Morguard Reports No Significant Damage to Southeastern U.S. Portfolio after Hurricane Irma

MISSISSAUGA, Sept. 15, 2017 /CNW/ - The Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust (the "REIT") (TSX: MRG.UN) and Morguard Corporation ("Morguard") (TSX: MRC) reported today that the company's portfolio in the southeastern United States did not sustain any significant damage as a result of Hurricane Irma.

"The safety and well-being of our residents, tenants and employees is paramount, so I am pleased to report that none of our properties in the region received any substantial damage as a result of the storm," said K. Rai Sahi, Chief Executive Officer of Morguard Corporation. "We continue to support the operations teams at our properties as they proceed with the cleanup process and assist our residents and tenants in the region."

The REIT's portfolio in the affected region comprises six multi-suite residential properties in Florida and an additional three in Georgia. Morguard Corporation owns seven retail centres, one multi-suite residential building and one office building in Florida.

Preliminary assessments indicate that none of the company's properties sustained any structural or significant damage or experienced any flooding as a result of the storm. All buildings have been reopened to provide residents with access to their homes and tenants with access to their businesses. Cleanup crews have been deployed at all properties to clear debris and perform minor repairs as necessary.

The lack of significant damage is due in part to the diligence of Morguard's operations teams, who worked in advance of the storm to take preventative measures and secure potential projectiles. Morguard employees remained in communication with residents and tenants before, during and after the storm, including establishing an emergency hotline to provide information and support.

Since the storm has passed, Morguard operations teams have been making steady progress assessing and clearing the properties affected by Irma. The on-site teams have been joined by many of the property residents, who are coming together as a community to help with the restoration of their homes.

"It has been remarkable to see the resiliency of our staff and residents, and my thanks go to everyone in Florida and Georgia whose hard work has helped minimize the impact of this storm," said John Talano, Vice President of the REIT. "Our thoughts are with the larger community who have been negatively affected by this and other recent storms as we come together to begin the recovery process."

About Morguard North American Residential REIT
The REIT is an unincorporated, open-ended real estate investment trust which owns, through a limited partnership, interests in a portfolio of 16 Canadian residential apartment communities, located in Alberta and Ontario, and 30 U.S. low-rise and mid-rise, garden-style apartment communities located in Colorado, Texas, Louisiana, Illinois, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland consisting of approximately 13,000 residential suites.

About Morguard Corporation
Morguard Corporation is a major North American real estate company.  It has extensive retail, office, industrial, multi–suite residential, and hotel holdings owned directly, or through its investment in Morguard REIT (TSX: MRT.UN), Morguard North American Residential REIT (TSX: MRG.UN) and Temple Hotels Inc. (TSX:TPH). Morguard also provides real estate management services to institutional and other investors. Morguard's owned and managed portfolio of assets is valued at $21.9 billion.

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SOURCE Morguard Corporation