Companies prep for return of workers to their offices

RENX  Commercial  •  Office, Human Resources  •  National

Provinces are slowly reopening their economies and offices which have been largely vacant during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic will soon be repopulating with at least some workers. How do employers and office managers keep them safe?

Real estate deals stalled: Altus Group report

Commercial  •  Daily Commercial News

At the May 25 Urban Land Institute webinar, Altus Group executive researcher Raymond Wong reported that a survey of clients showed over 50 per cent of all real estate investment transactions were currently on hold, including 58 per cent of retail transactions.

Building more rental housing a win-win for cities, residents

Mark Goodman and Cynthia Jagger: Mark Goodman, Principal, Goodman Commercial Inc.

Lift restrictions and let us build: Cressey

Residential  •  Globe and Mail

Cressey Development Group entered the pandemic looking down the barrel of a scheduled June 1 occupancy date for its Conrad rental complex on the east side of Vancouver. Under physical distancing conditions, they had to fill 115 units.

Van. Sentinel condo tower enjoys brisk sales

Residential  •  Business In Vancouver

Launched during a pandemic, the new 122-unit Sentinel luxury condominium tower in West Vancouver has pre-sold 54 condos in the last month, including a $6 million penthouse, and MLA Canada‘s Cameron McNeill suggests the success is more than a geographic anomaly.

Cleaners and janitors linked to value of assets

Commercial  •  Vancouver Sun

As traffic returns to office towers, there will be intense scrutiny over how owners handle round-the-clock cleaning of elevator call buttons, door handles and stairwell railings, as well as whether they have robust disinfection procedures in event of an outbreak.

Fiera Capital CEO optimistic about COVID-19 vaccine

Commercial  •  Montreal Gazette  •  RENX

Fiera Capital Corporation (FSZ-T) CEO Jean-Guy Desjardins says there’s an almost two-thirds probability a COVID-19 vaccine will be found by June 2021. Desjardins, who founded Montreal-based Fiera in 2003, counts four decades of experience in the investment industry.

Cote St-Luc requires masks in stores, public buildings

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

Cote St-Luc, a municipality on the Island of Montreal, is boasting that it has become the first jurisdiction in Canada to make wearing a mask mandatory for anyone entering a business or a city-owned building.

Ottawa’s office leasing market to rebound: Proveras

Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal

Ottawa’s office leasing market is “holding up relatively well” despite the body blow the novel coronavirus has dealt to the local economy, says Bruce Wolfgram, a principal at Proveras Commercial Realty.

Waterford proposes 14-storey Ottawa retirement tower

Residential  •  Ottawa Business Journal

Waterford Senior Living plans to more than double the size of its property in Ottawa south with the addition of a 14-storey high-rise. Waterford seeks to construct a 95,000-square-foot building next to its six-storey, 72,000-square-foot retirement home at 2431 Bank St.

Expansion planned for Caledon golf courses

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley expansion plans, which include adding accommodations to the property in bucolic Caledon, northwest of Toronto, aim to give the public club’s members and visitors a deeper experience than just a round of golf.

REIT/REOC COVID-19 business updates

Residential, Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX

BTB REIT, (BTB-UN-T), Canada Newswire

Tricon Capital Group, (TCN-T), Canada Newswire

Few small business takers for rent relief program

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

The federal government says landlords for only 16,000 of Canada’s nearly 1.2 million small businesses applied for its rent-relief program in the first week, adding fuel to weeks of criticism that the program’s structure is unfair to commercial tenants.

AMC has ‘substantial doubts’ about its future

Commercial  •  Reuters

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (AMC-N) on Wednesday signaled “substantial doubts” about its ability to continue operating, if the company was forced to keep its theatres closed for a longer period because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Insurance industry faces onslaught of riot damage claims

Commercial  •  Bisnow  •  Claims Journal  •  NBC 7 San Diego

Still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. insurance industry is gearing up for a second wave of property claims as protests in some parts of the nation wreak havoc on retail outlets, restaurants and office buildings.

China takes first steps toward launching $3T REIT market

Commercial  •  Bloomberg

China kicked off a REIT trial that will initially focus around pooling capital to fund infrastructure projects. The program may be expanded to include traditional real estate and eventually become a market worth as much as $3 trillion, says Goldman Sachs.

Home sales bounce back in Toronto, Vancouver

Residential  •  Financial Post  •  Globe Newswire  •  CBC

GTA sales rose 53 per cent from April as new listings surged almost 48 per cent and the average price climbed 4.6 per cent, according to Toronto Regional Real Estate Board. In Greater Vancouver, homes sales jumped an unadjusted 34 per cent.

$36M of luxury condos sell in Mont-Tremblant

Residential  •  Montreal Gazette

Home-buyers are ready for Quebec to reopen for business. At least, that’s the experience of Engel and Volkers broker André Parisien, who sold $36 million in Mont-Tremblant real estate over just two days.

Winnipeg condo on sale for a cool $3.5 million

Residential  •  Winnipeg Free Press

There is an 8,000-square-foot penthouse condo up for grabs high in the sky at 1 Wellington Cres. and it can be yours for a cool $3.5 million, which would make it the most expensive condominium sold in Winnipeg.

Edmonton-area home sales down 41 per cent Y-O-Y

Residential  •  Edmonton Journal

Area house sales increased more than 50 per cent in May from last month but continue to struggle year-over-year, according to the latest figures from the Realtors Association of Edmonton (RAE). Sales were down 41.5 per cent year-over-year.