RioCan narrows its focus

Article Excerpt

RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST, $20.43, is a buy. The REIT (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Units outstanding: 309.9 million; Market cap: $6.2 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.0%; www.riocan.com) is currently developing The Well, a major mixed-use project in the King Street West/Spadina area of downtown Toronto. The Well comprises 1.2 million square feet of office space plus 320,000 square feet of retail. RioCan is building the commercial portion of this project under a 50/50 joint venture with Allied Properties REIT (Toronto symbol AP.UN). The partners recently announced that the office component of the development is now 98% leased. As well, tenants have leased 66% of the space in the retail portion. The project should open in mid-2023. Mixed-use projects like The Well are part of RioCan’s strategy to narrow its focus to major urban areas. That has helped it weather the COVID-19 and related lockdowns in its market. RioCan REIT is a buy. buy…