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Montreal Real Estate Leasing Conference Program

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Omni Hotel Mont-Royal

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		Platinum
		Gold

7:15 a.m.	Registration and continental Breakfast
8:00 a.m.	OPENING PRESENTATION
	THE MONTREAL OFFICE, RETAIL AND INDUSTRIAL LEASING MARKET EMERGES FROM THE RECESSION: HAS IT BEEN AS BAD AS EVERYONE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE?
	How much transaction activity has there been in the Montreal office, retail and industrial leasing market over the past twelve months? How would you describe deal flow and velocity in today’s market? What are the current occupancy rates, rental rates etc and where are they heading? What are the anticipated absorption rates for 2010? How large is the sublease market and what are the key trends in this sub-market? What are the profiles of the tenants that are looking for space? How much of an emphasis is there on greener and more environmentally enhanced buildings in these market conditions? What are the resulting implications of these factors for leasing activity in Montreal in 2010 and beyond? Moderator: Andrew Cross, Publisher, ESpace Magazine Industrial Market: Ramsay Lunan, Senior Vice President, CB Richard Ellis Limited Office Market: Paul Jussaume, President, Colliers International (Quebec) Inc. Retail Market: Frédéric Labrie, Director, Altus Group
9:10 a.m.	MORNING REFRESHMENTS
9:40 a.m.	CONCURRENT SESSIONS (Select AA1 or AA2)
	Session AA1 Tenant Transfers: Navigating the World of Subleasing, Assignment and Lease Takeovers Subleasing is increasing significantly. It is important for both tenants and landlords to understand the key issues and differences associated with these types of tenancies. What are the major differences between a head lease vs. a sublease, e.g. in tenants’ rights? As a tenant, how do you work with landlords in order to get consent? How are lease takeovers being structured? What is the tenant’s perspective on subleases? The landlord’s perspective? What is the difference between lease and sublease enforcement? How do you actually terminate the lease? How can lease provisions manage sublease activity without unduly penalizing the tenant? When can the landlord’s consent be reasonably withheld? Does the landlord need a third party agreement? Moderator: Jo-Anne Durand, Lawyer, Riel & Associés Panel: Mireille Cloutier, Lawyer, Holmested & Associés Paul Fischlin, Senior Vice-President, Strategique Real Estate Solutions Inc. Luisa Gianino, Leasing Representative, Canderel Management Inc. Session AA2 The Challenges in Today’s Retail Leasing Market This session will focus on some of the major trends and issues in the current retail real estate leasing market from both the landlords’ and the tenants’ perspectives. Given the blurring of retail lines between food and drugs, how are some landlords responding to this trend? Why are there so many issues with exclusive use clauses? Are they poorly drafted or is it a function of market trends as retailers change their product offerings and reposition themselves? What impact do clauses in the master lease have re: subleasing? What are the rights of the head tenant vs. the subtenants? How are mass transfers affecting the retail sector and what is and what isn’t a mass transfer? Co-tenancy is becoming an increasing issue in retail. What are some of the special rights that tenants could bargain for with co-tenancy? How significant are any issues related to CAM costs? Retail is also creeping into other uses. What are the implications for leasing and the leases under these circumstances? Specialty leasing is also growing e.g. sign revenue, locker revenue. What are the implications of this trend? Moderator: Yves Maurais, Senior Partner, Intercom Services Panel: Nathalie Dorais, Manager, Real Estate, Québec & Atlantic Regions,       Quiznos Sub Manon Larose, Director, Leasing, Devimco Inc. Marc Lavigne, Director of Real Estate Development, Eastern Canada,       Rona Inc. Julie Martineau, Vice President, Leasing, Quebec, SmartCentres Inc.
