After 30 years of RE forums, Przybylowski set to retire

RENX  Residential, Commercial  •  Human Resources  •  National

George Przybylowski, one of the most well-known people in the Canadian development industry, will retire from his Informa Canada position as head of the country’s largest series of commercial real estate forums and conferences.

Don’t expect any new Laval office buildings: Broker

Commercial  •  La Presse

Due to the new reality of teleworking, broker Jean-Pierre Proulx doesn’t foresee new office buildings on the horizon in Laval, Quebec’s third-largest city. “I wouldn’t see myself going to my banker to solicit funding for a project like this.”

No return to February 2020 occupancy: Cooper

Commercial  •  Bloomberg  •  RENX

VIDEO: CEO Michael Cooper talks about Dream Office REIT’s (D-UN-T) plans to have net zero emissions by 2035. He says they’ve seen a lot of movement with leasing this quarter and discusses how the latest Omicron COVID variant could factor in.

Blackstone buys T.O. Atlantic Complex in JV with Kevric

RENX  Commercial  •  Office  •  Toronto / GTA

Global real estate giant Blackstone has acquired the Atlantic Complex office property in Toronto’s Liberty Village in a partnership with Montreal-based Kevric for $240 million. The complex comprises 99 Atlantic and 40 Hanna Avenues, two buildings with very different lineages.

29-storey purpose-built rental building proposed

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

APS Holdings and Glen-Huntley Holdings have proposed an IBI Group-designed 29-storey purpose-built rental building containing 213 residential units at 10 Huntley St. in downtown Toronto. Of the 213 units, 26 would be studios (12%), 133 would be one-bedroom (62%), 32 would be two-bedroom, (15%), and 22 would be thee-bedroom (10%).

Sorbara Group proposes five-building development

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

Sorbara Group has proposed five buildings with 946 new residential units and retail at 11 Catford Rd. and 20 Broadoaks Drive. The Graziani + Corazza Architects-designed proposal includes two four-storey townhouse-style residential homes, a 12-storey mixed-use building and 18 storey and 30-storey residential buildings.

Design, Policy and Canadian Cities › GO commuter lots can be the GTA’s next affordable housing solution

Naama Blonder: Architect, Urban Designer, Urban Planner | B.Arch, OAA, RPP, MCIP

Chandos Construction commits to net-zero by 2040

Commercial  •  Sustainable Biz Canada

National commercial builder Chandos Construction announced a commitment to be net-zero by 2040. Company president Tim Coldwell said achieving this goal across its entire portfolio will not be possible without long-term partnerships and commitments.

Amazon right to choose Calgary for new data hub

Commercial  •  Calgary Herald  •  RENX

OPINION:  After Amazon Web Services announced in early November it will build a new cloud-computing hub in Calgary — and team up with Mount Royal University on a local training program — response from hopeful employees and would-be students was immediate.

OPINION: NCC asking Ottawans to plan LeBreton. Why?

Residential, Commercial  •  Ottawa Citizen

This is not the right time to ask the public and corporate world for big ideas — like how to build a city. The development industry is a little jittery right now and downtowns are only creaking back from the dead.

Board chairman invests $235K in H&R REIT

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Canada Newswire

In the midst of the heightened market volatility, the chairman of the board of trustees Ronnie Rutman invested over $235,000 in units of H&R REIT (HR-UN-T). He acquired 15,000 units at a price per unit of $15.6934 for FEZ Financial Corp.

Real estate podcasts

Residential, Commercial  • 

Rosa Lupo, Gowling WLG: The developer’s lawyer, CRE Podcast
Sheila Botting, Avison Young: The art of the possible in CRE, Tenant Experience Network. Season 2, Episode 14
Chris Spoke, Skyline newsletter: Inclusionary zoning, CRE Podcast

Weston to sell dept. store operator Selfridges: Reports

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Bloomberg

Canada’s billionaire Weston family has agreed to sell luxury department store operator Selfridges to Thailand-based corporation Central Group, according to reports. The Westons received a $6.86-billion offer from a potential buyer for Selfridges Group earlier this year.

Amazon, Walmart probed over supply chain disruptions

Commercial  •  Bisnow

The Federal Trade Commission has ordered Walmart, Amazon, The Kroger Co. and six other large retailers, wholesalers and consumer goods suppliers to provide detailed information about how they are handling supply chain disruptions. The companies have 45 days to respond.

U.S. office stocks take a hit due to Omicron variant

Commercial  •  CNBC  •  Business Wire

Stocks of the U.S.’ largest office REITs moved lower again Tuesday, as the office market faces new concerns over the Omicron variant of COVID. This comes on top of a new cooling in office demand, which had been improving sharply.

Americans could lose homes as mortgage relief ends

Residential  •  CNBC

Hundreds of thousands of U.S. homeowners could soon lose or sell their homes as COVID-related mortgage bailout programs expire. “We’re in the midst of the largest transition out of forbearance we’re likely to see . . .,” said Black Knight’s Andy Walden.

Fairbnb to launch ‘ethical’ home-sharing platform in T.O.

Residential  •  Toronto Star  •  CTV

Fairbnb, which pushed Toronto to regulate short-term rentals, plans to launch its own “ethical” home-sharing platform with a grant from the CMHC. Fairbnb, which will initially focus on downtown Toronto, will use the same technology as Airbnb.

Calgary condo market attracts out-of-province investors

Residential  •  Calgary Herald

Calgary is increasingly in the sights of out-of-town investors who previously had been looking to Toronto and Vancouver to make their investments, says Jared Chamberlain, realtor and broker/owner of Chamberlain Real Estate Group in Calgary.

Toronto home prices rise 22% to record high

Residential  •  Financial Post  •  Toronto Star  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

The average price of a home sold in the Toronto region in November was $1.16 million, up 22 per cent year-over-year. The number of new listings fell 13 per cent, according to data released Friday by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board.

Eight-inch lot for sale in Toronto

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Toronto Star  •  Toronto Star

A most unusual parcel of land for sale on a busy Toronto avenue is putting to the test the question of whether land has intrinsic value. For sale at $49,999 is 1060 Danforth Ave., 105 feet deep but only eight inches wide.