the financial ability to keep this thing going? Or are we better to take the property over and find a new team to run it?”

Some in the industry believe that only the Ghermezians have the experience to run unique destinations such as American Dream, West Edmonton Mall and Mall of America, with their distinctive mix of retail and theme park attractions.

Clancy isn’t convinced.

“We do have big players in the U.S., like Simon and Brookfield; they are operators of high-end malls in the U.S. So there are people that would be candidates,” he said, if the lenders lose confidence in Triple Five Group.

In Edmonton, the executive director of the Building Owners and Management Association, Percy Woods, has faith in the family. 

“They might have their PhD in dealing with financial situations,” he said. “They always come out OK. They’re very smart. And they’ve been very successful.” 

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Telus prioritizing ‘most important customers,’ avoiding ‘unprofitable’ offers: CFO

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Telus Corp. says it is avoiding offering “unprofitable” discounts as fierce competition in the Canadian telecommunications sector shows no sign of slowing down.

The company said Friday it had fewer net new customers during its third quarter compared with the same time last year, as it copes with increasingly “aggressive marketing and promotional pricing” that is prompting more customers to switch providers.

Telus said it added 347,000 net new customers, down around 14.5 per cent compared with last year. The figure includes 130,000 mobile phone subscribers and 34,000 internet customers, down 30,000 and 3,000, respectively, year-over-year.

The company reported its mobile phone churn rate — a metric measuring subscribers who cancelled their services — was 1.09 per cent in the third quarter, up from 1.03 per cent in the third quarter of 2023. That included a postpaid mobile phone churn rate of 0.90 per cent in its latest quarter.

Telus said its focus is on customer retention through its “industry-leading service and network quality, along with successful promotions and bundled offerings.”

“The customers we have are the most important customers we can get,” said chief financial officer Doug French in an interview.

“We’ve, again, just continued to focus on what matters most to our customers, from a product and customer service perspective, while not loading unprofitable customers.”

Meanwhile, Telus reported its net income attributable to common shares more than doubled during its third quarter.

The telecommunications company said it earned $280 million, up 105.9 per cent from the same three-month period in 2023. Earnings per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was 19 cents compared with nine cents a year earlier.

It reported adjusted net income was $413 million, up 10.7 per cent year-over-year from $373 million in the same quarter last year. Operating revenue and other income for the quarter was $5.1 billion, up 1.8 per cent from the previous year.

Mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.85 in the third quarter, a decrease of $2.09 or 3.4 per cent from a year ago. Telus said the drop was attributable to customers signing up for base rate plans with lower prices, along with a decline in overage and roaming revenues.

It said customers are increasingly adopting unlimited data and Canada-U.S. plans which provide higher and more stable ARPU on a monthly basis.

“In a tough operating environment and relative to peers, we view Q3 results that were in line to slightly better than forecast as the best of the bunch,” said RBC analyst Drew McReynolds in a note.

Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi added that “the telecom industry in Canada remains very challenging for all players, however, Telus has been able to face these pressures” and still deliver growth.

The Big 3 telecom providers — which also include Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. — have frequently stressed that the market has grown more competitive in recent years, especially after the closing of Quebecor Inc.’s purchase of Freedom Mobile in April 2023.

Hailed as a fourth national carrier, Quebecor has invested in enhancements to Freedom’s network while offering more affordable plans as part of a set of commitments it was mandated by Ottawa to agree to.

The cost of telephone services in September was down eight per cent compared with a year earlier, according to Statistics Canada’s most recent inflation report last month.

“I think competition has been and continues to be, I’d say, quite intense in Canada, and we’ve obviously had to just manage our business the way we see fit,” said French.

Asked how long that environment could last, he said that’s out of Telus’ hands.

“What I can control, though, is how we go to market and how we lead with our products,” he said.

“I think the conditions within the market will have to adjust accordingly over time. We’ve continued to focus on digitization, continued to bring our cost structure down to compete, irrespective of the price and the current market conditions.”

Still, Canada’s telecom regulator continues to warn providers about customers facing more charges on their cellphone and internet bills.

On Tuesday, CRTC vice-president of consumer, analytics and strategy Scott Hutton called on providers to ensure they clearly inform their customers of charges such as early cancellation fees.

That followed statements from the regulator in recent weeks cautioning against rising international roaming fees and “surprise” price increases being found on their bills.

Hutton said the CRTC plans to launch public consultations in the coming weeks that will focus “on ensuring that information is clear and consistent, making it easier to compare offers and switch services or providers.”

“The CRTC is concerned with recent trends, which suggest that Canadians may not be benefiting from the full protections of our codes,” he said.

“We will continue to monitor developments and will take further action if our codes are not being followed.”

French said any initiative to boost transparency is a step in the right direction.

“I can’t say we are perfect across the board, but what I can say is we are absolutely taking it under consideration and trying to be the best at communicating with our customers,” he said.

“I think everyone looking in the mirror would say there’s room for improvement.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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TC Energy cuts cost estimate for Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico

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CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.

It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.

The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

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BCE reports Q3 loss on asset impairment charge, cuts revenue guidance

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BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.

The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.

“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”

Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.

BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.

The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.

BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.

It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.

The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”

Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE)

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