10:45 a.m.	CONCURRENT SESSIONS (Select BB1 or BB2)
	Session BB1 Where are the Downtown and Suburban Office Markets Heading in the Next Twelve Months? How has the office market performed in downtown Montreal vs. the outlying areas? How much unoccupied space is there currently on the market? How is the sublease space affecting owners? What is happening to net rents in light of the higher vacancy rates? What are projected long term rent trends? What will likely happen in the remainder of 2010? How successful have landlords been as well as brokers on their behalf in rebranding or repositioning B and C class older office buildings vs. A space? How do landlords address the challenge of dealing with a tenant who is only in the market once every five or ten years? To what extent are any tenants pushing the demand for greener building environments? Is LEED certification a factor? Moderator: Sandy McNair, President, Altus InSite Panel: Philip Belliard, Director, Leasing-Quebec and Atlantic, GWL Realty Advisors Bruce Cowper, Senior Vice President, Principal, Avison Young Quebec Richard Poirier, Senior Vice-President, Leasing, Magil Laurentian Jeff Sinsofsky, Senior Leasing Manager, Oxford Properties Group Inc. Session BB2 Working with Weaker Tenants or Landlords: Covenants, Security, Financing, Bankruptcy and Insolvency The first part of this session will examine some of the prevailing trends on assessing tenant credit worthiness and obtaining additional security for tenant premises. What are landlords looking for in this market with respect to tenant guarantee, indemnities, letters of credit, deposits, and other forms of covenants? How is covenant risk being re-assessed for both new and existing tenants? What is appropriate security for a non-balance sheet tenant? How do you work with tenants without waiving all of your rights? How do you secure tenant allowances? What happens when the tenant goes bankrupt or seeks protection of insolvency laws? The second part of the session will focus on the tenant and how they can protect their interests opposite weakened landlords, ensure security of tenure, protection and remedies against landlord default, and have appropriate exit strategies. Moderator: Louis-Martin Dubé, Partner, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP Panel: Nathalie Bedard, Partner, Donati Maisonneuve LLP Margarita Lafontaine, Senior Vice President, Colliers International       (Quebec) Inc. Serge Morand, Director of Leasing, Bentall LP Lise Vautour, Manager, Legal Services, SITQ
11:50 a.m.	Informal Luncheon
12:50 p.m.	CONCURRENT SESSIONS (Select CC1 or CC2)
	Session CC1 Industrial Leasing in a Tenants’ Market: Has it Hit Rock Bottom? The session will open with a brief overview of the demand side of the Montreal industrial market: logistics and warehousing vs. heavy uses. What are the major trends in this leasing market? How much deal flow can be anticipated? What type of space is becoming obsolete and what is not? How are industrial tenant requirements changing, and what recent landlord initiatives are addressing this demand? How are landlords dealing with the challenge of securing financing for single tenant buildings in today’s credit market environment? How have values of B and C buildings been impacted over the past year? What does the future hold for these types of properties? Moderator: Paul-Éric Poitras, Managing Partner, Montreal Office, NAI Commercial Panel: Robert Cressaty, Vice President, Leasing & Advisory Services,       Landmark Properties Inc. Carmen De Angelis, Vice President, Leasing, Olymbec Group Carol Massoud, Director, Leasing & Property Management,       ING Real Estate Session CC2 Landlord & Tenant Rights and Other Leasing Issues That You Need to be Aware of in Today’s Market As a result of the softer economy, the focus has shifted for lawyers and owners to more defense rather than offense. This panel will discuss the key differences and latest practices in rights of expansion, rights of contraction, early termination, rights of first refusal, rights of first offer, co-tenancy clauses, exclusives, renewal options and other real estate leasing tools. What are tenants asking for and why in today’s market? Are landlords ready to give away any special rights in today’s market? What are some sources of common conflict between a landlord and a tenant over special rights and how can they be avoided through the drafting process? How do you ensure that special rights are easy to administer? Both landlords and tenants are trying to build flexibility, and control, into their leasing arrangements. How can competing interests co-exist? Learn how these issues are addressed from the perspective of a landlord and a tenant in today’s market conditions. Some recent commercial leasing cases on point, and their implications, will be examined. Moderator: Richard Burgos, Partner, Lavery, de Billy LLP Panel: Chantal Desjardins, Partner, Cabinet Chantal Desjardins Tom Grainger, President, Strategique Real Estate Solutions Inc. Caroline Redler, Vice President & General Counsel,        The Westcliff Group of Companies
