REGISTRATION & LIGHT BREAKFAST

WELCOME & GREETINGS

Introduction:
Nicole Nault-Smith, President, BOMA Ottawa

Forum Chair:
Anne Morton, Director General, Strategic Portfolio Initiatives, Department of National Defence

An insightful presentation on the economic fundamentals that are driving the Canadian economy at this time. What is the outlook for economic growth, employment growth, inflation, and commodity prices over the next twelve months? Where are Canadian interest rates heading? How will they affect the economy? How strongly will the U.S. economy perform over the next 15 months? What could be the impact of the tariff war between the U.S. and Canada and the hold on NAFTA negotiations? How will all these trends affect the Canadian economy? 

Michael Gregory, Deputy Chief Economist & Head of U.S. Economics, BMO Capital Markets

In 2017, MoneySense magazine named Ottawa as the No. 1 place to live in Canada. There are some major job creation drivers in the Ottawa market beyond the public sector. What is the outlook for employment, population, and economic growth for Ottawa? What are examples of enterprises that have moved into this market or are expanding?

• Ottawa is a major technology hub with over 1,700 companies that have a strong focus on defence, security, video and other sectors
• What other high profile tenants are being courted to come to Ottawa? What efforts are being done to sell the City’s highly mobilized workforce and quality of life?
• To what extent is Ottawa’s economy becoming more diversified? What is being done to increase this trend?
  

Blair Patacairk, Vice President, Global Expansion, Invest Ottawa

A detailed examination and insights on some of the notable leasing and investment deals in the apartment, industrial, office, retail and land markets in the Ottawa region during the past twelve months. How much leasing and investment momentum did the Ottawa market experience in 2017 and the first half of 2018? What is the outlook for the remainder of this year and beyond? How do the market fundamentals look at this time including vacancy rates, absorption rates, and cap rates? How much development is in the pipeline? What were some of the notable leasing and investment transactions in the year so far?

Colin Johnston, President, Research, Valuation & Advisory, Altus Group
Julianne Wright, Director & General Manager, Research, Valuation & Advisory, Altus Group

SPEAKER PRESENTATION 

To request Colin Johnston and Julianne Wright's presentation, please contact Julianne Wright: julianne.wright@altusgroup.com

What is the footprint of the federal government’s currently occupied space in Ottawa and Gatineau? How has it changed in the past year? What new developments are proposed or underway and what is their status? What changes are on the forefront with respect to federal government occupancy requirements across the National Capital Region? What are the most significant trends that we are likely to see in PWPC’s portfolio in 2019 and going forward? 

Michael Mills, Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Real Property Services, Public Services & Procurement Canada

In Conversation With:

Jeffrey Wood, Partner, Ernst & Young LLP

CONCURRENT SESSIONS (SELECT A1, A2 OR A3)

SESSION A1:
THE TRANSFORMATION OF DOWNTOWN OTTAWA: WHO’S MOVING IN AND WHO’S MOVING OUT? WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF COWORKING AND TECH TENANTS? WHAT OTHER MAJOR TRENDS ARE EMERGING?

This session will examine the evolution of downtown Ottawa – from its office market to the underlying culture of the community that lives and works there. How much growth has there been in high tech related tenancies? Consider Shopify for example. Starting with a 170,000 sq.ft. downtown corporate headquarters, the fast growing company has taken an additional 325,000 sq.ft. of nearby office space. Are the demographics changing with a higher portion of millennials now in the workforce downtown? How do their needs differ to traditional public sector tenants? To what extent is the government presence in the core declining? How is co-working changing the make-up of office tenancies and affecting office occupancy? What will the potential impact of LRT have on these trends? What is the status of the transformative development on West side of downtown? Where is the demand supporting the viability of these projects?

Moderator:
Nathan Smith, Senior Vice President, Capital Markets Group, Cushman & Wakefield Ottawa

Panel:
Stephen Nicoletti, Managing Director, Eastern Canada, Manulife Financial
Sean O'Sullivan, Vice President & General Manager, Ottawa, Bentall Kennedy (Canada) LP
Susan Rowe, Director, Leasing, Ottawa, Morguard Investments Ltd.
Jessica Whiting, Sales Representative, Colliers International
Michael Zanon, Director, National Capital Region, GWL Realty Advisors Inc.

SESSION A2:
WHAT STRATEGIES CAN RESULT IN MUNICIPAL APPROVALS ON A TIMELY BASIS? WHAT DO YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT BILL 139 AND OTHER REGULATIONS? 

As Ottawa continues to evolve into a metropolitan area with a population of over one million, the City is implementing a series of key initiatives and planning policies that have implications on growth and development. These have included a new Official Plan, Official Plan Amendments 150 and 180, Development Charges Review, the Employment Land Strategy, various Community Design Plans, and High-rise guidelines. This session will examine many of these policies and strategies, and how will they are impacting intensification and urbanization of Ottawa. The speakers will also focus on key provincial regulations and their potential impact on development activity. These include: Bill 139 (Building Better Communities and Conserving Watersheds Act); the reform of the Ontario Municipal Board; and what is the probability of a rollback of provincial rent control policies that were enacted during the past twelve months.

