One of Canada’s ‘largest’ office floor plates for lease

RENX  Commercial  •  Office  •  Calgary

Calgary’s downtown office market offers plenty of space available for lease. However, perhaps the most unique real estate on the market is the 80,758-square-foot fourth floor of Gulf Canada Square. The space is 697 feet long and covers two blocks.

Westbank lures world’s wealth with luxury towers

Residential, Commercial  •  Vancouver Sun  •  RENX

Vancouver’s pristine backdrop has made it a magnet for global wealth, particularly from Asia, transforming a once-sleepy town into an increasingly unaffordable cosmopolis. And no developer has capitalized on the phenomenon more than Westbank Corp.‘s Ian Gillespie.

B.C. residents flee new unsafe apartments

Residential  •  Victoria Times Colonist

Langford residents who were told “there is a life safety concern for tenants in the building” are packing up and leaving their apartments just months after moving in. Building owner Centurion Property Associates did not immediately respond to interview requests.

People Space: Comings & goings at Slate, AY, Oxford…

RENX  Residential, Commercial  •  Human Resources  •  National

Among today’s C-suite activity: Slate Retail REIT and Slate Office REIT both named new senior executives. At Slate Retail (SRT-UN-T), Andrew Agatep was promoted to CFO and David Dunn to COO. Slate Office REIT named Michael Sheehan its new CFO.

MPAC values 2019 Ontario construction at $37B

Residential, Commercial  •  Construct Connect

Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) in Ontario has prepared property assessment rolls reflecting the construction of more than 44,000 new residential units and 2,000 new commercial buildings. The total value of new construction and additions to existing properties for 2019 is approximately $37 billion.

Construction’s retirement bubble is here. Now what?

Residential, Commercial  •  Daily Commercial News  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Given looming shortages, the matter of attracting and retaining skilled tradespeople remains a top priority in the construction industry, agreed panelists at a session at The Buildings Show in Toronto.

Real Estate Wealth Insights › The ins and outs of REITs

Greg Placidi: Chief Investment Officer & Portfolio Manager, Equiton Capital

Long-awaited 5G mobile arriving in Waterloo

Commercial  •  Toronto Star

The next-generation mobile network, 5G, is finally coming to Ontario, promising speeds of 10 to 20 times that of current networks — but for now, it will be restricted to the University of Waterloo, where Rogers Communications will be testing the new technology.

B.C. seeks properties tied to illegal pot shops

Residential  •  Vancouver Province

Operators of pot shops in Vancouver and Squamish have found themselves in the crosshairs of civil forfeiture proceedings by the B.C. government. The province’s Civil Forfeiture Office seeks to seize a pair of mortgaged properties valued at $1.93 million.

Restaurant giant’s turnaround hits a wall

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Half a decade into Prem Watsa’s transformation of one of Canada’s largest restaurant chain owners, Recipe Unlimited Corp.’s (RECP-T) turnaround is sputtering. The company, originally called Cara Operations Ltd., was acquired by Watsa’s Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. in 2013.

HBC’s Saks Fifth Avenue flagship value plummets

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  Financial Post

The nine-block stretch from Central Park to Saks Fifth Avenue’s (HBC-T) flagship store, once lined with high-end retailers, is now home to 17 empty storefronts. Online shopping is giving customers a reason to avoid the crowds.

What we still don’t know about Winnipeg’s police HQ

Commercial  •  CBC

After a five-year criminal investigation into the construction of Winnipeg’s police headquarters, Manitoba’s Crown prosecution service decided not to proceed with charges. Nonetheless, questions remain, including why the city embarked on the project in the first place.

Colliers acquires controlling interest in Dougherty Financial

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire  •  InsuranceNewsNet.com

Leading global commercial real estate services and investment management firm, Colliers International will acquire a controlling interest in four subsidiaries of Dougherty Financial Group.

Newmark acquires London retail specialist HDH

Commercial  •  PR Newswire

Newmark Group, Inc. (NMRK-Q), which operates a leading, global full-service commercial real estate services business, is pleased to announce the acquisition of retail specialist Harper Dennis Hobbs Holdings Limited, a market-leading real estate advisory firm based in London.

Amazon to create satellite-communications HQ

Commercial  •  Winnipeg Free Press

Amazon’s next new business may be in orbit, but first it will grow Washington’s commercial space industry. By placing its “primary headquarters” for the satellite effort in Redmond, Wash., Amazon adds to a cluster of commercial space and satellite businesses.

The 21 deals that defined U.S. CRE in 2019

Commercial  •  Bisnow

PHOTO GALLERY: CRE in 2019, perhaps more than any year in recent history, was politicized and often at odds with the general public. Investors and developers had to adjust to new laws about sustainability and climate change, rent control and abortion.

N.S. takes loss on Digby Pines resort sale

Commercial  •  CBC  •  Halifax ChronicleHerald  •  Winnipeg Free Press

Nova Scotia has effectively sold the Digby Pines Golf Resort and Spa to private owners for $0 and will also be on the hook for $500,000 in closing costs and brokerage fees.

Amherst, N.S. has hottest deals in Canada

Residential  •  Vancouver Sun

Cathy LeBlanc refers to them, politely, as “tire kickers.” People from “away,” often in possession of a home in Toronto or Vancouver, who are craving a simpler, more soul-nourishing life than whatever rat race they are caught up in.

Waterloo to create ‘living street’

Residential  •  CBC  •  CBC

Waterloo plans to create a living, shared space that will be used by cyclists, pedestrians and vehicles. The concept is called a woonerf, which was originally implemented in the Netherlands and has spread to Fredericton and Banff.

GTA new market busy in November: BILD

Residential  •  Globe Newswire

The GTA new home market saw a November that was busier than usual, the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) announced today. There were 4,720 new home sales in the GTA in November, up 53 per cent year-over-year.