RioCan sticks to its plan

Article Excerpt

RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $26.23 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Units outstanding: 303.8 million; Market cap: $8.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.5%; www.riocan.com) owns all or part of 217 shopping centres and other properties across Canada. They include 13 projects now under development. In all, the REIT controls 38.3 million square feet of rentable space. Its overall occupancy rate is a high 97.1%. RioCan continues to focus on six major urban markets: Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. Its plan involves generating 90% of its revenue from those markets by the end of 2019. Note, 50% of that will come from the Greater Toronto Area, alone. Under its new strategy, the REIT has now acquired 100% interest in the residential component of Toronto’s eCentral development. That comprises a 36-storey, 466-unit tower in the city’s midtown. RioCan has also acquired 100% interest in the retail space of the adjacent development, ePlace. That acquisition includes 70 commercial parking spaces. RioCan REIT is a..