Mackenzie, Ray, Heron & Edwardh is a real estate appraisal and consulting firm that has been in business over 70 years. Our offices are located downtown at University Avenue and Dundas Street. The firm consists of seven fully accredited appraisers, as well as experienced management, research and support staff.
Collectively, we form a team of real estate specialists, offering professional appraisal and consulting services, covering all facets of the real estate industry. Although much of our work is conducted in Ontario, we continually complete assignments in the major Canadian markets by utilizing a large network of resource personnel which are monitored from our Toronto office.
Commercial appraisals and land valuations comprise the largest portion of our business. We regularly appraise major shopping centers, office buildings, hotels, apartments, and industrial properties, both on an individual basis and on a portfolio basis. We appraise proposed projects from plans and specifications, as well as existing projects for a variety of purposes, including financing and refinancing, investor decision-making, tax disputes, insurance, purchase price allocations, power of sale and foreclosure proceedings, arbitration's, expropriation and other litigation-related matters.
We are proud of the reputation we have gained over the years, and consequently we enjoy business from a wide range of clients, including many institutions, developers, pension funds, those in the legal profession, all levels of government and many private owners. Our reputation is founded on our proven ability to give high quality advice and services to a wide variety of clients. A client list is attached but it is probably of more value to briefly comment on some of our major projects over the past few years. These are as follows:
We have consulted with Canada Post in that we organized appraisals on 330 of their properties across Canada. We acted in the capacity of Asset Managers by hiring appraisal firms in the various locations, instructing these appraisers as to methodology, and then we reviewed each valuation before submitting the documents to the client. We further assisted with feasibility analysis and assessment reviews on some of the larger properties.
Terminal III at Pearson International Airport in Toronto was valued for the purpose of financing. This assignment was completed from the plans and specifications of the building, plus the achieved and projected leasing of the project. Our work entailed doing a complete feasibility study of the workings of a large airport terminal and concluding with a market value that was utilized by the various companies when financing this project. MacKenzie, Ray, Heron & Edwardh has done similar work on Canada’s largest cargo warehouse facility.
The company has built up a reputation for airport consulting and appraisal, and in this regard, we have completed valuing the major real estate assets of one of Canada’s major airlines.
We were also recently involved in the valuation of a group of Regional Shopping Centers. The purpose was to assist in the restructuring of the ownership company and the selling of the assets. In 1997 we valued a portfolio of sixteen shopping centers situated in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes.
We have provided replacement cost estimates for insurance purposes on a forty property portfolio for a major client. This assignment involved substantial shopping centre, apartment, office and hotel properties across Canada and the United States.
Other projects which followed in 1997 included three REIT’s, two of which were apartments (over 7,100 units in total) with the third being composed of a blended apartment/commercial portfolio. This trend continued in 1998 as a large Canadian office building portfolio has been valued for a future REIT.
Recently we have issued appraisal reports on First Canadian Place, a 2.5 million square foot office tower considered to be one of the world class buildings in downtown Toronto. As our base is Toronto we are continuously working in the downtown area. For example, within the last month we have completed two office buildings in the Bay-Bloor area, one office at St. Clair and Yonge and one office in the downtown area.
Resorts, recreational properties and golf courses are becoming more sophisticated as the “baby boomers” are beginning to drive the market. We have valued two of Ontario’s largest resorts along with many golf courses and we are expanding our expertise into these markets.
In 1999 we have been involved with the valuation of two large apartment blocks representing some 15 buildings.
The ability to value and quantify environmental risks on properties and markets has become one of our main services. Our expertise is in estimating the market value after the site assessments have isolated the problems, and we deal with such matters as stigma, property use, lender’s attitudes, government regulations, insurance programs, remediation plans, health risks, etc. We have recently completed a valuation on a large industrial park with considerable contamination. We were working with the insurance company that was involved with the Exxon Valdez and they apprised us of their experience and data.
These large, prestigious and challenging assignments have allowed MacKenzie, Ray, Heron & Edwardh access and exposure to the commercial, industrial and residential markets across Canada.
These assignments have enhanced our experience which assists us in what we do best. What we pride ourselves on is our day to day activity giving valuation and consulting advice to our many clients. Whether it is the small shopping plaza in the suburbs or a standard industrial building in the city, we offer competitive pricing, timely results and a quality report, all of which are the backbone of our business. In the end, the success of our company depends on the quality of our day to day activities in the marketplace.
Over the years MacKenzie, Ray, Heron & Edwardh has encouraged and supported its members to be involved in the various professional organizations, along with charitable and community organizations. Our Appraisers have donated their time and skills to the Appraisal Institute of Canada in various capacities including Professional Standards, Admissions Committee and various Governing Councils. Members also lecture at seminars and continuing education programs sponsored by the Appraisal Institute of Canada. The company is a member of the Board of Trade and members are active in community and charitable organizations.
Litigation, Arbitration and Mediation are the fields that now make up alternate dispute resolution (A.D.R.). Individuals in our firm have been qualified as expert witnesses in front of the various levels of judicial bodies. This demanding endeavour is on-going in our firm. Good results are based on good information and the proper analysis of this information. Grant Edwardh, with over thirty-five years of experience, is a Chartered Arbitrator (C.Arb.) and has acted in this capacity in many disputes.
As the turn of the century nears, it is apparent that real estate information and analysis will increasingly be available electronically. The John Marsh Report has been for many years Toronto’s foremost real estate sales report. MacKenzie, Ray, Heron & Edwardh has formed an association with John Marsh to enhance the publication by making data available more quickly and by putting this and other real estate information on the Internet. This is a major database that is assembled by MacKenzie, Ray, Heron & Edwardh and made available to the real estate industry.
This brief discussion will allow you and your clients to understand the wide range of consulting and appraisal services we offer to Canada’s larger financial institutions, along with the real estate community at large.