Allied, Westbank JV on Vancouver office tower: Emory

Allied, Westbank JV on Vancouver office tower: Emory

Toronto-based Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust has reached a deal to buy a half-stake in Westbank’s proposed Japanese lamp-inspired office tower in downtown Vancouver. “It’s a way for Allied to penetrate the Vancouver office market in a fairly material way,” Allied president/CEO Michael Emory told RENX in an interview. “On completion, this would represent about a 60 per cent increase in our Vancouver office portfolio.”

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Chartwell takes Quebec seniors housing model into Ontario

The Quebec model of affordable rental housing for seniors will “absolutely” catch on in the rest of Canada “because it makes common sense,” says the chief financial officer and chief investment officer of Chartwell Retirement Residences. Vlad Volodarski says Quebec’s à la carte model, in which seniors select and pay for only the services they want, is bound to receive traction across the country because it helps solve the affordability issue.

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Toronto’s CIBC Square adds BCG as second tenant

Downtown Toronto’s recently renamed CIBC Square development has added a second major tenant, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), four years before it will be ready for move-in. “We’re very excited to have them,” said Jonathan Pearce, senior vice-president of office leasing for Ivanhoé Cambridge, which co-owns the development site at 81 and 141 Bay St. with Houston, Texas-based Hines. “Having a tenant of that calibre is just fantastic from a landlord’s perspective.”

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Northview buys Moncton apartments, sells Iqaluit hotel

Northview Apartment REIT (NVU.UN) has bulked up its Atlantic Canada portfolio with the acquisition of six more properties in Moncton, N.B., the trust announced this week. It also announced the sale of a former hotel in Iqaluit, NU. The residential portfolio includes 327 units and cost $31.4 million, or $96,000 per unit, according to information provided by Northview.

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An argument for municipal controls on architecture

We as professionals in the commercial real estate industry can be known to talk out of both sides of our mouths. There is no question that almost every stage of real estate development has become more complex. I often hear frustrated comments due to the increase in resources and knowledge required to navigate red tape from what can be numerous applicable authorities who have jurisdiction over development.

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Six months ago: Vancouver industrial shortage a boon for owners

A severe shortage of industrial space in Metro Vancouver has been a boon for property owners but has brought tough times for industrial businesses that want to expand, relocate or set up operations in the region, a panel of experts said in Vancouver this week. The panelists were speaking at a talk hosted by the Commercial Real Estate Development Association at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver on Thursday.

Property Biz Canada

One year ago: Toronto condo rents lag home price rise

Toronto’s Sky View Suites has produced maps showing the average condo rents and house prices near each of the city’s subway stations, and it’s apparent that bargains are hard to come by along the transit line. Sky View Suites co-owner Steve Argyris cited a 16.4-per cent increase in Toronto housing prices from June 2015 to June 2016 and attributed part of it to increased foreign ownership and what he referred to as “the Manhattanization” of the city.

Property Biz Canada

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