TORONTO, Nov. 10, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust (“SmartCentres”, the “Trust” or the “REIT”) (TSX: SRU.UN) is pleased to report its financial and operating results for the quarter ended September 30, 2021.
“This is the first release of results since the passing of Peter Forde. Peter was a true gentleman and a wonderful partner in the running of the SmartCentres business. We were not just colleagues, but good friends that spoke many times a day for 22 years. I think of him daily and we all miss him dearly,” said Mitchell Goldhar, Executive Chairman and CEO of SmartCentres REIT.
“Regarding our third quarter, we ended with solid performances from every aspect of the business. Operational resiliency was demonstrated by improved leasing momentum, occupancy increasing to 97.6%, and cash flow in excess of 97%. This is a reflection of the strength of our tenants. Our accretive mixed-use intensification program continues to be a source of additional growth, demonstrated this quarter by the completion of the remaining 192-unit closings in SmartVMC’s 55-storey Transit City 3 condominium tower.”
“At SmartVMC, the most prolific and comprehensive of all the REIT’s masterplan intensification projects, we have thus far closed on 1,741 units in the first three Transit City condominium phases, resulting in $0.37 in FFO per unit. While a healthy contribution indeed, it is merely the tip of the iceberg for our SmartVMC property, where we will have 1,026 additional units closing in our sold-out Transit City 4 and 5 towers, and where our newly minted residential banner, ‘SmartLiving’, will imminently launch our next residential phase to the market, called ArtWalk.”
“ArtWalk, a 12-acre mixed-use neighbourhood in the heart of SmartVMC, located on the former Walmart parcel, will, upon full completion, consist of approximately 5 million square feet, 5,000 residential units, and 100,000 – 150,000 square feet of non-residential, across 12 separate buildings. Phase 1 of ArtWalk is planned to consist of over 370 condo units and 190 rental apartments, 70,000 square feet of large floor-plate tech office space, an innovative multi-use event space building, common and exclusive amenities for all building users, connected by world-class open spaces. The ArtWalk neighbourhood extends the tone set by our Transit City towers, with one very important distinction: SmartCentres REIT will own 50% of ArtWalk condos, double the 25% it owned in Transit City.”
“We remain committed to our vision to grow our company in the areas of greatest opportunity. While SmartVMC is but one of the REIT’s 94 properties slated for intensification, it represents our vision of the future, at its finest.”
The following table presents the monthly collection experience since the pandemic began:
Month(1) | % of Gross Monthly Billings Collected Before Application of CECRA-Related Arrangements(2) | % of Gross Monthly Billings Collected After Application of CECRA-Related Arrangements(2) |
Apr 2020 | 79.8 | 86.3 |
May 2020 | 80.6 | 97.0 |
Jun 2020 | 83.8 | 90.3 |
Jul 2020 | 88.9 | 95.3 |
Aug 2020 | 90.3 | 96.8 |
Sep 2020(2) | 90.3 | 96.9 |
Oct 2020 | 96.8 | 96.8 |
Nov 2020 | 96.7 | 96.7 |
Dec 2020 | 96.6 | 96.6 |
Jan 2021 | 95.3 | 95.3 |
Feb 2021 | 95.5 | 95.5 |
Mar 2021 | 96.8 | 96.8 |
Apr 2021 | 95.7 | 95.7 |
May 2021 | 95.8 | 95.8 |
Jun 2021 | 95.7 | 95.7 |
Jul 2021 | 97.1 | 97.1 |
Aug 2021 | 97.3 | 97.3 |
Sep 2021 | 97.0 | 97.0 |
Oct 2021 | 94.6 | 94.6 |
(1) Represents the Trust’s collection experience up to October 22, 2021.
(2) The Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (“CECRA”) program ended on September 30, 2020.
As of October 22, 2021, the Trust has collected 94.6% of gross monthly billings for the month of October 2021.
