2021 ‘year of the suburbs’ in Montreal apt. investment

RENX  Residential  •  Apartments, Investment  •  Greater Montreal

Last year was the “year of the suburbs” when it comes to apartment investment in Montreal and that situation should continue for the next two years, says James Palladino, managing director at RBC Capital Markets Real Estate Group in Montreal.

Developer sought for Vancouver airport property

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial, Office  •  Metro Vancouver

Brokers are on the search for an investor to develop and lease up a Vancouver International Airport standalone site that is almost a blank canvas. It is also part of a broader economic plan for the second-busiest airport in Canada.

Fengate JV offers details on 11-tower T.O. development

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

Fengate Asset Management, CRAFT Development Corporation, the Kingsmen Group  and LiUNA Pension Fund of Central and Eastern Canada have submitted an application to build 11 towers – with 5,750 homes, 118,403 square feet of retail space and a hotel – above a Toronto rail corridor.

The People Space › People space: Senior execs join AIMCo, CT REIT, Hill and more …

Don Wilcox: Managing Editor

Focus to build Man.’s CentrePort Canada Rail Park

Commercial  •  CBC  •  Winnipeg Free Press  •  Global News

Victoria-based Focus Equities Inc. will build the 665-acre CentrePort Canada Rail Park, which is expected to provide a critical stimulus to exceed $3 billion, trade, business attraction and investment, job creation and increased tax revenues for Manitoba.

Canadian shopping centres being redefined

Residential, Commercial  •  Toronto Star

Some of the GTA’s largest shopping centres, such as Yorkdale and Square One, are slated for redevelopment — many will soon be surrounded by condo towers and public parks, some will be partially or fully destroyed.

B.C. eyes taking over approval powers

Residential  •  Western Investor

When Oak Bay council rejected a 14-unit project in mid-March, it underlined for many the reason the province is preparing to step in and take away some of the permit powers B.C. municipal governments have to approve housing construction.

Vaughan wants Ontario Land Tribunal replaced

Residential, Commercial  •  Toronto Star

Vaughan joins dozens of Greater Toronto Area municipalities in wanting to reclaim their urban planning power as the province gradually trims municipal clout amid the affordable housing crisis and ahead of elections, Coun. Marilyn Iafrate said.

‘Unprecedented’ costs jeopardize Vancouver projects

Residential, Commercial  •  Western Investor

Construction cost increases have become so dramatic in Metro Vancouver they’ve outstripped land prices as the largest unknown in proformas for developers Rennie Group president Greg Zayadi warned at a breakfast meeting of the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association.

Ottawa office leasing activity stalls in Q1: Colliers

Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

After two bounceback quarters, Ottawa’s office market stumbled a bit in the first three months of 2022 as public-health measures aimed at blunting the fast-spreading Omicron variant of COVID-19 stalled leasing momentum, Colliers said in its Q1 National Market Snapshot.

KingSett sells Yellowknife office building for $1.4M

Commercial  •  CBC

Yellowknife’s most famous vacant office tower has new owners. The 10-storey, 55,000-square-foot Bellanca Building and the parking lot next to it, which was previously owned by Toronto-based KingSett Capital, has been sold to Yellowknife-based Borealis Development for $1.4 million.

Core’s 252 Parliament St. mixed-use approved

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto  •  RENX

The City of Toronto approved an application for the rezoning of 252 Parliament St. Originally applied for in 2020 by Core Development Group, the Studio JCI redesign decreases the number of rental units from 71 to 69 and the commercial/retail from 1,507 to 1389 square feet.

Oxford acquires $333M U.K. logistics portfolio

Commercial  •  Oxford Properties media release  •  IPE Real Assets

Oxford Properties Group, a global investor, asset manager and business builder, has acquired a portfolio of seven U.K. logistics assets from M&G UK Property for $333 million Cdn. The opportunity was sourced and secured through Oxford’s portfolio company, M7 Real Estate.

Trump D.C. hotel can sell to Miami investment fund

Commercial  •  Toronto Star

Donald Trump’s luxury hotel near the White House received government approval Friday to hand the keys to a Miami investment fund led by CGI Merchant Group. The $375 million price tag is far more than many expected.

Tishman Speyer lands $100M for first proptech fund

Commercial  •  The Real Deal  •  Real Estate Weekly  •  Commercial Property Executive

Tishman Speyer said Thursday it has rounded up $100 million for its first proptech fund, with major commitments from the National Pension Service of Korea — the world’s third-largest public pension fund — and Toronto-based Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO).

H.K. tycoons scoop up billions in Chinese property

Residential, Commercial  •  Bloomberg

Hong Kong’s property tycoons are swooping in on a rare opportunity to cherry-pick prime land and projects in mainland China, where a government squeeze on leverage and credit-market turmoil have triggered a record wave of defaults,

Fast-tracked builds could add 22,000 Halifax units

Residential  •  CBC

The Nova Scotia government is fast-tracking nine major residential construction projects in the Halifax Regional Municipality, a move Housing Minister John Lohr said Friday will create as many as 22,600 new residential units.

Burnaby eager to build, but stymied by funding gap

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Burnaby would like the other levels of government to show it the money. The B.C. city has five city-owned properties “shovel ready” for affordable housing development, but a shortfall of senior government funding means the properties are still sitting vacant.

Toronto real estate listings are set to rise

Residential  •  Toronto Star

There are signs this year’s spring market will proceed at a more traditional pace — still hectic but short of the circus that has shut out many buyers while prices continued to soar, said Re/Max Canada president Christopher Alexander.

Housing boom lifts small-town Saskatchewan

Residential  •  Western Investor

Small-town Saskatchewan real estate agents are reporting a substantial increase in housing sales with transactions hitting record highs for some of the lowest-cost homes in the country, according to Jodie Kowalyshyn of Community Insurance in Canora.