Plaza Retail REIT Acquires Redevelopment Site in Brockville, ON

̶  REIT capitalizes on the changing retail landscape by acquiring second property formerly tenanted by Sears Canada   ̶

FREDERICTON, Jan. 11, 2018 /CNW/ - Plaza Retail REIT (TSX: PLZ.UN) ("Plaza" or the "REIT") today announced that it has acquired a prime retail property in Brockville, Ontario for $14.0 million. The 1000 Islands Mall property, previously anchored by a Sears Canada store that now sits empty, is a 281,000 square foot enclosed mall that is ideally positioned for redevelopment as a strip plaza. Located on Parkedale Avenue adjacent to Highway 401, the property has long been the retail focal point of the Brockville market, easily accessible by area consumers. The REIT intends to redevelop the property into a multi-unit retail plaza comprising approximately 155,000 square feet of gross leasable area. The property will also have excess density that can accommodate future expansion.

"The acquisition of this property comes on the heels of last month's acquisition of a Québec property that was also previously leased to Sears," said Michael Zakuta, President and CEO of the REIT. "Plaza is recognized for our core strengths in development and redevelopment. This property represents another new opportunity for Plaza to leverage this proven expertise to capitalize on the changing retail landscape in Canada."

The REIT has satisfied the purchase price through $4.9 million in cash and a new $9.1 million borrowing facility at a cost of prime plus 1.25%. Development/construction expenses will be financed through the expansion of this facility. Consistent with Plaza's established redevelopment strategy, the REIT has initiated discussions with multiple potential tenants for the site.

About Plaza
Plaza is an open-ended real estate investment trust and is a leading retail property owner and developer, particularly in Eastern Canada.  Plaza's portfolio at September 30, 2017 includes interests in 295 properties totaling approximately 7.7 million square feet across Canada and additional lands held for development.  Plaza's properties include a mix of strip plazas, stand-alone small box retail outlets and enclosed shopping centres, anchored by approximately 90% national tenants. For more information, please visit www.plaza.ca.  

Forward-looking Information
This press release contains forward-looking statements, which can generally be identified by terms such as "intends", "will", "expects" or other similar expressions or phrases that do not relate to historical facts.  Forward looking statements in this press release include those which relate to Plaza's intention to redevelop the property as described, availability of excess density for accommodation of future expansion and the manner in which development/construction expenses will be financed.  Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Plaza to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this press release, including but not limited to those described in Plaza's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2016 and Management's Discussion and Analysis for the period ended September 30, 2017, which can both be obtained on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of expectations and assumptions, including management's perceptions of historical trends and current conditions and completion of the redevelopment as described. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon information currently available to management and what management believes are reasonable expectations and assumptions, there can be no assurances that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. Therefore, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and Plaza undertakes no obligation to update such statements, except as required by law. These cautionary statements qualify all forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

SOURCE Plaza Retail REIT

Michael Zakuta, President and CEO, Plaza Retail REIT, Tel: [phone]; Floriana Cipollone, Chief Financial Officer, Plaza Retail REIT, Tel: [phone]

Related Links

http://www.plaza.ca