Collection levels have continued to improve to approximately 97% for the three months ended September 30, 2021. However, the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have continued to impact the remaining 3%. Accordingly, during the nine months of 2021, the Trust recorded additional bad debt expense/expected credit loss (“ECL”) provisions totalling $5.3 million. The following table provides some additional details on the Trust’s tenant billings, amounts received, abatements and deferral arrangements, and the remaining balance outstanding subject to deferral arrangements under negotiation and before ECL provision:
(in thousands of dollars) | Nine Months Ended September 30, 2021 | As a % | Nine Months Ended December 31, 2020(1) | As a % |
Total recurring tenant billings | 603,745 | 100.0 | 601,251 | 100.0 |
Less: Amounts received directly from tenants to date | 581,071 | 96.2 | 535,668 | 89.1 |
Balance outstanding | 22,674 | 3.8 | 65,583 | 10.9 |
Less: | ||||
Recovery from governments for CECRA | — | — | 15,412 | 2.6 |
Amounts forgiven by the Trust for CECRA | — | — | 7,706 | 1.3 |
Sales tax on CECRA | — | — | 2,976 | 0.5 |
Rent abatements provided to tenants | 309 | 0.1 | 6,120 | 1.0 |
Balance outstanding | 22,365 | 3.7 | 33,369 | 5.5 |
Less: Deferral arrangements negotiated | 1,002 | 0.2 | 7,395 | 1.2 |
Rents to be collected before ECL provision provided | 21,363 | 3.5 | 25,974 | 4.3 |
(1) The Trust identifies the nine months ended December 31, 2020 as the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic period.
The table below represents a summary of total tenant receivables and ECL balances as at September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020:
(in thousands of dollars) | September 30, 2021 | December 31, 2020 |
Tenant receivables | 44,110 | 57,563 |
Unbilled other tenant amounts | 6,379 | 8,287 |
Total tenant receivables | 50,489 | 65,850 |
Less: Allowance for ECL | 21,419 | 19,742 |
Total tenant receivables net of ECL provisions | 29,070 | 46,108 |
Highlights
Mixed-Use Development and Intensification at SmartVMC
Other Business Development
Financial
Operational
Subsequent Events
(1) Represents a GAAP measure.
(2) Represents a non-GAAP measure. The Trust’s method of calculating non-GAAP measures may differ from other reporting issuers’ methods and, accordingly, may not be comparable. For definitions and basis of presentation of the Trust’s non-GAAP measures, refer to “Presentation of Certain Terms Including Non-GAAP Measures” in the Trust’s MD&A.
(3) Net of cash-on-hand of $50.0 million as at September 30, 2021 for the purposes of calculating the ratios.
Selected Consolidated Operational, Mixed-Use Development and Financial Information
Key consolidated operational, mixed-use development and financial information shown in the table below includes the Trust’s proportionate share of equity accounted investments:
(in thousands of dollars, except per Unit and other non-financial data) | September 30, 2021 | December 31, 2020 | September 30, 2020 |
Portfolio Information | |||
Number of retail and other properties | 146 | 148 | 150 |
Number of properties under development | 11 | 10 | 9 |
Number of office properties | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Number of mixed-use properties | 10 | 8 | 6 |
Total number of properties with an ownership interest | 168 | 167 | 166 |
Leasing & Operational Information | |||
Gross leasable area including retail and office space (in thousands of sq. ft.) | 34,225 | 34,056 | 34,051 |
Occupied area including retail and office space (in thousands of sq. ft.) | 33,312 | 33,039 | 33,076 |
Vacant area including retail and office space (in thousands of sq. ft.) | 913 | 1,017 | 975 |
