An overview of the performance of the office, industrial, retail, and multi-unit residential markets in Montréal over twelve months. How much development activity has there been? Where are vacancy rates and cap rates trending at this time? What are the major demographic, capital, and investment factors influencing the market? What is the outlook for 2015 and beyond?

A major element that fuels the economy and growth of a metropolitan area is the infrastructure that supports the needs of people and commerce, and the movement of goods, services and individuals. A flurry of activity is beginning to occur in the Montréal area within both public transit and transportation projects. This session will provide an update on the status of some of these key initiatives such as the Champlain Bridge LRT and examine what are some of the innovative financing mechanisms that are emerging in cities for these types of projects. The presentation will also focus on development opportunities that are being created in the Montréal area in the proximity of public transit projects.

CONCURRENT SESSIONS (Select A1, A2 or A3)

Session A1:
OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES IN THE MONTRÉAL OFFICE MARKET: IS IT HEADING TOWARDS TENANT FAVOURABLE CONDITIONS?

This session will examine the performance and outlook for the Greater Montréal Area office market. Discussion will begin with some insights into corporate real estate expectations in today’s environment. How are the downtown, midtown and suburban markets competing with each other? Why are Standard Life and Visa Desjardins moving out of downtown locations at a time when major new office projects and renewal are underway in the core? What are the tenants looking for in each of these sub-markets? How is accessibility to knowledge workers, transit, flexible workplaces, and quality of life considerations being balanced against location, costs and an interest in newer buildings? What are some examples of workplace innovations? What challenges do older properties face in this market? What will create growth and demand for more office space? Are we now in a tenant favourable market conditions? What will most likely occur in this market in 2015 and beyond?

Moderator:
Janina Francescutti, Managing Partner, Brookfield Financial

Panel:
Vincent Chiara, President, Groupe Mach Inc.
Sandra Neill, Workplace Strategist, Designer, Partner, Lemay
Peter Picciola, Vice President, Office Leasing – Québec, Ivanhoé Cambridge
André Plourde, President, Groupe immobilier (Montréal . Québec)

Session A2:
DEBT FINANCING: WHILE THERE IS NO SHORTAGE OF CAPITAL IS CREDIT GETTING TIGHTER? WHERE ARE SPREADS HEADING?

A panel discussion will focus on the debt market and examine what borrowers can expect for the remainder of 2015 and beyond. Who are the most active lenders? Over and above the major financial institutions, large pension funds and lifecos, to what extent are alternative sources active in the Montréal market including private equity funds, smaller banks, mortgage investment corporations and other non-bank lenders? To what extent do the strategies vary? How are they assessing a transaction and pricing it in this market? Are there any property classes that they are avoiding, reducing exposure to, or increasing pricing for? How available are mezzanine financing and other secondary sources of debt? How are they being priced? To what extent is non-recourse financing and CMBS activity growing? Case studies of actual transactions including smaller projects will be examined during the discussion.

Moderator:
Benoit Cyr, Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, BTB REIT

Panel:
René Demers, Associate Vice President, Real Estate Financing, National Bank of Canada
Ross Di Vita, Assistant Vice President & Regional Director, Montréal Mortgage Branch, Manulife
Martine Gaudreault, Vice President, Real Estate Lending, Québec and Eastern Canada, Otéra Capital
Lyne Roy Payette, Vice President, Commercial Mortgages, Desjardins Asset Management
Robert St-Pierre, Assistant Vice President, Québec, First National Financial LP

Session A3:
AN UPDATE ON MAJOR ELEMENTS OF THE MULTI-RESIDENTIAL MARKET: CONDOMINIUMS, RENTAL APARTMENTS, AND SENIORS HOUSING

The session will bring some clarity to major elements of the housing market in Montréal. The current state of the condominium market will be examined. To what extent has this part of the market now been overbuilt? What will be required in order for condominium development to continue throughout 2015? Who will be the most active buyers? How is the rental market performing at this time? Is the condominium market having any implications for the apartment sector, e.g. reducing demand, as renters become owners, creating new units for rent? Is there viability for purpose built rental apartments? The demographics continually show the growth in the number of seniors, especially as the oldest baby boomers are in the latter 60s. Is the senior housing market finally a strong opportunity?

