New LaSalle fund buys GTA industrial portfolio, apt. building

LaSalle Investment Management’s fifth Canadian value-add real estate fund, LaSalle BVK Canada Advantage, has acquired an industrial portfolio and a 269-unit multiresidential property in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

Vancouver hotel shortage coinciding with boom in tourism

Hotel rooms are a variable luxury people have shown they can live without during an economic or worldwide health crisis. That makes hotels one of the toughest projects for any builder to take on, especially in a region like Vancouver. 

Formal arena talks are back on in Calgary

The City of Calgary and Calgary Flames ownership are going back to the table in hopes of crafting a new arena deal, but this time the city has drafted some help for the negotiations.

New Metro Van. civic leaders: Permit housing, not obstacles

GUEST SUBMISSION: On Saturday, Oct. 15, citizens went to the polls to vote in municipal elections across B.C. In preparation for new faces in council chambers, we wanted to highlight difficulties they'll face with respect to rental housing.  

Slate Office disputes letter's claim of mismanagement

Slate Office REIT (SOT-UN-T) today issued the following statement in response to an open letter issued by G2S2 Capital: The REIT regularly engages with unitholders and welcomes constructive input focused on enhancing value for the REIT and all unitholders.

Big Four accounting firm has problems in its work: Regulator

One of Canada’s Big Four auditing firms continues to have a significant number of problems in its work, the Canadian Public Accountability Board has found. The board is not revealing the name of the firm, citing confidentiality provisions.

Cochrane build includes office complex, 150 homes

Calgary-based Ocgrow Group plans to build a 50,000-square-foot office and housing complex at the new Greystone community in Cochrane, about 18 km west of Calgary. Its Vertos project is a collection of 150 townhomes and condos.

Canadian investors lead in 2022 GRESB survey

Eight Canadian real estate investors and their portfolios have been recognized as sustainability leaders in the Americas through their notable placements in the 2022 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) Survey, with KingSett Capital also leading globally.

Westerkirk proposes 39-storey residential tower

Westerkirk Capital has retained BDP Quadrangle to design a tower that could emerge above the existing four-storey building and climb 39 storeys at 18 Elm St. The tower would offer a total of 258 rental residential units.

Robots with brooms filling commercial cleaning jobs

Pablo Molina, Faizan Sheikh and Avidbots Corp., the Kitchener-based “autonomous” floor cleaning robot company they co-founded in 2014 are looking to sweep the planet, or at least that portion of it — airports, warehouses and big-box stores — with acres of floorspace.

Real estate podcasts

José Pellicer, M&G Real Estate: Investing in Europe, CRE Podcast

Marc Desormeaux, Desjardins Group: Housing slump to cause severe downturn, Down to Business

Marcie Williams, RKW Residential: Creating community to retain building residents, Tenant Experience Network

Kushner Cos. offers $4.3B for Veris Residential

Jared Kushner's family real estate firm, Kushner Cos, is making an unsolicited bid for Veris Residential Inc.,(VRE-N) in a deal that would value Veris at about $4.3 billion. Kushner Cos offered $16 a share for the REIT.

T.O.'s PesoRama turns Mexico's dollar stores upside down

Toronto businessman Rahim Bhalo, formerly Canada’s largest Second Cup Coffee franchisee, came out of early retirement to create PesoRama Inc., which today calls itself “the first significant” true dollar store chain in Mexico, with 20 stores in Mexico City.

Canadian architects rethink the Lincoln Centre

The hall at Manhattan’s Lincoln Center reopened this month after a US$550-million renovation. The designers, including Toronto’s Diamond Schmitt Architects, have blended technical expertise with sensitive urban design and some lively splashes of ornament and colour.

Global housing market pain has echoes of 1980s crash

When COVID sent the U.K. economy into lockdown in 2020, the government jumped in to help the housing market by cutting a tax on purchases, echoing the buildup to the price crash that started at the end of the 1980s.

Ont. to override municipal zoning to allow more housing

Premier Doug Ford’s government will override local municipal zoning to allow duplexes and triplexes across Ontario as part of sweeping new housing legislation, the Star has learned. Ford has promised to build 150,000 new homes annually for the next decade.

Ottawa's official plan being scrutinized by Ontario

Nearly a year ago, Ottawa city council voted 21-2 to adopt a policy blueprint to guide its development over the next quarter-century. The city’s new official plan is still awaiting approval from the provincial minister of municipal affairs and housing.

Home prices post record monthly decline in September: Teranet

Home prices fell for a fifth consecutive month in September, breaking the previous record set in August, according to the Teranet–National Bank National Composite House Price Index. Home prices fell 3.1 per cent month-over-month in September. 

Bidding wars, bully offers back in T.O.'s rental market

With vacancy rates dropping, there is intense competition for rental housing. Urbanation noted that a record 36 per cent of GTA condos were leased for above the listing rate, based on units rented through the Multiple Listing Service system.