In-place occupancy rate (%) | 97.3 | 97.0 | 97.1 |
Committed occupancy rate (%) | 97.6 | 97.3 | 97.4 |
Average lease term to maturity (in years) | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.7 |
Net retail rental rate (per occupied sq. ft.) ($) | 15.40 | 15.37 | 15.45 |
Net retail rental rate excluding Anchors (per occupied sq. ft.) ($) | 21.91 | 21.89 | 22.15 |
Mixed-Use Development Information | |||
Future development area (in thousands of sq. ft.) | 32,200 | 32,500 | 27,900 |
Trust's share of estimated costs of future projects currently under construction, or for which construction is expected to commence within the next five years | 7,700,000 | 7,900,000 | 5,400,000 |
Total number of residential rental projects | 97 | 96 | 88 |
Total number of seniors’ housing projects | 39 | 40 | 45 |
Total number of self-storage projects | 46 | 50 | 48 |
Total number of office building projects | 7 | 7 | 10 |
Total number of hotel projects | 4 | 4 | 5 |
Total number of condominium developments | 73 | 72 | 46 |
Total number of townhome developments | 15 | 15 | 14 |
Total number of future projects currently in development planning stage | 281 | 284 | 256 |
Financial Information | |||
Total assets(1) | 10,191,592 | 10,724,492 | 10,365,651 |
Investment properties(2)(3) | 9,623,548 | 9,400,584 | 9,354,927 |
Total unencumbered assets(2) | 6,002,800 | 5,835,600 | 5,763,400 |
Debt(2)(3) | 4,647,648 | 5,261,360 | 4,908,808 |
Debt to Aggregate Assets (%)(2)(3)(4) | 44.5 | 44.6 | 44.3 |
Debt to Gross Book Value (%)(2)(3)(4) | 50.4 | 50.1 | 49.8 |
Unsecured to Secured Debt Ratio(2)(3)(4) | 70%/30% | 68%/32% | 67%/33% |
Unencumbered assets to unsecured debt(2)(3)(4) | 1.9X | 1.9X | 1.9X |
Weighted average interest rate (%)(2)(3) | 3.25 | 3.28 | 3.37 |
Weighted average term of debt (in years) | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.9 |
Interest coverage ratio(2)(3)(4) | 3.3X | 3.2X | 3.3X |
Interest coverage ratio (net of capitalized interest expense)(2)(3)(4) | 3.7X | 3.7X | 3.8X |
Adjusted Debt to Adjusted EBITDA (net of cash)(2)(3)(4) | 8.5X | 8.5X | 8.5X |
Equity (book value)(1) | 5,268,176 | 5,166,975 | 5,197,315 |
Weighted average number of units outstanding – diluted | 173,535,843 | 172,971,603 | 172,873,206 |
(1) Represents a GAAP measure.
(2) Represents a non-GAAP measure. The Trust’s method of calculating non-GAAP measures may differ from other reporting issuers’ methods and, accordingly, may not be comparable. For definitions and basis of presentation of the Trust’s non-GAAP measures, refer to “Presentation of Certain Terms Including Non-GAAP Measures” in the Trust’s MD&A.
(3) Includes the Trust’s assets held for sale and the Trust’s proportionate share of equity accounted investments.
(4) As at September 30, 2021, cash-on-hand of $50.0 million was excluded for the purposes of calculating the applicable ratios (December 31, 2020 – $754.4 million, September 30, 2020 – $413.1 million).
Quarterly Comparison to Prior Year
The following table presents key financial, per Unit, and payout ratio information for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and September 30, 2020:
(in thousands of dollars, except per Unit information) | September 30, 2021 | September 30, 2020 | Variance | ||||||||
(A) | (B) | (A–B) | |||||||||
Financial Information | |||||||||||
Rentals from investment properties and other(1) | 195,171 | 186,344 | 8,827 | ||||||||
Net base rent(1) | 125,125 | 123,233 | 1,892 | ||||||||
Total recoveries(1) | 60,565 | 58,686 | 1,879 | ||||||||
Miscellaneous revenue(1) | 4,573 | 2,410 | 2,163 | ||||||||
Service and other revenues(1) | 4,908 | 2,015 | 2,893 | ||||||||
