Blackstone keeps focus on Canada: To open T.O. office

RENX  Residential, Commercial  •  Industrial, Office, Apartments, Hotels and Resorts  •  National, Toronto / GTA

As Blackstone continues to increase its investments in Canada, the world’s largest real estate owner and operator has announced it will open an office in Toronto and appointed Janice Lin to head its real estate operations in the country.

Retail CRE sector sees ‘spectacular rebound’ in Quebec

RENX  Commercial  •  Retail  •  Quebec City, Quebec

Consumer confidence and retail sales in Quebec are seeing a “spectacular rebound” and retail rents in Quebec City are poised to jump, says Dean Mendel, the founding partner of Forum Properties which specializes in shopping centre development.

Cargill secures 247 acres near Regina for $38 million

Commercial  •  Western Investor

Cargill’s plans for a huge canola crush plant at Regina are cruising ahead. Cargill has bought 247 acres from the Global Transportation Hub (GTH), just west of the provincial capital for $38 million, citing the benefits of its road and rail infrastructure.

Alberta cities pursue annexations for industrial growth

Commercial  •  Western Investor

Residential growth is squeezing Alberta’s industrial land supply, prompting Alberta’s largest cities to pursue their first annexations in years. Calgary is moving ahead with plans to annex 4,143 acres southeast of the city in Rocky View County for industrial development.

Brookfield to reno Hudson’s Bay Centre at Bloor-Yonge

Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

Brookfield Property Partners submitted a site-plan application to the City of Toronto for the renovation and redesign of the retail podium of the Hudson’s Bay Centre at 2 Bloor Street East that would create an integrated office and retail space.

Downtown Toronto retail struggles as foot traffic grows

Commercial  •  Retail Insider

Downtown areas such as Yonge Street in Toronto were hit particularly hard due to the lockdowns, public health measures and lack of office workers. The overall vacancy rate for the Downtown Yonge BIA section is almost 14 per cent.

Richview Square moves toward plan approvals

Residential  •  Urban Toronto  •  Urban Toronto

The City of Toronto received a site-plan application for Richview Square, the next step for the Trinity Development and CreateTO Etobicoke redevelopment that includes three mixed-use buildings and the partial retention and renovation of a one-storey commercial plaza.

Vancouver rally protests Broadway densification

Commercial  •  Vancouver Sun

More than 100 demonstrators rallied to oppose the $3-billion plan to extend the SkyTrain 5.7 kms. down Vancouver’s Broadway Avenue, where more than 300 high-rises are proposed. Densification could bring 50,000 residents to a 50-block area in the next three decades.

Ontario operating engineers on strike after Sunday vote

Commercial  •  Daily Commercial News  •  CBC

Members of the International Union of Operating Engineers in Ontario are on strike starting today, May 9. The union is seeking a higher wage settlement than the offered nine per cent over three years, with a 0.5 per cent Toronto premium.

Minto Apartment REIT posts Q1 net income of $34.6M

Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal  •  RENX

Minto Apartment REIT’s bounce-back continued in Q1 2022 as the Ottawa-based real estate firm reported gains in all key metrics, generating funds from operations of $12 million in the three-month period ending March 31, up from $10.9 million a year earlier.

16 new FIKA cannabis stores in crowded GTA market

Commercial  •  Toronto Star

Within the span of nine months FIKA Herbal Goods went from opening its first location in Toronto’s Distillery District last August to running 16 stores across the GTA including in properties owned by Cadillac Fairview, Dream, Primaris and SmartCentres.

REOC financial results/business updates

Residential, Commercial  • 

Altus Group Limited, (AIF-T), PR Newswire

Brookfield Business Partners, (BBUC-T), PR Newswire

Chartwell Retirement Residences, (CSH.UN-T), PR Newswire

Genesis Land Development Corporation, (GDC-T), PR Newswire

StorageVault Canada Inc., (SVI-T), Business Wire

Ivanhoe Cambridge breaks ground on Texas office

Commercial  •  Construct Connect

Ivanhoe Cambridge recently broke ground on a seven-storey commercial office building in Texas, a key element in the new Symphony Square mixed-use project in downtown Austin. Occupancy is expected in the spring of 2023.

Jamestown to redevelop One Times Square for $500M

Commercial  •  Commercial Search

The long-time site of the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop will become primarily a visitor centre for New York City. Jamestown will undertake a $500-million redevelopment of One Times Square.

Chinese company selects Ohio city for $916M plant

Commercial  •  Commercial Property Executive

SEMCORP Advanced Materials Group has selected Sidney, Ohio, as the site of a $916-million, 850,000-square-foot manufacturing plant that will make separator film, a key component in batteries for electric vehicles. The project represents the state’s largest foreign direct investment.

Newark mayor plans to stop corps. buying homes

Residential, Commercial  •  ABC Eyewitness News  •  Globe St.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka announced wide-ranging initiatives to combat large corporations from purchasing private homes. In January investors bought 33% of U.S. homes on the market according to John Burns Real Estate Consulting, a housing research and consulting firm.

REALTORS call on all parties to save home ownership

Residential  •  Financial Post

Ontario REALTORS is calling on political parties and candidates running in the Ontario election to prioritize housing policies to ensure future generations have a shot at owning a home in its 2022 Election Housing Platform: A Home for Everyone.

Peel Region looks to expand out, others push for up

Residential  •  CBC

Peel has approved a new official plan that will guide growth and development in the region up to 2051. With 1.5 million people, it includes the cities of Mississauga and Brampton, known for their sprawling neighbourhoods of single-family homes and massive highways.

The missing $211M raised by failed Saskatoon RE group

Commercial  •  CBC

Court-appointed investigator Ernst and Young, looking into the Epic Alliance group of companies, says the public may never fully know what happened to $211-million raised by the failed Saskatoon real estate venture that bought more than 700 homes in Saskatoon.

B.C. broker siphoned $2M to fund his Okanagan estate

Residential  •  Business in Vancouver

A Vancouver stockbroker, Jeffrey Rutledge, allegedly siphoned over $2 million from client accounts through unauthorized wire transfers to build a home in Naramata according to a hearing notice from the Investment Industry Regulation Organization of Canada (IIROC).