Crombie REIT (formerly ''Atlantic Shopping Centres'', then ''Crombie Properties'') is a Canadian unincorporated open ended publicly traded

real estate investment trust A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a company that owns, and in most cases operates, income-producing real estate. REITs own many types of commercial real estate, including office and apartment buildings, warehouses, hospitals, shopping cente ...

which trades on the

Toronto Stock Exchange The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX; french: Bourse de Toronto) is a stock exchange located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the 10th largest exchange in the world and the third largest in North America based on market capitalization. Based in t ...

and has an estimated market capitalization of $1.6 billion. The company is based in

New Glasgow, Nova Scotia New Glasgow is a town in Pictou County, in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is situated on the banks of the East River of Pictou, which flows into Pictou Harbour, a sub-basin of the Northumberland Strait. The town's population was 9,075 ...

History

Crombie REIT was founded on February 4, 1964 as ''Atlantic Shopping Centres Limited''. During the 1990s, the company merged with Halifax Developments Limited (known for

Scotia Square Scotia Square is a commercial development in the downtown core of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It was built in the late sixties to mid seventies and is managed by Crombie REIT. It is connected to the Downtown Halifax Link and serves as a major ...

), as well as Canadian Shopping Centres Limited. In the mid-2000s, the company was renamed as they expanded beyond both the Atlantic region as well as

shopping centres A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known collec ...

. It was converted in 2006 into an unincorporated open ended publicly traded real estate investment trust which trades on the

. Its largest unitholder is Empire Company Limited (ECL) which as of mid-2013 owned approximately 40% of the units in the REIT. ECL controls the Sobeys supermarket chain which is also the REIT's major tenant.

Controversy

In January 2014, Crombie's commercial leasing division issued eviction notices to two local food vendors, Ray's Lebanese Cuisine an
A Taste of India
in the

food court in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

. A petition to save the two popular restaurants' leased tenancy was circulated in February and received over 5200 signatures. Many local patrons expressed anger and disappointment in Crombie's actions through social media. Ray's was the most longstanding eatery in the mall, having been operated by Ray Khattar for 31 years. He initially agreed to a doubling of his rent, from $5,000 to $10,000, but was then served an eviction notice regardless. Crombie was criticized for forcing out local businesses in favour of chain operations like

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

and Subway, having also evicted another popular eatery (PG's) in 2011 to make way for a bigger Tim Horton's. An article in '' The Coast'' lamented that Scotia Square's was the "best mall food court in the country, with interesting and varied local operations, and yet there seems to be a conscious effort to destroy that reputation." In a follow-up news article, the CBC reported that Crombie had recanted and stated the businesses could stay, but demanded a doubling of the rent, a percentage of the sales, and a relocation of the outlets to a different part of the food court. While Ray's Lebanese Cuisine has left the Scotia Square food court, A Taste of India relocated to a new counter within the facility near their original spot.

References

External links

*{{Official website, https://www.crombiereit.com Companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange Companies based in Nova Scotia Real estate companies of Canada Real estate investment trusts of Canada Real estate companies established in 1964 Financial services companies established in 1964 1964 establishments in Nova Scotia