Ivanhoé Cambridge chief executive Nathalie Palladitcheff is leaving the real estate investor and developer in April.Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press
Ivanhoé Cambridge chief executive Nathalie Palladitcheff is leaving the real estate investor and developer in April after its majority owner, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), announced restructuring plans to bring its real estate subsidiaries in-house and slash costs.
The Caisse, which is one of Canada’s largest pension fund managers with $424-billion in assets, said it expects to save about $100-million annually with a plan announced on Wednesday to integrate Ivanhoé Cambridge and another subsidiary, commercial real estate debt provider Otéra Capital Inc., with CDPQ’s investment and corporate services teams.
The integration process starts next week and is expected to take 18 to 24 months, though some teams will start reporting to leaders at CDPQ next week. The investment teams at Ivanhoé and Otéra will formally join CDPQ on April 29, at which time Ms. Palladitcheff will depart. CDPQ will also buy out stakes in the two companies held by minority investors to become the lone shareholder.
Ivanhoé and Otéra will continue to operate under their current brands and their “investment partners and clients will pursue their business relationships in the normal course of activities,” CDPQ said in a news release. Ivanhoé is one of Quebec’s largest property owners and managers, with 80 properties and $77-billion of assets as of the end of 2022, while Otéra’s debt portfolio totaled nearly $29-billion.
CDPQ said it expects a sharper focus on investment expertise, stronger business relationships, smoother governance and other benefits from the changes.
“We want to work as one team – one CDPQ – and build on the unique know-how of our talent to create value for our depositors,” CEO Charles Emond said in a statement.
The integration plan is similar to a restructuring undertaken by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan starting last year, which brought its real estate investment operations in-house from subsidiary Cadillac Fairview Corp. Ltd., absorbing its entire 37-person investment team.
Ms. Palladitcheff’s forthcoming departure from CDPQ is the latest in a series of shakeups in the senior ranks of the country’s most prominent real estate investors and developers, several of which are owned by large pension funds. When Teachers made its changes last year, it replaced long-time Cadillac Fairview head John Sullivan with a new CEO, Sal Iacono.
Also last year, Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System hired Daniel Fournier to lead its real estate arm, Oxford Properties Group, as executive chairman, succeeding Michael Turner, who stepped down to a more limited role. Mr. Fournier came out of retirement to take the job, having previously been chairman and CEO of Ivanhoé Cambridge before Ms. Palladitcheff took over.
In a statement, Ms. Palladitcheff said Ivanhoé’s role has evolved from a dual mandate to operate properties and invest in real estate to a focus on “its primary vocation – investing.”
“Combining our abilities with those of the CDPQ group is the logical next step of this evolution,” she said. “My transformation mandate will conclude at the end of the transition period in which I will be fully engaged.”
Mr. Emond said Ms. Palladitcheff “has distinguished herself by her vision and strong leadership” through the COVID-19 and a period of change and upheaval in the real estate sector.
CDPQ expects to announce a new head of its real estate investment group by the end of the transition in April.
HALIFAX – A village of tiny homes is set to open next month in a Halifax suburb, the latest project by the provincial government to address homelessness.
Located in Lower Sackville, N.S., the tiny home community will house up to 34 people when the first 26 units open Nov. 4.
Another 35 people are scheduled to move in when construction on another 29 units should be complete in December, under a partnership between the province, the Halifax Regional Municipality, United Way Halifax, The Shaw Group and Dexter Construction.
The province invested $9.4 million to build the village and will contribute $935,000 annually for operating costs.
Residents have been chosen from a list of people experiencing homelessness maintained by the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia.
They will pay rent that is tied to their income for a unit that is fully furnished with a private bathroom, shower and a kitchen equipped with a cooktop, small fridge and microwave.
The Atlantic Community Shelters Society will also provide support to residents, ranging from counselling and mental health supports to employment and educational services.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.
Housing affordability is a key issue in the provincial election campaign in British Columbia, particularly in major centres.
Here are some statistics about housing in B.C. from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2024 Rental Market Report, issued in January, and the B.C. Real Estate Association’s August 2024 report.
Average residential home price in B.C.: $938,500
Average price in greater Vancouver (2024 year to date): $1,304,438
Average price in greater Victoria (2024 year to date): $979,103
Average price in the Okanagan (2024 year to date): $748,015
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Vancouver: $2,181
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Victoria: $1,839
Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Canada: $1,359
Rental vacancy rate in Vancouver: 0.9 per cent
How much more do new renters in Vancouver pay compared with renters who have occupied their home for at least a year: 27 per cent
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Voters along the south coast of British Columbia who have not cast their ballots yet will have to contend with heavy rain and high winds from an incoming atmospheric river weather system on election day.
Environment Canada says the weather system will bring prolonged heavy rain to Metro Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast, Fraser Valley, Howe Sound, Whistler and Vancouver Island starting Friday.
The agency says strong winds with gusts up to 80 kilometres an hour will also develop on Saturday — the day thousands are expected to go to the polls across B.C. — in parts of Vancouver Island and Metro Vancouver.
Wednesday was the last day for advance voting, which started on Oct. 10.
More than 180,000 voters cast their votes Wednesday — the most ever on an advance voting day in B.C., beating the record set just days earlier on Oct. 10 of more than 170,000 votes.
Environment Canada says voters in the area of the atmospheric river can expect around 70 millimetres of precipitation generally and up to 100 millimetres along the coastal mountains, while parts of Vancouver Island could see as much as 200 millimetres of rainfall for the weekend.
An atmospheric river system in November 2021 created severe flooding and landslides that at one point severed most rail links between Vancouver’s port and the rest of Canada while inundating communities in the Fraser Valley and B.C. Interior.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
