Mark Kolke visits with interesting Calgarians - to catch a glimpse of what drives them, how they see the world and what they see in Calgary's future - and shares what caught his attention.
+ to thousands of volunteers helping friends and strangers in Calgary and HighRiver
+ to Calgary Stampede CEO Vern Kimball, staff and volunteers – for making Stampede 101 a triumph in pulling together, pulling out all the stops and letting this community shine
+ to Bruce Burrell, Chief of Calgary Emergency Management Agency – for his stellar leadership, steady words and brilliant priority setting, and to City and Enmax crews for their execution in getting this city back to a perception of normalcy and functioning quite normally
SAVE THE DATE / upcoming events
+ Sept. 24; Annual RealREIT Conference; Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto,info/register
+ Oct. 16; 32nd Annual National Ernest C. Manning Innovation Awards Gala, TELUS Convention Centre, Calgarytickets/sponsorship
+ Oct. 17; 2nd Annual Vancouver Real Estate Leasing Conference, Vancouver Convention Centre
+ Government of Alberta flood relief [online updates] continues for affected southern Alberta communities [flood-related supports]; HighRiver temp housing projects being set up in Calgary, HighRiver and Lethbridge. City approval and regulatory processes side-stepped due to State of Emergency status
+ Ivanhoe Energy Inc. completed its disposition of its Pan-China Resources subsidiary
+ Stampede attendance down due to rain
NEWS REVIEW July 2 - 8
+ Alberta unemployment rate rises – now at 5%, in contrast to May when Alberta created 18,600 new jobs
+ Angle Energy Inc. launched a strategic review to enhance shareholder value
+ Boxxer Gold Corp. agreed to acquire Konnex Resources Inc.
+ BP is appealing in Texas courts, on Deepwater Horizon payouts relating to 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill, claiming that unaffected parties have been compensated
+ Calgary Stampede underway – parade and grounds in fine form; repairs to Saddledome taking more time so some stage events were cancelled; Stampede and Erlton LRT station repairs made in time
+ Calgary Zoo laid off nearly 300 staff, losing huge revenue – re-opening date at least 5 months away, repairs of estimated $50 million damages has begun; a merkat had 5 pups and flood chilled giraffes survived!
+ Canadian National Railway is planning a 20-acre frac sand facility near Grande Prairie, opens November 2013
+ Dixie Energy Trust closed its US$ 5.5 million acquisition of Mississippi and Alabama assets from Fletcher Exploration LLC
+ Enbridge Inc. restarted service on its Wood Buffalo Pipeline (Line 75)
+ GE Oil & Gas completed its $3.3 billion acquisition of Lufkin Industries Inc.
+ Government of Alberta has committed to a deal valued at $5 billion, for shipping up to 100,000 barrels a day for 20 years with Energy East Ltd. Partnership, which is TransCanada’s west-to-east main line conversion project to deliver Alberta’s ‘bitumen in lieu’ of royalties output
+ Great-West Lifeco Inc. satisfied conditions, going ahead with its acquisition of Irish Life Group Limited for €1.3 billion
+ National Public Relations acquired Madano Partnership
+ oil-by-rail under scrutiny in aftermath of massive 70-car train de-railment, explosion and fire decimated Lac-Mégantic, 13 bodies found so far, dozens more unaccounted for … investigation underway
+ Pacific NorthWest LNG applied for its liquefied natural gas export license
+ Plains Midstream Canada has incurred the wrath of the Alberta Energy Regulator – subject to an audit of all its operations
+ TC Pipelines LP closed its acquisition of additional interests in Gas Transmission Northwest LLD and Bison Pipeline LLC for $1.05 billion
+ Telus, Westbank and Allied REIT announced plans for a $400 million, 750,000 sq. ft. office tower on the Arts Central site (across the street from The Bow); planned as a LEED Platinum project, it will have Telus as anchor tenant, and 341 residential rental units
+ TransCanada Corporation closed its acquisition of Ontario solar power facility (1st of 9) from Canadian Solar Solutions Inc.; 9 facilities will be 86 megawatts, costing $470 million
+ TrilOil Resources Ltd. is in play – undisclosed party negotiating a bid
+ City of Calgary reviewing storm water drainage system – need $170 million in upgrades – back on the discussion table after 2nd flooding of Sunnyside neighbourhood in wake of recent flood
+ Tsuu T’ina Nation and Ottawa resolved long standing dispute over compensation paid for the Weaselhead lands
+ Calgary temporary housing, trailer parks, to accommodate displaced residents from Calgary (900) and several thousand from High River, are under construction on a hurry-up basis in Great Plains industrial area, sites also in Royal Oak and Garrison Green to house people for an estimated 12-18 months while their homes are restored or replaced due to flood damage
+ ElbowPark and Rideau schools (Calgary Board of Education) under assessment for significant flood damage, repairs and temporary solutions for September back-to-school – stay tuned . . .
+ City of Calgary infrastructure repair bill – estimates so far, to fix the Zoo, river bank re-hab, police admin bldg, city hall, wastewater treatment plant, parks, pedestrian bridge replacements, public library bldg, LRT lines, parkades, Talisman Centre and replacing destroyed police vehicles = $ 256 million and climbing . . . tic-toc
+ each year The Calgary Foundation takes our temperature; surveying how we view quality of life in Calgary. Please take a few minutes to respond – click here. Survey response date extended to closes July 30, report will be published October 1.
+ Pure Multi-Family REIT LP closed its US$16.5 million acquisition of a Dallas multi-family project (264 units, 6.89% going-in CAP rate)
+ First Capital Property Trust agreed to acquire a 50% interesting in 25-building Montreal portfolio of industrial buildings for $48.2 million
+ Blackstone Group LP, after investing $5 billion on more than 30,000 distressed U.S. houses as part of a $17 billion investment in over 100,000 foreclosed homes it led – going deeper into the distressed market by providing financing to other landlords
+ WPT Industrial REIT agreed to acquired US$53 million industrial property in Illinois from Welsh Property Trust LLC
