Cadillac Fairview deferring rents for its retail tenants across Canada
Cadillac Fairview, which owns some of the largest shopping malls in Canada, says it is deferring rents for its retail tenants amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company, which owns and operates Toronto Eaton Centre, Calgary’s Chinook Centre, and Vancouver’s Pacific Centre, said it recognizes the challenges its clients are facing.
“Cadillac Fairview recognizes that many of our retail clients are facing economic challenges and we deferred April and May rents for a significant amount of our retail clients,” said a CF spokesperson in a statement to Daily Hive.
“Companies cannot overcome the COVID-19 crisis on their own.”
On March 30, as per the direction of provincial governments, Cadillac Fairview announced the closures of the majority of its shopping malls, “except for essential retailers with exterior access.”
It said that the tenants that remain open are largely those providing essential services such as pharmacies, grocery stores, banks, and food services.
Earlier this month, the federal government introduced the Canadian Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) program, which would see rents reduced for April, May, and June to 25% of normal levels for small retailers and businesses paying less than $50,000 per month in rent and have temporarily closed or suffered a 70% drop in pre-coronavirus revenues.
According to the Retail Council of Canada, the CECRA will “benefit retail companies with less than $20 million in gross annual revenue, measured at the parent company level.”
Cadillac Fairview said it “will continue to work with our clients, peers, industry associations and all levels of government to ensure the long term success of the retail industry.”