A roadmap to effective transit-oriented communities

RENX  Residential, Commercial  •  Apartments, Condominiums, Homes  •  National, Toronto / GTA

The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) has been among the fastest-growing metropolitan regions in North America, which is creating challenges for efforts to boost housing supply, reduce congestion, bolster economic development and reduce environmental impact.

Save-on-Foods to anchor Onni’s Victoria project

Residential, Commercial  •  Victoria Times Colonist

Save-on-Foods has ­signed a lease agreement as a 40,000-square-foot anchor in Vancouver-based Onni Group’s Colwood Corners development in Greater ­Victoria. The 12.5-acre mixed-use development was acquired by the Onni Group in 2014 after the collapse of League Assets Corp.

Pandemic creates property tax winners and losers

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

The pandemic has reshaped the real estate market in Ontario, with counties girding the GTA experiencing an unprecedented run-up in prices. However, those shifts aren’t showing up in tax bills as the Ontario government has, again, delayed the province-wide assessment.

The Industrial Real Estate Show › Podcast: Ex-Melcor CEO Darin Rayburn with host Chad Griffiths

Chad Griffiths: Partner, NAI Commercial

Nivlog proposes 11-storey mixed-use in Midtown

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

Nivlog Investments has proposed a superkül-designed, 11-storey mixed-use building at 2309 Yonge St. in Midtown Toronto. Above the ground floor, the mid-rise would house 125 residential units, including 76 one-bedrooms, 36 two-bedrooms and six three-bedrooms.

Gairloch proposes Brutalist style mid-rise in the Junction

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

Gairloch Developments has proposed a Batay-Csorba Architects-designed, Brutalist style, eight-storey building with residential units above retail units at grade to replace the houses from 3239 through 3251 Dundas St. W. in the Junction neighbourhood.

Omicron could slow GTA office sector rebound: JLL

Commercial  •  Toronto Storeys  •  Daily Commercial News

Downtown Toronto’s office vacancy rate fell by a modest 20 basis points last quarter, as subleases declined to 2.7% from 2.9% from Q3, but the Omicron variant of COVID-19 could stymie further gains, a report from Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) IP says.

New CCPPP head looks to expand council initiatives

Commercial  •  Daily Commercial News

Lisa Mitchell, the new president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships (CCPPP), is not new to the P3 space and hopes to use her background and experience to build on the strong foundation of the council.

Chipotle Mexican Grill plans major expansion

Commercial  •  Retail Insider

Chipotle Mexican Grill plans to aggressively expand its footprint in the Canadian market. The brand currently operates in both Ontario and British Columbia with 25 restaurants in Canada. The first location in Canada was launched in downtown Toronto in August 2008.

OPINION: Retail sales running on fumes

Commercial  •  Retail Insider

The latest Statistics Canada data indicates location-based retail sales were up 4.8% year-over-year in the latest quarter. But, that number is misleading as it includes a 32.0% sales increase at gas stations, mainly due to significantly higher prices.

OPINION: Don’t wait to recall workers to the office

Commercial  •  Financial Post  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Financial Post

With the lifting of capacity limits comes another warning to Ontario employers: recall employees to the workplace before it’s too late. Although some sectors have embraced remote work, many employers are patiently waiting for their empty offices to be filled.

Latest Sustainable Biz Canada headlines

Residential, Commercial  • 

Cleantech list highlights 13 Canadian companies

Zero Waste Lab brings circular economy to Guelph

General Fusion hits key milestone at prototype facility

Boston Properties’ leasing demand hits 2019 levels

Commercial  •  Bisnow  •  Business Wire

Boston Properties (BXP-N), the largest U.S. office REIT, has seen leasing demand recover to pre-pandemic levels in recent months, despite challenges posed by the Omicron variant, it reported in its quarterly earnings release Wednesday.

Blackstone: ‘Most remarkable results in our history’

Residential, Commercial  •  The Real Deal

The stock market may be struggling, but Blackstone’s fourth-quarter results, driven by real estate returns, show the firm is stronger than ever. “Today Blackstone reported the most remarkable results in our history on virtually every metric,” said CEO Stephen Schwarzman.

Cineworld hit by appeal in Cineplex legal battle

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Cineworld Group said on Friday Canada’s Cineplex Inc filed an appeal against its plea challenging an order the British cinema operator pay $1.23-billion in damages to Cineplex for abandoning a planned takeover.

Frasers selling Singapore office tower for $603M

Commercial  •  Forbes

Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust (FLCT) — controlled by Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi’s Frasers Property — agreed to sell an office tower in the Singapore central business district for $603 million US as the company pivots toward warehouse assets amid an e-commerce boom.

Van. may permit six homes on single lot

Residential  •  Globe and Mail  •  CTV

Vancouver council has voted to explore ways to allow as many as six homes to be built on any residential lot as part of its quest to find ways to make more housing accessible to current and would-be residents.

Oakville has most expensive apartment rent in GTA

Residential  •  Daily Hive  •  Daily Hive

A new report from TorontoRentals.com and Bullpen Research & Consulting took at look at December’s rent prices and broke out 17 different areas of the GTA. Oakville, with its average rent price of $2,114, was crowned the most expensive in the GTA.

Hopper takes on Airbnb with new home-rentals offering

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Montreal-based Hopper Inc., one of Canada’s fastest-growing and most heavily financed tech companies, on Thursday added short-term home rentals to its app-based offering, which also features flight, hotel and automobile bookings, targeting 25- to 35-year-old leisure travellers.

House prices draw Ontario buyers to Alberta

Residential  •  Globe and Mail

Thousands of Canadians, primarily from Ontario and B.C., relocated to Alberta in 2021, driving inter-provincial migration numbers in the third quarter of the year to a level not seen since 2015.