Managing apt. lender relationships amid COVID-19

RENX  Residential  •  Apartments, Investment  •  National

It’s important to recognize lenders are swamped as they deal with the economic ramifications from the COVID-19 pandemic, and there are proper approaches for apartment building owners to take when they deal with them.

SAMM Developments expands Canadian presence

RENX  Commercial  •  Hotels and Resorts  •  National, International

SAMM Developments is a company with its roots in Turkey, but it has steadily been purchasing Canadian hotel assets since acquiring four Toronto-area hotels in 2013. The division of Ankara-based Akman Holding also plans a mixed-use development at one GTA hotel.

Quebec provides $133M to help seniors’ residences

Residential  •  Montreal Gazette  •  Canada Newswire

The Quebec government is providing $133 million in emergency funding to residences that house seniors and people with special needs to help them deal with COVID-19. About $40 million will go to private seniors’ residences and $20 million to private long-term care residences.

Alternative real estate lending to hit the brakes

Residential, Commercial  •  Bloomberg

Cracks are appearing among non-bank real estate lenders as the coronavirus threatens to paralyze construction and development across Canada. Vancouver-based Trez Capital, a provider of non-bank mortgages for commercial developments, froze redemptions on more than $3 billion worth of investor funds.

Plans advance for Mississauga six-tower proposal

Residential  •  Urban Toronto

A late 2018 proposal to bring six towers to 91 Eglinton Ave. E. in Mississauga has resurfaced with a revised plan. The proposal from Liberty Development would bring a community of DIALOG-designed condominium towers and townhome blocks to Eglinton Avenue East.

Site plan submitted for Eglinton two-tower complex

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

Almost a year after two adjacent proposals on Eglinton west of Yonge in Midtown Toronto were integrated into a single plan, Madison Group‘s proposed two-tower complex at 50 through 90 Eglinton Ave. W.has been submitted for Site Plan Approval (SPA) to City staff.

Real Estate Wealth Insights › Adding more of the same is not how to manage risk

Greg Placidi: Chief Investment Officer & Portfolio Manager, Equiton Capital

Waterfront Toronto pushes back Sidewalk Labs deadline

Residential, Commercial  •  Financial Post (Sub. required)  •  RENX

Waterfront Toronto has postponed the date by which it must approve Sidewalk Labs’ controversial plan for Toronto’s Quayside neighbourhood from May 20 to June 25. The agency is also extending the deadline for its online public consultation survey from March 31 to April 9.

WPT Industrial closes on $730M industrial acquisition

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire  •  RENX

WPT Industrial REIT (WIR-U-T) announced the closing of its acquisition of 26 U.S. distribution and logistics properties totaling approximately nine million square feet of gross leasable area and one 85-acre land parcel for a purchase price of US$730 million.

Parkland Fuel drains $300M from budget

Commercial  •  Winnipeg Free Press  •  Globe Newswire

Calgary-based Parkland Fuel Corp., (PKI-T) is cutting its 2020 capital spending budget by 52 per cent and trimming executive salaries in response to COVID-19. The  company sells fuel through more than 2,600 service stations throughout Canada, the United States and Caribbean.

Cominar provides virus update, withdraws 2020 guidance

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

Cominar REIT (CUF-UN-T) is withdrawing the REIT’s fiscal 2020 guidance due to the economic and operating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the uncertainty about its duration and the impact on the REIT’s tenants and their ability to satisfy rent obligations.

Firm Capital Property Trust updates its financial stability

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire

Firm Capital Property Trust (FCD-UN-X) has issued a wide-ranging update on its assets, financial stability and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its operations. Firm says the pandemic has driven business, market and economic turmoil to inconceivable levels.

25% of small businesses won’t be able to pay rent

Commercial  •  Calgary’s Business  •  Globe and Mail

A quarter of Canadian small businesses cannot pay their April rent/mortgage due to the COVID-19 pandemic, says the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. Hospitality is particularly hard hit with 44 per cent saying they cannot meet their rent obligations.

WeWork tenants bristle at rent demands

Commercial  •  Forbes  •  Financial Post (Sub. required)  •  CP Executive

A rebellion is brewing among WeWork tenants. Small business owners are bristling at the shared office giant’s demand that they continue paying rent at locations that remain open, despite a wave of stay-at-home orders in major cities around the world.

Government office closures halt U.S. CRE deals

Commercial  •  The Real Deal

Broad economic anxiety isn’t all that’s tamping down on commercial real estate deals these days. States and municipalities across the U.S. are shuttering document recording offices to contain the spread of COVID-19 and that means parties can’t close deals.

Billionaire brothers feud over sale of London’s Ritz hotel

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

The feud between Britain’s billionaire Barclay twins has escalated with the announcement that one side of the family has unilaterally sold a key family asset; London’s famed Ritz Hotel.

Industry, gov’t discuss condo insurance crisis

Residential  •  Vancouver Sun

Insurers, government officials and condo owner representatives recently held a four-hour, online meeting to discuss the other crisis facing stratas in B.C.: Building insurance that is soaring in price or simply disappearing.

B.C. rental support measures leave landlords in lurch

Residential  •  Western Investor

A B.C. emergency-response rental package that could balloon above $1 billion over the next 90 days will leave landlords exposed to huge losses, according to agents and LandlordBC. Tenant advocates are openly wondering if it even makes sense to pay rent.

Force majeure doesn’t apply to house sales

Residential  •  Financial Post  •  RENX

For the thousands of people who made or received firm offers before the coronavirus outbreak changed everything — and who are now left wondering whether their deals will close in the weeks or months to follow — the anxiety level is great.

Queen’s Park urges new COVID-19 construction rules

Residential, Commercial  •  Toronto Star  •  Daily Commercial News

Ontario issued a new warning to construction companies to restrict the number of people on job sites to slow the spread of COVID-19, as the province recorded another 211 confirmed cases Sunday — and four more deaths.