Net income and comprehensive income(1)(3) | 178,051 | 111,033 | 67,018 | ||||||||
Net income and comprehensive income excluding fair value adjustments(2)(3) | 90,691 | 105,214 | (14,523) | ||||||||
Cash flows provided by operating activities(1) | 96,298 | 79,100 | 17,198 | ||||||||
NOI(2) | 133,333 | 147,612 | (14,279) | ||||||||
NOI excluding condominium sales(2) | 126,889 | 115,881 | 11,008 | ||||||||
Change in SPNOI(2) | 6.6% | (8.3)% | 14.9% | ||||||||
Change in SPNOI excluding ECL(2) | (1.0)% | (0.8)% | (0.2)% | ||||||||
FFO(2)(3)(4)(5) | 97,887 | 110,107 | (12,220) | ||||||||
FFO with adjustments(2)(3)(4) | 99,593 | 110,107 | (10,514) | ||||||||
FFO with adjustments and Transactional FFO(2)(3)(4) | 99,593 | 110,851 | (11,258) | ||||||||
FFO excluding condominium sales(2)(3)(4) | 91,965 | 80,114 | 11,851 | ||||||||
FFO with adjustments excluding condominium sales(2)(3)(4) | 93,671 | 80,114 | 13,557 | ||||||||
ACFO(2)(3)(4)(5) | 90,342 | 101,752 | (11,410) | ||||||||
ACFO with adjustments(2)(3)(4) | 92,048 | 101,752 | (9,704) | ||||||||
ACFO excluding condominium sales(2)(3)(4) | 83,898 | 70,021 | 13,877 | ||||||||
Distributions declared | 79,683 | 79,621 | 62 | ||||||||
Surplus of ACFO over distributions declared(2) | 10,659 | 22,131 | (11,472) | ||||||||
Surplus (shortfall) of cash provided by operating activities over distributions declared(2) | 16,615 | (521) | 17,136 | ||||||||
Units outstanding(6) | 172,287,950 | 172,220,387 | 67,563 | ||||||||
Weighted average – basic | 172,285,503 | 172,112,821 | 172,682 | ||||||||
Weighted average – diluted(7) | 173,644,091 | 173,120,316 | 523,775 | ||||||||
Per Unit Information (Basic/Diluted) | |||||||||||
Net income and comprehensive income(1) | $1.03/$1.03 | $0.65/$0.64 | $0.38/$0.39 | ||||||||
Net income and comprehensive income excluding fair value adjustments(2)(3) | $0.53/$0.52 | $0.61/$0.61 | -$0.08/-$0.09 | ||||||||
FFO(2)(3)(4)(5) | $0.57/$0.56 | $0.64/$0.64 | -$0.07/-$0.08 | ||||||||
FFO with adjustments(2)(3)(4) | $0.58/$0.57 | $0.64/$0.64 | -$0.06/-$0.07 | ||||||||
FFO with adjustments and Transactional FFO(2)(3)(4) | $0.58/$0.57 | $0.64/$0.64 | -$0.06/-$0.07 | ||||||||
Distributions declared | $0.463 | $0.463 | $— | ||||||||
Payout Ratio Information | |||||||||||
Payout Ratio to ACFO(2)(3)(4)(5) | 88.2% | 78.3% | 9.9% | ||||||||
Payout Ratio to ACFO with adjustments(2)(3)(4) | 86.6% | 78.3% | 8.3% |
(1) Represents a GAAP measure.
(2) Represents a non-GAAP measure. The Trust’s method of calculating non-GAAP measures may differ from other reporting issuers’ methods and, accordingly, may not be comparable. For definitions and basis of presentation of the Trust’s non-GAAP measures, refer to “Presentation of Certain Terms Including Non-GAAP Measures” in the Trust’s MD&A.
(3) Includes the Trust’s assets held for sale and the Trust’s proportionate share of equity accounted investments.
(4) See “Other Measures of Performance” in the Trust’s MD&A for a reconciliation of these measures to the nearest consolidated financial statement measure.
(5) The calculation of the Trust’s FFO and ACFO and related payout ratios, including comparative amounts, are financial metrics that were determined based on the February 2019 REALpac White Paper on FFO and ACFO, respectively. Comparison with other reporting issuers may not be appropriate. The payout ratio to FFO and the payout ratio to ACFO are calculated as declared distributions divided by FFO and ACFO, respectively.
(6) Total Units outstanding include Trust Units and LP Units, including Units classified as liabilities. LP Units classified as equity in the consolidated financial statements are presented as non-controlling interests.