2:00 p.m.	CONCURRENT SESSIONS (Select DD1 or DD2)
	Session DD1 The Strategic Repositioning of Older Buildings and Districts Montreal has seen a steady decline in employment in the manufacturing sector over the past twenty years. The evidence is clear in several inner city areas. However, in the context of a challenging economy, the vision of some building owners has resulted in the strategic repositioning of these older districts. What has been done to revitalize these buildings? How is the leasing market absorbing this inventory of space? What types of jobs are being created in these areas? How much demand is there for unique working environments for knowledge-based, creative and high-tech sectors of the economy? What attracts tenants to these types of buildings? What environments can be successfully created in these multi-floor former industrial buildings through conversions? What is the explanation for the ultimate success of these strategies? Speakers: Luciano D'Iorio, Président, Terramont Real Estate Services Inc. John Kinghorn, General Manager - Le Nordelec,       Cogir Management Corporation Denis Leclerc, Vice President, Leasing & Development, Marcarko Ltd. Session DD2 Mastering Lease Negotiation in Today’s Tricky Market: How to Develop Solutions, Resolve Key Issues and Close the Deal New issues and new sticking points are arising in today’s leasing market as it emerges out of the recent recession. Many tenants are focused on lease flexibility and are much more cost conscious than ever before. On the other hand, landlords continue to seek ways to maximize rents and occupancy levels. But must one be traded off against the other in this market? Will we see a trading up of tenants into space they are not naturally suited for over the longer term? This session will examine some strategies and techniques that landlords, tenants, lawyers and brokers can consider using in negotiating a lease in a market that appears to be favouring tenants more than landlords. What sections of the lease are open for more intense negotiation? How should step downs be managed? Will owners behave differently as building vacancies rise? What are the typical discussion points that will be difficult, and what are the issues that should be easily resolvable. In today’s lease negotiations, where is the middle ground? What are the most effective exit strategies for tenants and for landlords in this market? Moderator: Denis Paquin, Partner, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP Panel: Joane Demmerle, Regional Director, Eastern Region, Standard Life Marie-France Desrochers, Senior Manager, Corporate Accounts,       Devencore NFK Christian Guay, Real Estate Broker, Immobilière Nationale Inc. Nicolas Rioux, Senior Counsel, Ivanhoe Cambridge Inc.
3:00 p.m.	Closing SESSIOn
	RAPID FIRE LEGAL ROUNDTABLE: SEVEN COMMON ISSUES IN 60 MINUTES A fast-paced session that will cover an assortment of “odds and sods” that people often experience in the leasing process and do not always fully understand. Each issue will be addressed by a legal expert in approximately eight minutes or less. Among the questions that will be covered are the following:       • You’re only renting – but! Why you cannot afford to skip the due         diligence process when entering into a lease.       • The never ending debate that keeps the Quebec leasing community         awake at night: Is the automatic résiliation clause legal and         enforceable or not?       • Operating covenants/go dark/recapture clauses. Why do landlords         care about them so much and what can tenants do to make         them more livable?       • Do not shove that lease into the filing cabinet just yet. What are the         most important good practices after signing the deal?       • What is the binding effect of an offer to lease? Can you walk away?         Can you register it?       • Are you wasting your time negotiating lease clauses that are         useless, inapplicable or downright dangerous?       • Are green leases still a pipe dream or are they already part of the         landscape? What are the critical differences between a green lease         and a conventional lease anyway? Speakers: Stéphanie Beauregard, Lawyer Steven Chaimberg, Partner, Lapointe Rosenstein Marchand       Melançon LLP René Gauthier, Partner, Gascon & Associates
4:00 p.m.	ADJOURNMENT