(rshsdepot) Central Station - Montreal

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From the Montreal  Gazette.
 
Bernie Wagenblast
 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
CN Sells Central  Station

September 20 2007

CN sells Central Station $355 million. Buyer is Halifax`s Homburg Invest MARY 
 LAMEY, The Gazette Halifax-based Homburg Invest Inc. has agreed to purchase  
Montreal`s Central Station complex from CN for $355 million.  
The deal, which is expected to close by year`s end, will see Homburg take  
over management of the railway passenger terminal, parts of the sub-track  
levels, the Grand Hall and 17-storey office tower. CN will lease its corporate  
headquarters and train facilities back under a long-term agreement. Via Rail,  
Amtrak and the Metropolitan Transport Agency will also continue to operate  
without interruption.  
The acquisition gives Homburg a prime downtown location, a stable, quality  
tenant and the potentially valuable air rights over the station`s parking  
garage, where as much as one million square feet of office space could be built.  
Email to a friend  
Printer friendly Font: ****``I`m not thinking it is going to happen tomorrow, 
 but the site has tremendous growth potential,`` said Richard Homburg, the  
real-estate company`s chairman and chief executive officer.  
Homburg is a publicly traded holding company involved in  
real-estate management and development. Its $2-billion portfolio includes  
holdings in Canada, the U.S. and Europe. Homburg himself holds a 73-per-cent  
stake in the business.  
The Halifax firm is getting to know Montreal quite well. Last year, it  
scooped up the Alexis Nihon REIT. It also is behind a $350-million redevelopment  
plan for the former Viger station, in partnership with the de Gaspé Beaubien  
family and Europe`s SNS Property Finance.  
``We know that other people have looked at developing Central Station, but  
the timing hasn`t been right. The vacancy rate is still too high to justify new 
 construction, but that will change. In the meantime, we`ve got a very good  
tenant,`` Homburg said.  
Montreal`s other vintage rail terminal, Windsor Station, has been put on the  
auction block by Canadian Pacific. Asked whether he has made a bid for the  
station or might in the future, Homburg demurred.  
``I can`t tell you that. I won`t say yes and I won`t say no.``  
Heritage activists have urged that Central Station`s art deco interior,  
including the frieze that ornaments the station`s concourse, be preserved and  
protected. 



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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1605
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org