As reported by CBC, the Competition Bureau has ordered Sobey’s Inc. to sell 23 stores in Western Canada before it will approve its $5.8-billion purchase of grocer Safeway Canada.

The Nova Scotia-based supermarket chain says it has agreed to put the supermarkets on the block and it expects to close the acquisition of the Canadian assets of Safeway in early November.

The two affected Metro Vancouver properties are:

Tsawwassen Safeway

Safeway Tsawwassen, 1143 56th Street, Tsawwassen

This is a 4.5 acre site in the heart of Tsawwassen’s commercial area. The property is zoned C-1. It is assessed at $11,977,000.

New Westminster Thrifty’s

Thrifty Foods Sapperton, 270 East Columbia Street, New Westminster

The Thrifty’s is located as part of Wesgroup’s Brewery District project and does not have redevelopment potential.

Shoppers Drug Mart successfully outbid any 3rd party investors and purchased a building they occupy at 1583 Marine Drive in West Vancouver. The property, which was acquired by the City of Vancouver through their involvement with Millennium Development in the Olympic Village deal, was offered for sale by tender earlier in June 2013.

The 8,100 SF single-tenant retail building sold for $8,600,000, or $1,050 per SF.

A revised rezoning application has been presented for Westbank and Ivanhoe Cambridge’s plan to rezone and redevelop the 28-acre Oakridge Centre property. This is expected to be the last round of formal open houses for the rezoning before the proposal heads to the Urban Design Panel and then on to Public Hearing.

Proposed changes from 2012 version:

Oakridge Height Changes

La Maison Simons Inc. had been nestled in Quebec City for 159 years before fifth generation leader Peter Simons successfully expanded the retailer across the province.

But opening stores all the way to Vancouver is proving trickier for the president of the family-controlled business.

Simons is searching for prime locations in Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver as a new wave of foreign chains chases the most attractive retail spaces. And the privately held company can’t tap into the markets to finance its heavy investments amid rising borrowing costs.

The retail institution well known in Quebec for its unique mix of cheap-chic private labels and pricier designer lines must make a name for itself west of the Ottawa River. Outside its home province, it operates only one store, at the West Edmonton Mall.

Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/simons-crashes-canada-one-door-at-a-time/article14148615/