RioCan nears key Milestone

Article Excerpt

RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $24.77 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Units o/s: 306.8 million; Market cap: $7.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.8%; www.riocan.com) is preparing to lease the units of its first rental development, eCentral, in midtown Toronto before the end of this year. Those 466 apartments, at Yonge and Eglinton, account for a fifth of the roughly 2,300 rental units currently under construction and part of the RioCan Living portfolio. eCentral is a 36-storey rental residence situated within ePlace, a 712,000 square foot mixed-use development that also features retail, office and residential condos. It’s located at the intersection of the Yonge-University subway line and future Eglinton Crosstown LRT. RioCan launched its RioCan Living unit in March 2018 to take advantage of a shortage of new apartment rental buildings in large Canadian cities. The portfolio also lets it diversify away from office and retail tenants. The REIT aims to have 5,000 rental units within the next five years. RioCan is a buy. buy…