Moderator:
Hugh Gorman, Chief Executive Officer, Colonnade BridgePort

Panel:
Murray Chown, Director, Planning & Development, NovaTech Engineering Consultants Ltd.
Michael Polowin, Partner, Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP 
David Wallace, Chief Operating Officer, The Regional Group of Companies

SESSION A3:
THE INDUSTRIAL REAL ESTATE IN OTTAWA HAS BECOME VERY NOTICEABLE: WHAT IS BEHIND ITS STRONG GROWTH?

While it is not a significantly sized asset class, the Ottawa industrial market is performing very well. By some measurements, the availability of industrial space is approaching a record low of 2.8% together with record rent levels. What are the major trends in this leasing market? Where are NERs heading? How much investment activity has this asset class attracted, e.g. the acquisition at the beginning of 2018 the Capital East Business Centre, a two-building, small-bay industrial portfolio? How much development activity is underway or in the pipeline? Plans are underway to build the largest distribution centre in the National Capital Region – a 1.02M sq.ft. facility that would service the needs of Amazon. Could this lead to a new wave of development in southeast Ottawa? 

Moderator:
Nico Zentil, Senior Vice President, CBRE Limited

Panel:
James Beach, Director, Real Estate & Business Development, Broccolini
Dominic Bonin, Director, Leasing, Skyline Commercial REIT
Devon Howsam, Director, Acquisitions & Asset Management, Crestpoint Real Estate Investments
William Secnik, Senior Vice President, Investments, Fiera Properties Ltd.

With some 60% of the Ottawa office market being outside the downtown, this session will examine all the submarkets outside the core area. With its high concentration of high technology tenancies, how is Kanata performing? Both Nepean and Kanata have seen positive absorption while Ottawa East remains stagnant and Ottawa West and Centretown have had tenancy declines. What have been the main factors behind each of these trends? What will generate the growth to fill the space across the Ottawa region? How much demand is expected in 2019 for new space and from whom? Is any new development underway or anticipated? What impact have federal government real estate activities had on which submarket? Where are rent levels in these various submarkets? What does the future hold for B and C class space? 

Moderator:
Lindsay Hockey, Sales Representative, Principal, Avison Young

Panel:
Brent Arseneau, Broker of Record, Leasing Manager, Colonnade Bridgeport Realty Inc. Brokerage
Dan Gray, Vice President, Leasing, QuadReal Property Group
Marc Shank, Vice President, Leasing Ontario & Western Canada, Cominar REIT
Martin Vandewouw, President, KRP Properties

SESSION B2:
UNDERSTANDING THE OTTAWA RETAIL MARKET: FROM BUOYANT AND GROWTH TO CHALLENGES AND TRANSFORMATION

No other real estate property class attracts as much attention as retail. In recent years, U.S. and international retailers have been circling Canada and opening stores while others have been closing. The growth of online shopping is impacting many traditional retail formats. Are there concerns about potentially tapped out consumers and the closure of national chains like Target, Sears, Future Shop, and many apparel retailers? In the Ottawa market, over 1.7M sq.ft. of retail space has been added to the inventory over the past four years. What is driving all of this activity? How are landlords and retailers responding to market transformation? How are they adapting to the changing market conditions with pop-ups, incubation, omni-channel strategies and urban formats? What impact will the LRT have on future retail growth along other inner city sites? This session will also examine some of the renewal strategies that are being applied to traditional retail properties. Discussion will also focus on the growth of food related retail experiences including the launch of an innovative eatery concept in the Ottawa market.

Moderator:
Fraser Paddison, Leasing Manager, Colonnade Bridgeport Realty Inc., Brokerage

Panel:
Stuart Craig, Vice President, Development, RioCan Management Inc.
Mark D’Eon, Senior Vice President, Leasing, Trinity Development Group
David Segal, Founder, Mad Radish
David Worts, Vice President, Client Services, Oberfeld Snowcap

SESSION B3:
REAL ESTATE OPPORTUNITIES WITH THE FEDERAL AND MUNICIPAL PUBLIC SECTORS

A range of possibilities exist in the Ottawa market for developers and investors to be engaged with public sector entities. This session will examine some of these options. One case study will be the 6.5 acre redevelopment being planned as a new mixed-use community that will integrate some of the existing heritage elements within the site. Planners on the project are already hearing comparisons to the Distillery District in Toronto or Gastown in Vancouver. Discussion will also focus on the massive Carling Avenue campus in the West End that will house 9,000 employees of the Department of National Defence. What will be the eventual impacts of this development on the surrounding area and on other submarkets within Ottawa? The session will end by examining municipal real estate activities both through the city directly as well as its social housing organization. 