(7) The diluted weighted average includes the vested portion of the deferred units issued pursuant to the deferred unit plan.
Year-to-Date Comparison to Prior Year
The following table presents key financial, per Unit, and payout ratio information for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and September 30, 2020:
(in thousands of dollars, except per Unit information) | September 30, 2021 | September 30, 2020 | Variance | |||
(A) | (B) | (A–B) | ||||
Financial Information | ||||||
Rentals from investment properties and other(1) | 587,946 | 583,356 | 4,590 | |||
Net base rent(1) | 369,955 | 372,486 | (2,531) | |||
Total recoveries(1) | 196,342 | 197,327 | (985) | |||
Miscellaneous revenue(1) | 10,412 | 6,720 | 3,692 | |||
Service and other revenues(1) | 11,237 | 6,823 | 4,414 | |||
Net income and comprehensive income(1) | 335,595 | 41,560 | 294,035 | |||
Net income and comprehensive income excluding fair value adjustments(2)(3) | 260,400 | 258,017 | 2,383 | |||
Cash flows provided by operating activities(1 | 237,950 | 204,611 | 33,339 | |||
NOI(2) | 388,405 | 382,103 | 6,302 | |||
NOI excluding condominium sales(2) | 367,867 | 350,631 | 17,236 | |||
Change in SPNOI(2) | 3.4% | (7.0)% | 10.4% | |||
Change in SPNOI excluding ECL(2) | (2.1)% | (0.3)% | (1.8)% | |||
FFO(2)(3)(4)(5) | 282,620 | 281,270 | 1,350 | |||
FFO with adjustments(2)(3)(4) | 285,186 | 281,270 | 3,916 | |||
FFO with adjustments and Transactional FFO(2)(3)(4) | 286,773 | 282,014 | 4,759 | |||
FFO excluding condominium sales(2)(3)(4) | 263,807 | 251,277 | 12,530 | |||
FFO with adjustments excluding condominium sales(2)(3)(4) | 266,373 | 251,277 | 15,096 | |||
ACFO(2)(3)(4)(5) | 269,743 | 269,464 | 279 | |||
ACFO with adjustments(2)(3)(4) | 272,309 | 269,464 | 2,845 | |||
ACFO excluding condominium sales(2)(3)(4) | 249,205 | 237,992 | 11,213 | |||
Distributions declared | 239,028 | 239,101 | (73) | |||
Surplus of ACFO over distributions declared(2) | 30,715 | 30,363 | 352 | |||
Shortfall of cash provided by operating activities over distributions declared(2) | (1,078) | (34,490) | 33,412 | |||
Units outstanding(6) | 172,287,950 | 172,220,387 | 67,563 | |||
Weighted average – basic | 172,266,602 | 171,890,163 | 376,439 | |||
Weighted average – diluted(7) | 173,535,843 | 172,873,206 | 662,637 | |||
Per Unit Information (Basic/Diluted) | ||||||
Net income and comprehensive income(1) | $1.95/$1.93 | $0.24/$0.24 | $1.71/$1.69 | |||
Net income and comprehensive income excluding fair value adjustments(2)(3) | $1.51/$1.50 | $1.50/$1.49 | $0.01/$0.01 | |||
FFO(2)(3)(4)(5) | $1.64/$1.63 | $1.64/$1.63 | $—/$— | |||
FFO with adjustments(2)(3)(4) | $1.66/$1.64 | $1.64/$1.63 | $0.02/$0.01 | |||
FFO with adjustments and Transactional FFO(2)(3)(4) | $1.66/$1.65 | $1.64/$1.63 | $0.02/$0.02 | |||
Distributions declared | $1.388 | $1.388 | $— | |||
Payout Ratio Information | ||||||
Payout Ratio to ACFO(2)(3)(4)(5) | 88.6% | 88.7% | (0.1)% | |||
Payout Ratio to ACFO with adjustments(2)(3)(4) | 87.8% | 88.7% | (0.9)% |
Operational Highlights
For the three months ended September 30, 2021, net income and comprehensive income (as noted in the table above) increased by $67.0 million as compared to the same period last year. This increase was primarily attributed to the following:
Partially offset by the following:
For the nine months ended September 30, 2021, net income and comprehensive income (as noted in the table above) increased by $294.0 million as compared to the same period last year. This increase was primarily attributed to the following:
Partially offset by the following:
FFO Highlights
For the three months ended September 30, 2021, FFO decreased by $12.2 million or 11.1% to $97.9 million. This decrease was primarily attributed to:
Partially offset by:
For the three months ended September 30, 2021, FFO with adjustments decreased by $10.5 million or 9.5% to $99.6 million.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2021, FFO increased by $1.4 million or 0.5% to $282.6 million. This increase was primarily attributed to:
Partially offset by:
For the nine months ended September 30, 2021, FFO with adjustments increased by $3.9 million or 1.4% to $285.2 million.
