New Westminster’s rising tower power

New Westminster’s rising tower power

The City of New Westminster is averaging more than 50 new building permits every month this year, on a pace to edge out the $189 million in permits issued in 2016, the 10th straight year the Royal City has topped $100 million in permit values. This month, New Westminster council approved zoning for its tallest tower: Bosa Development’s 53-storey condominium skyscraper.

Business In Vancouver – Western Investor – Property Biz Canada

King-Spadina Toronto’s hottest intersection

 In their wildest dreams, no one imagined a rundown Toronto warehouse district could turn into a bristling Shanghai of glass skyscrapers. And yet come to the King-Spadina district, epicentre of the building boom transforming the core of Canada’s largest city, and behold. It is undergoing a high-rise construction boom like Toronto has never seen.

Globe and Mail

Devimco to kick off Montreal’s huge Solar Uniquartier

Construction is expected to start in August on Devimco’s $1.5-billion mixed-use Solar Uniquartier development on Montreal’s South Shore. The massive project in Brossard will include 2,500 residential units, 500,000 square feet of office space, 500,000 square feet of commercial space, two boutique hotels, sports complex, convention centre and a park of more than 130,000 square feet.

Property Biz Canada

IKEA to open Richmond distribution centre

Swedish furniture retail giant IKEA is creating a new distribution centre in Richmond, B.C. IKEA said the 330,540-square-foot facility will be its third in Canada, with others in the Toronto and Montreal areas. IKEA plans to double its presence in Canada over the next eight years.

Property Biz Canada

Grouse Mountain just the start for CMIG: Banker

The Chinese investment firm planning to buy Grouse Mountain Resorts for about $200 million has spent more than a year searching Canada for other assets, and wants to buy banks and landmark hotels. China Minsheng Investment Group (CMIG), which calls itself the largest privately owned investment manager in the country, is on the hunt for more “jewels” in Canada.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Tsawwassen FN key holder of scarce Van. industrial land

The Tsawwassen First Nation has emerged as the gatekeeper for scarce industrial land in the Fraser Valley. It holds 300 acres of flat industrial land in a prime South Delta location, but it is leasing it out quickly. In June the TFN announced the first phase of its three-phase Deltaport Logistics Centre will be built on a 57-acre portion.

Western Investor – Property Biz Canada

Abbotsford eyes farmland for industrial growth

How much land can Abbotsford propose to remove from the Agricultural Land Reserve before its “city in the country” slogan no longer fits? In advance of a public hearing Monday night, opponents of a city-led proposal to remove 115 parcels from the ALR to make way for industrial growth are questioning council’s commitment to food security.

Vancouver Sun

Television City to be Hamilton’s largest development

Lamb Development Corp. and Movengo Developments have unveiled the details of Television City, which they say will be the largest development to date in Hamilton. The $360 million mixed-use project will house approximately 618 units and occupy 44,000 square feet of land. Located at 163 Jackson St. West, it will consist of two connected high-rise towers, one 40-storey and one 30-storey.

Property Biz Canada

CPPIB invests in British science and technology business park

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has agreed to buy a 50 per cent equity stake in a British business park for $329.6 million from Hermes Investment Management. Milton Park provides space for established science and technology companies, as well as spin-off organizations from the University of Oxford. It’s one of the largest business, science and technology parks in Europe.

IPE Real Estate – Benefits Canada – Marketwired

MLL profits from Winnipeg tower flip

Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries (MLL) made a hefty profit flipping Winnipeg’s Medical Arts Building. A senior executive with Timbercreek Asset Management Inc. of Toronto confirmed it paid $15.5 million for the 15-storey office tower, an adjoining 385-stall parkade and the surface parking lot on the north side of the tower. The Crown corporation paid $7.9 million in September 2015.

Winnipeg Free Press

Melcor REIT takes advantage of Lethbridge’s hot CRE market

Melcor REIT (MR.UN-T) recently sold a Lethbridge industrial warehouse it purchased three years ago, turning a gross profit of more than $2 million on the deal. Avison Young data notes 50 per cent of the 80,000 square feet of new industrial space started in Lethbridge during the first quarter was pre-leased and another 42,000 square feet is under construction. 

Western Investor – Property Biz Canada

Calgary’s suburban office vacancy rate rises in Q2

Calgary’s suburban markets experienced an interesting second quarter as several new office developments were delivered. This new inventory has added to competition among landlords and is driving a notable change in market sentiment. A mindset of “acceptance” has become much more common as the overall vacancy rate rose two-10ths of a per cent to 23.1%.

Barclay Street Real Estate media release

You.i TV moving to new 40,000-square-foot Kanata space

One of Kanata’s fastest growing firms is moving, but not far: You.i TV has a new home, with plenty of space for its freshly expanded team. The developer of TV software apps will into a new building – part of KRP Properties’ large west-end portfolio – which features 40,000 square feet of space.

