‘Super rare’ $32M Vancouver block sells for redevelopment

RENX  Residential  •  Condominiums, Land  •  Metro Vancouver

The “super rare” sale of a 1.35-acre site in East Vancouver, an entire city block comprising six single family home lots, will pave the way for a condo project to meet the “insatiable” demand for housing in the region.

Developer Isle of Mann creates PROPetual REIT

RENX  Commercial  •  Investment, Land  •  Metro Vancouver

The Isle of Mann Property Group has launched the private PROPetual Real Estate Investment Trust, which will focus on real estate land development projects across Metro Vancouver.

Dream LeBreton chosen for Ottawa development

Residential, Commercial  •  CBC  •  Ottawa Citizen  •  CTV

A team led by Toronto-based developer Dream has been chosen to build a pair of towers at LeBreton Flats that promise affordable housing units and environmentally friendly construction. Ottawa’s National Capital Commission will sell the 2.7-acre parcel for $30 million.

Mtl. project to proceed even without baseball stadium

Residential, Commercial  •  Montreal Gazette

Major League Baseball’s proposed return to Montreal might seemingly be dead, but efforts to revitalize the Peel Basin area — which would have housed a new stadium — remain alive, says Michel Leblanc, head of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal.

Republic, Silver Hotel propose two 36-storey towers

Residential  •  blogTO  •  Urban Toronto  •  RENX

A Republic Developments and Silver Hotel Group proposal would replace the the current eight-storey hotel building at 45 The Esplanade with two 36-storey towers joined by a seven-storey base and containing 682 condominium suites – including 68 three-bedroom units – and a new hotel.

Constantine proposes 61-storey Yorkville mixed-use

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto  •  RENX

Constantine Scollard – a subsidiary of private real estate fund Constantine Enterprises – has proposed a 61-storey, mixed-use tower at 30 Scollard St. in Yorkville. The tower, designed by CAL and Zeidler, would include 73 residential units, community-oriented retail and office uses.

Sponsored by National Capital Commission Build more than an attraction. Build a legacy.

Rarely are there opportunities to make your mark at a new waterfront community in the heart of a Capital city. The National Capital Commission’s Building LeBreton project is poised for just such a legacy-building opportunity.

Westland proposes 50-storey Surrey mixed-use

Residential, Commercial  •  urbanYVR  •  RENX

Westland Developments is proposing a 50-storey, mixed-use in Surrey City Centre at 10294 and 10302 City Parkway, across from the Surrey Central Skytrain station. The Chris Dikeakos Architects-designed development would include 429 condominiums and an eight-storey podium with office space and ground-floor retail.

T.O.’s Union Station receives $824M facelift

Commercial  •  ReNew Canada

The 11-year, $824-million restoration of Toronto’s Union Station include a gross floor area increase of 14 per cent to 936,000 square feet and the creation of an entirely new floor running under the concourses filled with 160,000 square feet of retail space.

Real Estate with Howard Drukarsh › Podcast: Paul Johnston with Howard Drukarsh

Howard Drukarsh: Host, Real Estate with Howard Drukarsh

TAS, LaSalle bring new life to discarded warehouses

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

TAS Design Build, in partnership with LaSalle Canada Property Fund, is poised to turn three aging warehouses in Scarborough and another in Hamilton into community gathering spaces featuring small business, artisans and artists, and social enterprises and non-profits.

Real estate podcasts

Residential, Commercial  • 

Ray Wong, Altus; Wendy Waters, GWL Realty Advisors; Phil Stone, BentallGreenOak: What to expect in 2022, CRE Podcast
Samantha Sannella, Cushman & Wakefield: How the COVID-19 pandemic is changing CRE, Down to Business, Episode 134
Randy Gladman, Colliers: Inclusionary zoning, CRE Library: Episode 53

Cdn. malls among world’s highest occupancies: CF

Commercial  •  Retail Insider

Canadian shopping centres have among the highest occupancy rates in the world at 85 to 92 per cent, says Darryl Schmidt, vice-president of retail leasing for Cadillac Fairview. In the U.K., vacancy levels are approximately 30 per cent in large, well-established shopping centres.

Canada’s largest T&T Supermarket coming to Mtl.

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

T&T Supermarkets announced the first T&T store in Quebec will be located in the borough of Saint-Laurent, at 300 Sainte-Croix Ave. At 70,000 square feet, it will be the chain’s largest store in the country and is scheduled to open in late 2022.

Ivanhoé Cambridge, Greystar form multires JV in Chile

Residential  •  REMI Network  •  IPE Real Assets

Ivanhoé Cambridge and Greystar Real Estate Partners have formed a joint venture to pursue multiresidential opportunities in Chile. The new partnership represents the first global institutional capital investment in Chilean multiresidential and Ivanhoé’s first investment in the emerging market.

U.S. CRE deals reached record high of $809B in 2021

Commercial  •  Bloomberg

U.S. commercial real estate deals reached a record high of $809 billion last year as the market rebounded from the depths of the pandemic, according to Real Capital Analytics. Investor appetites for apartments and industrial properties were largely behind the surge.

A school in a condo is coming to T.O.’s waterfront

Residential  •  Toronto Star

An elementary school planned near Toronto’s waterfront will break new ground — on the third storey of a soon-to-be built condo building on Lake Shore Boulevard East. It is a first for the province  and believed to be unique in Canada.

Investors aren’t to blame for housing prices

Residential  •  Financial Post  •  Financial Post

OPINION: Many believe housing prices in Toronto and Vancouver are being driven by investors. Yet the Bank of Canada’s data showed their largest market share was in Ottawa-Gatineau, where more than one in four mortgages were issued to investors.

Rate hikes will have little effect on affordability: TD

Residential  •  Bloomberg

Any homebuyers hoping for an improvement in housing affordability as the Bank of Canada gets set to raise interest rates might be left disappointed, according to Andrew Kelvin, chief Canada strategist at TD Securities.

Luxury property sales soared in 2021: RE/MAX Canada

Residential  •  Canada Newswire  •  CTV  •  Saltwire

Demand for Canadian luxury properties shifted into high gear from coast to coast in 2021 as both domestic and non-resident consumption of tangible assets such as residential real estate reached new levels, according to the RE/MAX 2022 Luxury Market Report.