ACFO Highlights
For the three months ended September 30, 2021, ACFO decreased by $11.4 million or 11.2% to $90.3 million compared to the same period in 2020, which was primarily due to the items previously identified (see “Results of Operations” in the Trust’s MD&A).
For the nine months ended September 30, 2021, ACFO increased by $0.3 million or 0.1% to $269.7 million compared to the same period in 2020, which was primarily due to the items previously identified (see “Results of Operations” in the Trust’s MD&A).
Development and Intensification Summary
Included in the Trust’s large development pipeline are 281 identified mixed-use development initiatives, which are summarized in the following table:
Underway | Active | Future | ||
Description | (Construction underway or expected to commence within next 2 years) | (Construction expected to commence within next 3–5 years) | (Construction expected to commence after 5 years) | Total |
Number of projects in which the Trust has an ownership interest | ||||
Residential Rental | 21 | 25 | 51 | 97 |
Seniors’ Housing | 4 | 16 | 19 | 39 |
Self-storage | 10 | 17 | 19 | 46 |
Office Buildings | — | 1 | 6 | 7 |
Hotels | — | — | 4 | 4 |
Subtotal – Recurring rental income initiatives | 35 | 59 | 99 | 193 |
Condominium developments | 15 | 20 | 38 | 73 |
Townhome developments | 2 | 3 | 10 | 15 |
Subtotal – Development income initiatives | 17 | 23 | 48 | 88 |
Total | 52 | 82 | 147 | 281 |
Trust’s share of project area (in thousands of sq. ft.) | ||||
Recurring rental income initiatives | 3,600 | 5,700 | 9,400 | 18,700 |
Development income initiatives | 3,100 | 3,500 | 6,900 | 13,500 |
Total Trust’s share of project area (in thousands of sq. ft.) | 6,700 | 9,200 | 16,300 | 32,200 |
Trust’s share of such estimated costs (in millions of dollars) | 3,200 | 4,500 | – (1) | 7,700 |
(1) The Trust does not fully determine the costs attributable to future projects expected to commence after five years and as such they are not included in this table.
As noted in the table above, the Trust is currently working on initiatives for the development of many properties, for which final municipal approvals have been or are being actively pursued:
Non-GAAP Measures
The non-GAAP measures used in this Press Release, including but not limited FFO, Transactional FFO, ACFO, NOI, Same Property NOI, average yield rates, and payout ratio do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. These non-GAAP measures are more fully defined and discussed in 'Management’s Discussion and Analysis' ("MD&A") of the Trust for the nine months ended September 30, 2021, available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Full reports of the financial results of the Trust for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 are outlined in the unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements and the related MD&A of the Trust for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Conference Call
SmartCentres will hold a conference call on Thursday, November 11, 2021 at 4:00 p.m. (ET). Participating on the call will be members of SmartCentres’ senior management.
Investors are invited to access the call by dialing 1-855-353-9183 and then keying in the participant access code 83639#. You will be required to identify yourself and the organization on whose behalf you are participating.
A recording of this call will be made available Thursday, November 11, 2021 beginning at 8:30 p.m. (ET) through to 8:30 p.m. (ET) on Thursday, November 18, 2021. To access the recording, please call 1-855-201-2300, enter the conference access code 83639# and then key in the participant access code 0111176#.
