Rocky View County’s explosive growth continues

RENX  Commercial  •  Land, Industrial, Retail  •  Calgary

The recent announcement of a 1.23-million-square-foot distribution centre by Lowe’s Canada in Balzac, Alta., is another example of how the Calgary-area municipality has become a magnet for huge commercial real estate developments and job growth.

RioCan sells 50% of Toronto, Ottawa developments

RENX  Residential, Commercial  •  Condominiums, Apartments, Retail  •  Toronto / GTA, Ottawa

RioCan REIT (REI-UN-T) continued its trend of bringing in partners on major developments, selling 50 per cent interests in two residential-based projects to Maplelands Development Inc. (Dufferin Plaza in Toronto) and Killam Apartment REIT (KMP-UN-T) (Luma at Elmvale Acres in Ottawa).

Two-tower hotel development proposed for T.O.

Commercial  •  Toronto Storeys

Toronto’s bustling King Street West could see the addition of a new hotel development consisting of a pair of 13 and 18-storey buildings designed by Sweeny & Co Architects. Manga Hotels acquired the site at 689 King St. W. in May.

CRE Matters › Top-6 ways the workplace is changing post-COVID-19

David Bowden: Vice Chairman, Head of Strategy and Consulting, Colliers Canada

B.C. taxpayers Canada’s biggest hotel buyers

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver

The British Columbia government was the largest single buyer of hotel properties in Canada during Q2, accounting for four of the 12 transactions and more the half the dollar volume, noted Colliers International in its INNvestment Canada hotel report.

Graywood’s 32-storey mixed-use tower approved

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

An Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment for a proposed mixed-use condominium building by Graywood Developments and designed by architectsAlliance at 33 Parliament St. beside Toronto’s Distillery District has been approved via settlement at the LPAT.

Sidewalk Labs’ Toronto office up for lease

Commercial  •  Winnipeg Free Press

Sidewalk Labs’ Toronto office space is available for lease months after it walked away from building a tech-savvy neighbourhood. An online property listing shows both floors are available for $35 per square foot per year for a total of about $155,000 annually.

$200M orthopedic surgical facility proposed in Alberta

Commercial  •  CBC  •  Edmonton Journal

A group that includes orthopedic surgeons, a developer and high-powered lobbyists says it has gained tentative political support from Alberta Health Minister Tyler Shandro for a proposal to build and operate the largest private, contracted surgical facility in Alberta history.

Manitoba Court approves sale of Nygard T.O. HQ

Commercial  •  CBC  •  Winnipeg Free Press

On Monday, Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench judge Justice James Edmond approved the sale of 1 Niagara St. in Toronto to NY Brand Studio Inc. The purchase price for the 24,000-square-foot building is confidential, but it had been marketed at $23 million.

REOC financial results

Residential, Commercial  • 

Bridgemarq Real Estate Services, (BRE-T), Canada Newswire

Brookfield Property Partners, (BPY-UN-T), Globe Newswire

Brookfield Residential Properties Inc., (BAM-A-T), Globe Newswire

Genesis Land Development Corp. (GDC-T), Canada Newswire

Lakeview Hotel Investment Corp., (LHR-X), Canada Newswire

Mainstreet Equity Corp., (MEQ-T), Canada Newswire

Morguard Corporation, (MRC-T), Canada Newswire

Tricon Residential, (TCN-T), Canada Newswire

REIT second-quarter financial results

Commercial  • 

Artis REIT, (AX-UN-T), Canada Newswire

CT REIT, (CRT-UN-T), Canada Newswire

Crombie REIT, (CRR-UN-T), Canada Newswire

Dream Industrial REIT, (DIR-UN-T), Business Wire

Dream Office REIT, (D-UN-T), Business Wire

First Capital REIT, (FCR-UN-T), Canada Newswire

Killam Apartment REIT, (KMP-UN-T), Canada Newswire

Melcor REIT, (MR-UN-T), Globe Newswire

Plaza Retail REIT, (PLZ-UN-T),Canada Newswire

SmartCentres REIT, (SRU-UN-T), Globe Newswire

Simon, Amazon may convert Sears, JCPenney stores

Commercial  •  USA Today  •  CNN  •  Bloomberg

Seattle-based Amazon is reportedly in talks with Simon Property Group – the nation’s largest mall operator – to convert empty department stores including Sears and J.C. Penney anchor spaces into distribution centres.

Brookfield Property Partners takes a US$1.5B loss

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Brookfield Property Partners LP (BPY-UN-T) collected just 34 per cent of the rent from its enclosed malls and was forced to shutter hotels during the first few months of COVID-19, sending the real estate owner to a US$1.5-billion loss in Q2.

MGM Resorts shares rise after $1B IAC investment

Commercial  •  Reuters

Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActive Corp said on Monday it has bought a 12 per cent stake in MGM Resorts International (MGM-N) for about $1 billion, sending the casino operator’s shares soaring 14 per cent.

Global CRE insurance rates up 19% in Q2

Commercial  •  Reuters  •  RENX

Global commercial insurance rates rose 19 per cent in Q2, driven higher by claims related to COVID-19 and other large losses, insurance broker Marsh said Monday. The rate rise was the highest since Marsh began its commercial insurance rates survey in 2012.

Kirpal proposes 24-storey mixed-use tower in Burnaby

Residential, Commercial  •  urbanYVR

Kirpal Properties has applied to rezone a site at 4330 Maywood St. in the Metrotown Downtown Plan area for a 24-storey, mixed-use tower project. The GBL Architects-designed development would include 91 strata units, 29 rental units and two levels of commercial use.

Home Capital sees sharp drop in mortgage deferrals

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Home Capital Group (HCG-T) has seen a sharp drop in deferred payments on mortgages for clients who sought relief amid COVID-19, an encouraging sign for banks and other lenders that have put hundreds of thousands of loan payments on pause.

T.O. loosens requirements for basement apartments

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Secondary suites, which in Toronto often come in the form of basement apartments or laneway houses, became more readily accessible in the city after an amendment was passed last March by city council.

Canadian housing starts up nearly 16% in July

Residential  •  Toronto Star  •  CBC  •  Canada Newswire

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says the annual pace of housing starts in July rose nearly 16 per cent compared with June. The CMHC says the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts rose to 245,604 in July, up from 212,095 in June.