Ottawa Business Journal

Dov Charney back in fashion with American Apparel reboot

Dov Charney’s warehouse for Los Angeles Apparel sits on a desolate street in South Los Angeles, about six kilometres south of American Apparel’s former downtown headquarters. The Montreal native stands inside looking ragged under a few days of stubble, dressed in a white short-sleeve polo shirt, white pants and white sneakers. It’s uncanny he’s here at all.

Bloomberg

Global Logistic Properties accepts buyout offer

Global Logistic Properties Ltd., one of the world’s largest owners of industrial properties, has accepted a proposed take-private buyout offer from a group of investors that includes Ming Z. Mei, the CEO and an executive director of the firm. The deal is valued at $14.75 billion Cdn. 

CoStar Group

Real Estate Companies

China cracks down on Dalian Wanda’s overseas deals

China’s regulators have told banks to stop providing funding for several of Dalian Wanda Group’s overseas acquisitions as Beijing looks to curb the conglomerate’s offshore buying spree, sources said Monday. This is in line with Beijing’s measures to control potential systemic risk, including problems posed by domestic companies acquiring more global assets.

Reuters – Reuters

GSA cancels search for new FBI headquarters site

The U.S. federal government formally announced it will cancel the search for a new FBI headquarters site. The announcement follows years of relocation planning and several attempts to garner congressional support for a public/private partnership to move the bureau out of the crumbling J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington to a new office campus in the Washington suburbs.

CoStar Group

Real Estate Investment Trusts

Three new U.S. REITs prep for public launches

Last month’s rapid pace of new publicly traded REIT launches is continuing this month with two new mortgage REIT filings and a publicly held landowner/developer announcing plans to convert to a REIT. Now three more REITs are preparing to join them: TPG Real Estate Finance Trust; RMR Group (RMR-Q); and Alexander & Baldwin (ALEX-N). 

CoStar Group

Retail

Kit and Ace co-founder spins out new ventures

It’s a Wednesday afternoon and JJ Wilson is at his Ride Cycle Club for a photo shoot. He climbs on one of his club’s stationary bikes and poses with several employees. Wilson is also readying to launch his own fashion line, while spending time as a partner in the brand management and public relations company Very Polite Agency.

Business In Vancouver

Retail disruption leads manufacturers to seek new sales channels

Say the retail buzz phrase “omni-channel” and few will immediately think of manufacturers. Most entrepreneurs will instead think of bricks-and-mortar retailers expanding into e-commerce or online retailers opening physical stores. But the trend is equally vital for clothing and other consumer products manufacturers – many of which also operate e-commerce websites.

Business In Vancouver

H&M scraps monthly sales figures

Swedish fashion group H&M will start holding capital market days, breaking with tradition and yielding to investor pressure although it also said it would stop posting monthly sales figures. After decades of strong growth, sales growth at the world’s second-biggest fashion retailer has slowed over the past couple of years amid tougher competition.

Reuters

U.S. lawmaker calls for hearing on Amazon’s Whole Foods deal

The top Democrat on the U.S. House of Representatives’ anti-trust subcommittee has voiced concerns about Amazon.com Inc‘s (AMZN-Q) $13.7 billion plan to buy Whole Foods Market Inc (WFM-Q) and is pushing for a hearing to look into the deal’s impact on consumers. Amazon has not said what it would do with Whole Foods’ stores and other assets. 

Reuters – Financial Post

Retail largely suffering in silence

U.S. President Donald Trump has been criticized for barely mentioning the plight of retail industry while defending coal mining in speeches and tweets. Bricks-and-mortar retail across North America is hemorrhaging 10s of thousands of jobs as consumers shift their spending from department stores to online and their tastes from material goods to services.

Globe and Mail

Infrastructure

Canada’s infrastructure bank could be global ‘blueprint’: UBS chair

The chairman of Swiss banking giant UBS AG is throwing his support behind Canada’s plans to create a federal infrastructure bank, saying aspects of the plan could provide a “blueprint” for financing global investments. Axel Weber believes Canada has a promising constellation of factors converging to create the Canada Infrastructure Bank, a $35-billion initiative.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Sustainability

Ancient Roman concrete could improve future building practices

Ancient Roman seawalls exposed to the elements for more than 2,000 years are finally beginning to reveal the secret of their longevity to researchers trying to figure out what makes them so durable. Lasting for 2,000 years in impressive enough, but even more impressive is the fact the concrete barriers have actually strengthened over that time period.

Building Design & Construction

Technology

Digital farmers’ market brings local foods to Ontarians

As a Canadian-owned, independent food wholesaler dealing with thousands of clients, Flanagan Foodservice Inc. is looking to help further Ontarians’ connection to local food producers. The Kitchener, Ont.-based company is in its 40th year of operation, and its 550 employees serve about 6,000 restaurants and food distributors across Ontario through an inventory of about 10,000 warehoused products.

Globe and Mail

Other

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