Vantage Data Centers invests $900M in Cdn. expansion

RENX  Commercial  •  Investment, Technology  •  Quebec

Denver-headquartered Vantage Data Centers will invest an additional $900 million to scale its Canadian operations, which will include the development of a third campus in Montreal and the expansion of two existing campuses in Montreal and Quebec City.

Sobeys reassesses network of Quebec warehouses

Commercial  •  La Presse

After more than a month of strike action at its automated distribution centres in Terrebonne, Sobeys is reassessing its network of Quebec warehouses. Purchasing land in other provinces is also under study to ensure a continuous supply of products.

REM de l’Est stalemate has Mtl. mayor in tough position

Residential, Commercial  •  Montreal Gazette  •  Montreal Gazette  •  CBC

OPINION: The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is turning up the heat on Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante. Without her endorsement, Caisse  says the $10-billion REM de l’Est,, the largest public transit investment in Montreal’s history, can’t move forward.

The progressive nature of the Town of Shediac

Derek Lobo: Founder and CEO , SVN Rock Advisors Inc.

Coquitlam plans more condos around hub

Residential, Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver  •  RENX

Coquitlam is seeking permission to increase the density of the residential neighbourhood surrounding Burke Mountain Village, its forthcoming commercial and social hub. The village will have 120,000 square feet of retail space, the 80,000-square-foot North East Community Centre and about 2,000 residents.

M City’s fifth tower debuts in Mississauga

Residential  •  REMI Network  •  RENX

Rogers Real Estate Development and Urban Capital launched the fifth of eight towers planned for M City, which will bring more than 6,000 units to the Mississauga core by the community’s completion. M5 is described as M City’s most exclusive building.

Deloitte reverses COVID-19 vaccine mandate

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Global News  •  CTV

Auditing giant Deloitte Canada is one of the few big white-collar employers to reverse its mandatory vaccination policy for employees, as more provinces move toward eliminating COVID-19 restrictions and companies begin re-evaluating their mandates.

B.C. building permits plunge 26.5% in January

Residential, Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver

B.C. construction intentions declined 26.5 per cent in January to a seasonally adjusted $1.37 billion, marking a return to a more modest pace following a strong second half of 2021. Total permit volume was 4.2 per cent lower than in January 2021.

Plan in the works for Capilano University campus

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver

More local learning options for post-secondary education may be on the way for Sea to Sky grads. Capilano University Thursday announced it had entered a purchase agreement to acquire two acres of property in the Oceanfront Squamish development for $5 million.

The buildings that have pushed Toronto forward

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

OPINION: About six months ago, a fellow architectural aficionado asked me which Toronto buildings pushed the city forward. In answer to her plea, I have compiled nine still-standing buildings that pushed Toronto forward: 1920s – 2010s:

Firm Capital Property Trust opens the market

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

President/chief executive officer Robert McKee and his Firm Capital Property Trust, (FCD-UN-T) team joined Michael Kousaie, Toronto Stock Exchange vice-president, Strategy and Product Innovation, to celebrate the company’s graduation to the TSX and to open the market on Thursday.

Real estate podcasts

Residential, Commercial  • 

Michael Emory, Allied: Creating more humanistic workspaces, Tenant Experience Network

Antony Slumbers, proptech speaker/advisor/writer: Reimagining the office, REALtalk

Jack Haining, Grosvenor Americas: Saying ‘yes’ to new opportunities, Highview Partners People Who Perform

Balfour Pacific sells Colorado office building for $31.9M

Commercial  •  BusinessDen

BPRE Interlocken Holdings, an affiliate of Vancouver-based private equity firm Balfour Pacific, has sold a Bloomfield, Colo., office building to Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. for $31.9 million. The 115,000-square-foot building at 12202 Airport Way in the Interlocken Business Park was built in 1999.

Lender takes control of Brookfield’s Chicago tower

Commercial  •  Bisnow

Brookfield Asset Management-owned 175 West Jackson Blvd. has been taken over by its lender, Trepp reported Monday. Brookfield had become delinquent on the $258 million loan backing the 1.4-million-square-foot Chicago’s Loop tower in November, when it was sent to special servicing.

Cresa moving its HQ from D.C. to Chicago

Commercial  •  Bisnow  •  Bisnow

CRE firm Cresa will move its headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Chicago’s hot Fulton Market, a place company leaders say where visiting clients will see how modern offices can serve the needs and desires of their workforces.

Burger King parent RBI to pull out of Russia

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  CP 24  •  Bloomberg

Burger King’s parent company – Toronto-based Restaurant Brands International (QSR-T) – is planning to sell its 15 per cent stake in its Russian business, after its local partner has refused a request to close the restaurants after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Hopewell Avenue tells the story of Toronto real estate

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

Hopewell Avenue, in Toronto’s Briar Hill-Belgravia neighbourhood, is a study in contrasts and change. Neighbours who bought their homes for modest prices on working-class salaries live next door to households who battled throngs of hopeful buyers for million-dollar homes.

EDITORIAL: Brownfield sites should be used for housing

Residential  •  Globe and Mail

In this era of runaway housing prices and the need for new supply, governments need to utilize Toronto’s Quayside and other brownfield sites to build. Canada Lands, a Crown corporation, is often involved because the land is often federally owned.

CRA cracking down on principal residence exemptions

Residential  •  Financial Post

In recent years, the Canada Revenue Agency has been cracking down on perceived abuse, most recently with a letter campaign in which it sent letters to individuals “who may have applied the principal residence exemption (PRE) in error.”

Canadians feeling emotionally connected to their homes

Residential  •  Toronto Storeys  •  Canada Newswire

The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed many aspects of society, but perhaps none more than the concept of home for many Canadians who locked down in efforts to stop the spread of the virus, according to a Peerage Realty Partners survey.