Moderator:
Marc Hétu, Vice President, CBRE Limited

Panel:
Mathieu Collette, Director, Condominium Market Study, Altus Group
Kevork Meterissian, Vice President, Operations, Multi-Residential, COGIR Management Corporation
Louis-Joseph Papineau, Vice President, Development & Construction, Proment Corporation
Tyler Seaman, Vice President, Hotels & Multi-Residential, Oxford Properties Group

CONCURRENT SESSIONS (Select B1, B2 or B3)

Session B1:
THE REVITALIZATION OF SAINTE-CATHERINE STREET: A CASE STUDY OF WHAT THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS ARE DOING

One of the most famous and significant avenues among Canada cities is Montréal’s Sainte-Catherine Street. Stretching for 15 km across the city from east to west, the Street is lined with major department stores, hundreds of other retailers, and numerous restaurants that have been the pride of Montréal for more than a century. This session will examine the challenges and opportunities for owners, retailers, the City of Montréal and other stakeholders regarding the revitalization of this key commercial and public artery. What are some of the key projects that are being undertaken by private developers? What winning conditions are required to perform the work successfully and maximize the benefits of these investments?

Moderator:
Johanne Marcotte, Past President, CREW Mtl, General Manager, Centre Eaton de Montréal, Complexe Les Ailes & 1500 University

Panel:
Jean-François Grenier, Senior Director, Altus Group
Céline Huot, Director, Strategy and Communications, Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montréal
Isabelle Lebrun, Project Manager, Sainte-Catherine Street West Project, City of Montréal
Manon Parisien, Senior Vice President & COO, Aurora Realty Consutants Inc.

Session B2:
CASE STUDIES OF UNIQUE MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT AND INTENSIFICATION PROJECTS: WHAT THE KEY FACTORS SUPPORTING THESE TRENDS?

Inner city development activity continues to sweep across Canadian cities. Montréal is certainly no exception with a wide range of mixed-use developments occurring across the island. The evidence is very strong that successful cities need a vibrant mixed-use core where people gather and where commerce, culture, recreation, entertainment, education and inspiration meet. This session will examine several case studies of major projects in Montréal that have some unique characteristics. What type of innovative projects and city building are underway? What are the key factors responsible for the growth of mixed-use formats? How is the concept of “work, live, play and learn” applying to the downtown Montréal market? What are challenges associated with creating a mixed-use project and its ownership structure that developers need to understand?

Panel:
Carole Handfield, Project Manager, Fonds immobilier de solidarité FTQ
Mathieu Jobin, General Director, Partner, Devimco Immobilier

Anthony O’Brien, Senior Managing Director, North America, Jesta Group
Jacques Vincent, President, Prével

Session B3 :
INDUSTRIAL REAL ESTATE MARKET: IN WHAT DIRECTIONS ARE DEVELOPMENT, LEASING AND INVESTMENT TRENDS HEADING?

During 2014, industrial real estate was on the comeback trail across Canada. The session will open with a brief examination of how this property class is performing in the Greater Montréal Area including current and projected investment trends, vacancy and absorption rates, and prevailing NERs. A comparison discussion will follow on off-island markets (e.g. the South Shore and Laval) vs. the challenges in more mature markets closer to the city (e.g. St. Laurent, Pointe Claire, Lachine, East End). What is driving the demand for new development especially for the logistics market? What is the status of the major intermodal inland port? What does the future hold for the older industrial properties and the repositioning of obsolete buildings? Can they be sold for a premium to investors with redevelopment or renewal plans? What is the outlook on how the Montréal industrial market will perform from a leasing, investment and development perspective over the next 12 months?

Panel:
Ryan Houfek, Assistant Vice President, Intermodal Marketing, CSX Transportation
Michael Jager, Director, Business Development, The Montoni Group
Gil Kastner, Vice President, Leasing & Business Development, Landmark Properties
Thierry Lessoil, Managing Director, Real Estate, Sun Life Financial

CONCURRENT SESSIONS (Select C1, C2 or C3)

Session C1:
THE CHANGING FACE OF THE MONTRÉAL RETAIL MARKET: URBAN FORMATS, SUBURBAN ACTIVITY, THE EXIT OF TARGET, LEASING & DEVELOPMENT

This session will examine the Greater Montréal retail market from the perspective of investors, developers, tenants and consumers. What are some of the major changes to conventional retail that are emerging at this time from the ongoing evolution of this dynamic market? How much is a result of e-commerce and online shopping trends? To what extent are pure retail malls emerging as multi-faceted entities with entertainment, residential and other uses? What are the major trends in urban retail to services the needs of inner city consumers? Is it keeping pace with residential and mixed-use development or are there still opportunities? What new retailers have entered or are coming into this market? What will be the impacts from the exit of Target on specific malls and the Canadian market overall? How is the leasing market absorbing the new space? The session will also examine the increasing competitiveness of Québec-based retailers and suggest the reasons for this trend.