About SmartCentres
SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust is one of Canada’s largest fully integrated REITs, with a best-in-class portfolio featuring 168 strategically located properties in communities across the country. SmartCentres has approximately $10.2 billion in assets and owns 34.0 million square feet of income producing value-oriented retail space with 97.6% occupancy, on 3,500 acres of owned land across Canada.
SmartCentres continues to focus on enhancing the lives of Canadians by planning and developing complete, connected, mixed-use communities on its existing retail properties. Project 512, a publicly announced $13.1 billion intensification program ($7.7 billion at SmartCentres' share) represents the REIT’s current major development focus on which construction is expected to commence within the next five years. This intensification program consists of rental apartments, condos, seniors’ residences and hotels, to be developed under the SmartLiving banner, and retail, office, and storage facilities, to be developed under the SmartCentres banner.
SmartCentres' intensification program is expected to produce an additional 54.7 million square feet (32.2 million square feet at SmartCentres’ share) of space, 27 million square feet (15.9 million square feet at SmartCentres’ share) of which has or will commence construction within the next five years. From shopping centres to city centres, SmartCentres is uniquely positioned to reshape the Canadian urban and urban-suburban landscape.
Included in this intensification program is the Trust’s share of SmartVMC which, when completed, is expected to include approximately 11.0 million square feet of mixed-use space in Vaughan, Ontario. Construction of the first five sold-out phases of Transit City Condominiums that represent 2,789 residential units continues to progress. Final closings of the first two phases of Transit City Condominiums began ahead of budget and ahead of schedule in August 2020 and all 1,110 units in the first and second phases have closed. Closings of all 631 presold units in the third phase began in May 2021 and are now fully completed. In addition, the 22 sold-out townhomes that complete this phase of the project, are expected to close in 2022. The fourth and fifth sold-out phases representing 1,026 units are currently under construction and are expected to close in 2023.
Certain statements in this Press Release are "forward-looking statements" that reflect management's expectations regarding the Trust's future growth, results of operations, performance and business prospects and opportunities. More specifically, certain statements including, but not limited to, statements related to SmartCentres’ expected or planned development plans and joint venture projects, including the described type, scope, costs and other financial metrics and the expected timing of construction and condominium closings and statements that contain words such as "could", "should", "can", "anticipate", "expect", "believe", "will", "may" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts, constitute "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements are presented for the purpose of assisting the Trust's Unitholders and financial analysts in understanding the Trust's operating environment, and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management.
However, such forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements, including risks associated with potential acquisitions not being completed or not being completed on the contemplated terms, public health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, real property ownership and development, debt and equity financing for development, interest and financing costs, construction and development risks, ability to obtain commercial and municipal consents for development. These risks and others are more fully discussed under the heading “Risks and Uncertainties” and elsewhere in the SmartCentres’ most recent Management’s Discussion and Analysis, as well as under the heading “Risk Factors” in SmartCentres’ most recent annual information form. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, SmartCentres cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained herein are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. These forward-looking statements are made as at the date of this Press Release and SmartCentres assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances unless otherwise required by applicable securities legislation.
Material factors or assumptions that were applied in drawing a conclusion or making an estimate set out in the forward-looking information may include, but are not limited to: a stable retail environment; relatively low and stable interest costs; a continuing trend toward land use intensification, including residential development in urban markets and continued growth along transportation nodes; access to equity and debt capital markets to fund, at acceptable costs, future capital requirements and to enable our refinancing of debts as they mature; that requisite consents for development will be obtained in the ordinary course, construction and permitting costs consistent with the past year and recent inflation trends.
For more information, please visit www.smartcentres.com or contact:
Mitchell Goldhar | Peter Sweeney |
Executive Chairman and CEO | Chief Financial Officer |
SmartCentres | SmartCentres |
(905) 326-6400 ext. 7674 | (905) 326-6400 ext. 7865 |
[email protected] | [email protected] |
The Toronto Stock Exchange neither approves nor disapproves of the contents of this Press Release.
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