WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Joseph Sellers, Jr., General President of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART), announced his retirement on January 24, 2023. Sellers will retire on May 31, 2023, and will be succeeded by current Assistant to the General President Michael Coleman.

“After nearly three decades in SMART local and national leadership, I have chosen to retire,” said Sellers. “It will always be the greatest honor to have represented the women and men who embody the highest level of professionalism and expertise in our industries. Their selfless dedication was on display when our countries needed them most: They are the essential workers who carried our nations through the global pandemic. They were on the job every day, working on new construction, retrofitting buildings into pop-up hospitals, redesigning hospital configurations, manufacturing much-needed equipment, ensuring the transportation of people and goods, and keeping our supply chain intact and our buildings and schools safe during a tenuous time in our history.”

Sellers – a second-generation sheet metal worker whose father spent 55 years as a SMART member and 30 years as a local union officer – often asserts that “all that my family has comes from my father’s career path and the union sheet metal industry.” Sellers devoted more than four decades to his union, committing himself to lead at every level of SMART. He began his apprenticeship in 1980 at Local 19 in Philadelphia, becoming a journeyperson four years later. He was elected to the local’s executive board in 1994 and appointed to be training coordinator in 1996. In 2002, after serving as a business representative for two years, he became Local 19’s president and business manager.

Sellers was elected to international leadership as 11th general vice president in August 2009. The SMART General Executive Council elected him to serve as the union’s General Secretary-Treasurer (GST) in July 2011, and he was unanimously re-elected as GST by delegates to the first SMART General Convention in August 2014. Sellers became SMART’s General President on May 1, 2015, when his friend and mentor General President Joe Nigro needed to retire. He was re-elected on August 14, 2019.

As SMART General Secretary-Treasurer and General President, Sellers developed and led special campaigns to increase outreach and awareness for construction, production and transportation industry members, union industry officials and policymakers on key issues including pensions, healthcare and apprenticeships. He implemented enhancements to the union’s technological infrastructure, professional skills training and training curricula, and he pioneered various union campaigns designed to increase recruitment, retention and diversity within SMART. Sellers oversaw the launch of the BE4ALL Committee to enhance inclusiveness in the sheet metal industry; the I Got Your Back campaign to promote solidarity between members across all backgrounds; the expansion of the role women play in the unionized sheet metal industry and the rapid modernization of the union’s information and communications programs. He also spearheaded new investments in membership mobilization, with an eye towards positioning the organization to meet the long-term needs of members and those looking to form a union in the decades ahead.

As a testament to Sellers’ steady leadership, the Sheet Metal Workers’ National Pension Fund was officially certified in the Green Zone in 2022 after decades of recovery. His tireless legislative advocacy helped SMART establish a strong relationship with Congress and the Biden administration, and his constant championing of workers’ issues helped influence the passage of groundbreaking laws like the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act and more.

Incoming General President Michael Coleman, a SMART member since 1985, has also served at every level of the union: from president and business manager of Local 33 in Northern Ohio, to ninth general vice president, to SMART director of business and management relations, to his current post as assistant to the General President. He will assume the position of SMART General President on June 1, 2023.

Coleman noted that “General President Sellers will be remembered as one of the all-time greats of this organization. He cemented our groundbreaking merger and navigated the challenges of the past decade. I am humbled to succeed him, and I look forward to advancing the interests of all SMART members across North America in the years to come.”

SMART, the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, is one of North America’s most dynamic and diverse unions with 203,000 members. SMART’s members ensure the quality of the air we breathe, promote energy efficiency, produce and provide the vital services that move products to market and passengers to their destinations. We are sheet metal workers, service technicians, bus operators, engineers, conductors, sign workers, welders, production employees and more. With members in scores of different occupations, we advocate for fairness in the workplace, excellence at work and opportunity for all working families.

Contacts

Paul Pimentel

202-812-8159

ppimentel@smart-union.org

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

OTTAWA, Ontario–(BUSINESS WIRE)–InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust (“InterRent”, the “REIT”) (TSX: IIP.UN) is thrilled to announce today that it has closed on the purchase of a 605-suite apartment community at 2 & 4 Hanover Road in Brampton, Ontario.

The acquisition is a joint-venture with Crestpoint Real Estate Investments Limited and Vestcor Inc. InterRent‘s initial equity interest in the joint-venture is 10%. The REIT retains optionality to increase its ownership to one third within the first two years after closing. InterRent will also act as property manager on behalf of the joint-venture.

The total purchase price of $185.5 million will be funded through cash and an assumption of a $100 million existing mortgage with a major institutional lender. This highly attractive, long-term financing features interest-only payments at 2.17% and a term to maturity of approximately six years.

The community is comprised of two concrete high-rise towers at 18 and 22 storeys each, with 281 and 324 suites respectively. The community was constructed circa 1984 and is fully air conditioned through a central cooling system. Suites feature spacious designs averaging well over 900 square feet, with two thirds of the suites being 2-Bedroom units. The community also features a full range of amenities including outdoor pool, barbeque area, playground, gym, car wash, and multi-purpose rooms.

The purchase adds to an expanding portfolio in the Greater Toronto Area for InterRent. At over 600 suites and complete with a wide variety of amenities, the community provides an excellent opportunity for the REIT to bring it’s best-in-class operating platform to a rapidly growing suburban area.

“We are extremely excited to expand our footprint within the GTA” said InterRent President & CEO Brad Cutsey. “Not only are we looking forward to offering our unique resident experience and to help contribute to the Brampton community, but this acquisition also puts us in a great position to contribute to potential new supply in a constrained market.”

Beyond the existing high-rises, the acquisition also offers immediate opportunity to deliver additional and much-needed rental supply to the GTA. The community is located on approximately 10-acres of land and with zoning approvals in place for over 350,000 square feet of additional density. This will be much needed for the City of Brampton in particular as it is one of the Greater Toronto Area’s burgeoning suburbs, having grown 10.6% from 2016 to 2021, outpacing provincial growth of 5.8% for the same period. Brampton is well positioned to continue this growth trajectory as it attracts a disproportionate share of Canada’s ambitious immigration targets.

2 & 4 Hanover Road is well located within Brampton off Queen Street and is adjacent to Bramalea City Centre, a regional shopping centre with over 1.5 million square feet of commercial space. The community is also directly west of Chinguacousy Park, a 100-acre natural outdoor amenity.

About InterRent

InterRent REIT is a growth-oriented real estate investment trust engaged in increasing Unitholder value and creating a growing and sustainable distribution through the acquisition and ownership of multi-residential properties.

InterRent’s strategy is to expand its portfolio primarily within markets that have exhibited stable market vacancies, sufficient suites available to attain the critical mass necessary to implement an efficient portfolio management structure and, offer opportunities for accretive acquisitions.

InterRent’s primary objectives are to use the proven industry experience of the Trustees, Management and Operational Team to: (i) to grow both funds from operations per Unit and net asset value per Unit through investments in a diversified portfolio of multi-residential properties; (ii) to provide Unitholders with sustainable and growing cash distributions, payable monthly; and (iii) to maintain a conservative payout ratio and balance sheet.

The Toronto Stock Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts

Investor Relations

investorinfo@interrentreit.com
www.interrentreit.com