Moderator:
Julie Martineau, Vice President, Montréal, Cushman & Wakefield Inc.

Panel:
Michel Brouillard, Vice President, Retail Leasing, Oxford Properties Group 
Eric Foster, Senior Vice President, Leasing, Carbonleo
Norma Howieson, Assistant Vice President, Leasing, Westcliff Management Ltd.
Ben Labrecque, Vice President, Client Services, Oberfeld Snowcap

Session C2:
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT: ON THE ISLAND VS. SOUTHSHORE VS. LAVAL

This session will provide some insights and comparative views on several of the submarkets within the Greater Montréal Area. What are the major reasons that the South Shore and Laval are very strong markets? How does downtown Montréal compare with midtown and suburban communities on the island? Why is job creation twice as strong on the South Shore? To what extent does the municipal approval process vary between these various jurisdictions? Are those differences responsible for attracting investors or keeping some away? How do each of the submarkets compare from a property class perspective: office vs. retail vs. industrial vs. multi-residential? Are these trends likely to continue throughout 2015 and beyond?

Moderator:
Michel Bouchard, Senior Vice President, Operations, Carbonleo

Panel:
Cameron Charlebois, President, GPMC Montréal inc.
Tom Godber, Principal, Avison Young
Michel Grennan, President, Cosoltec
Andrew Maravita, Managing Director, Montréal Region, Colliers International
Stéphane Tremblay, Associate, Urban Development, Lemay+DAA

Session C3:
INVESTMENT IN MONTRÉAL: WILL LAST YEAR’S STRONG INTEREST CONTINUE IN 2015? WHO WILL BE THE BUYERS AND WHAT WILL THEY BE LOOKING FOR?

An insightful discussion about investment activity in the Montréal market. The session will open with a brief overview of some of the bellwether transactions over the past twelve months. The panel will address a range of questions including: What have been the major challenges to buy assets in this market? What are the differences between the issues faced by an institutional investor vs. a private equity fund vs. a REIT in acquiring properties at this time? Are we still at the point where there is too much cash trying to enter the real estate market? Where are cap rates likely to be heading by the end of 2015 relative to today’s prices? Which property classes are strongly favoured and will likely offer the best returns? Is it possible to create value from acquiring out-of-favour sites and properties and seeing something that no one else does? How do the investment trends in Montréal compare with other major Canadian markets?

Panel:
Todd Bechard, Executive Vice President, Acquisitions, Cominar REIT
Elias Benhamou, Partner, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
Trevor Blakely, Chief Executive Officer, Forgestone Capital Management
Ryan Robison, Senior Vice President, Acquisitions, Bentall Kennedy (Canada) LP
Marie-Josée Turmel, Senior Director, Real Estate Investments, PSP Investments

AFTERNOON REFRESHMENTS

A discussion with senior real estate and institutional executives as they provide their perspective on real estate market fundamentals for 2015 and beyond. They will also offer their insights on what they see occurring over the next twelve months, and their strategic thinking going forward. Among the other questions to be examined:

• What are the key challenges, trends, and risks facing investors, owners and developers of office, retail, industrial and multi-unit residential properties in the Montréal market?
• Are the political issues of the past few years still having any impact or not? To what extent is the city’s economy on a rebound?
• Where are we now in the cycle? Is there much of a disconnect between investment activity and leasing fundamentals? What can be expected with respect to investment velocity and deal flow over the next year?
• What are the key differences in strategies facing REITs vs. pension funds vs. private investors?
• What asset classes and transactions will likely offer the best possible returns in 2015?
• Given the extent of development activity in Montréal, is the market potentially overbuilt?
• Do you foresee any issues with the debt and capital markets over the next twelve months?
• How do you achieve growth in office, retail or industrial rental rates in this market?

Moderator:
Sylvain Cossette, Executive Vice President & COO, Cominar REIT

Panel:
Normand Bélanger, President & CEO, Fonds immobilier de solidarité FTQ
Tom Burns, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Office, Allied Properties REIT
Richard Hylands, President, Kevric Real Estate Corporation
Claude Sirois, Co-Chief Operating Officer, Shopping Centres – Canada & Executive Vice President, Québec, Ivanhoé Cambridge

NETWORKING RECEPTION