Moderator:
Debbie Baxter, Partner, Real Estate Advisory, Deloitte LLP

Panel:
Brian Casagrande, Principal & Director, Planning and Development, FOTENN Planning + Design
John McBain, President & Chief Executive Officer, Canada Lands Company Ltd.
Sylvain Sirois, Chief of Staff, Infrastructure and Environment, Canadian Armed Forces

This session will open with an overview of the major trends in the Ottawa apartment market which continues to experience strong growth. What is the outlook for the performance of the rental market; where are demand and vacancy rates heading in 2019; have Provincial rent review policy changes affected new rental developments; how much development is in the pipeline; and how much interest is student housing attracting as a niche sub-market. The growing trend of carefree rentals and the key reasons behind it will also be examined. Why is this appealing to both young and older tenants? The session will end by examining the amount of investment quality apartments available for sale. What can break the logjam between strong investor interest and lack of sufficient product? Where are cap rates heading at this time and where are they expected to be in 2019? 

Moderator:
Aik Aliferis, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Primecorp Group of Companies

Panel:
Ugo Bizzarri, Senior Managing Director, CIO & Global Head of Direct and Debt Investments, Timbercreek 
Alfred Hendry, Chief Executive Officer, Homestead Land Holdings Ltd.
Martin Tovey, Vice President, Acquisitions, Minto Apartment REIT
Michael Tsourounis, Managing Director, Direct Investments, Timbercreek

SESSION C2:
SUCCESSFUL RECIPES AND STRATEGIES FOR KEEPING AGING CLASS B AND C BUILDINGS OCCUPIED AND MAINTAINING THEIR VALUE

New construction only represents about a small fraction of the building stock in Ottawa. What are the options for the older more pre-dominate buildings – especially B and C class properties – with respect to improving their operational efficiencies and ensuring that their space remains competitive in the market? The Ottawa market has a large inventory of buildings constructed in the 1960’s and 1970’s. This aging stock applies to office, retail and multi-family properties. The session will examine how you determine the most cost effective strategies that a landlord can use to repurpose an older asset. This discussion will be of particular value to owners of smaller portfolios. 

Moderator:
Paul Bregman, Principal, Bregman Law Office

Panel:
Thomas Cumberbatch, Chief Executive Officer & Executive Creative Director, Godzspeed Communications Inc.
Michael Simon, Sales Representative, CLV Realty Corporation, Brokerage
Craig Whitten, Partner, Huntington Properties
John Zinati, Broker of Record, Zinati Realty Inc.

SESSION C3:
THE EVOLUTION OF DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY IN OTTAWA AND GATINEAU: FROM CASE STUDIES OF COMMUNITY BUILDING PROJECTS TO TOD OPPORTUNITIES

Ottawa is experiencing a significant number of “community-building projects” – large-scale redevelopment of strategic properties that has the effect and opportunity of transforming existing neighbourhoods. City staff are encouraging the redevelopment of large parcels, resulting mainly in mixed-use centres and in proximity to existing transit and future LRT stations. Lansdowne Park, Greystone Village off of Main Street, CLC’s Rockcliffe Airbase, the redevelopment of the Tunney’s Pasture Federal lands, LeBreton Flats and Zibi development all signal an important period of city building in Ottawa and it’s progression as a National Capital City. Gatineau is also following suit with development activity proceeding on the other side of the river. This session will examine the challenges that several projects overcame in order to proceed. Discussion will also focus on transit oriented development and opportunities that the LRT will offer.

Moderator:
Miguel Tremblay, Principal & Director, Planning and Development, FOTENN Planning + Design

Panel:
Joshua Kardish, Vice President, eQ Homes Inc.
Eric Turcotte, Partner, Urban Strategies Inc.
Rodney Wilts, Partner, Theia Partners/Zibi

THE INVESTMENT ROUNDTABLE ON THE OTTAWA MARKET: WHO IS MOST ACTIVE? WHAT ASSETS ARE PARTICULARLY IN FAVOUR?

An insightful discussion with a cross-section of senior executives responsible for investment decision-making representing a wide range of national real estate organizations: from private equity funds to REITs to pension funds and lifecos. They will offer their perspectives on Ottawa’s market fundamentals, what they see occurring over the next twelve months, and what is their strategic thinking going forward. Among the other questions to be examined:

• What are the most significant challenges and opportunities for investors in the Ottawa market?
• What does it take to complete an investment deal in this market?
• What are you buying or selling, where are you buying or selling, and why are you buying or selling?
• What will be your strategy for 2019 and beyond in this market?
• Where in the cycle is the Ottawa market? Where are cap rates heading?
• What property classes will likely offer the best possible returns in 2019?
• What needs to change in order for Ottawa to reach its ultimate potential?
  

Moderator:
Anne Morton, Director General, Strategic Portfolio Initiatives, Department of National Defence

Panel:
Sam Barbieri, Senior Vice President, Asset Management, LaSalle Investment Management
Colin Baryliuk, Executive Managing Director, Investments, KingSett Capital
Ron Inger, Chief Investment Officer, Forgestone Capital
Lucas Manuel, Managing Director, Slate Asset Management
Gregory Sweeney, Managing Director & Head, Canadian Real Estate Investments, Manulife Real Estate