Dream, Great Gulf update Quayside on T.O. waterfront

RENX  Residential  •  Apartments, Condominiums, Land  •  Toronto / GTA

Dream Unlimited Corp. (DRM-T) and Great Gulf Group will together develop two of the most significant properties along the Toronto waterfront during the coming decade. They are partners on both the 12-acre Quayside property and the nearby Victory Silos site.

RioCan buys 90% stake in Laval multires. project

Residential  •  Les Affaires  •  RENX  •  RENX

RioCan has purchased a 90 per cent interest in the first phase of Pur Immobilia‘s Market rental project in Laval, comprising 139 apartments. RioCan and PUR Immobilia have also reached an agreement for phases 2 and 3 of Market, which represent 297 other rental apartments.

United Church to transform properties into rental apts.

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  Canada Newswire

Kindred Works, a real estate company associated with the United Church of Canada, has a goal to transform the church’s properties across Canada. This includes renewing church facilities and housing 34,000 people over the next 15 years in new rental apartments.

Genesis acquires 160 acres of Calgary land for $30M

Residential  •  Canada Newswire

Genesis Land Development has entered into a binding agreement to acquire approximately 160 acres of residential development land in the southeast sector of the City of Calgary. Depending on the timing of approvals, the price will be $28 million or $30 million.

F.N. say Ontario bypassing consultation on development

Residential, Commercial  •  CBC

Southern Ontario’s Six Nations of the Grand River and Mississaugas of the Credit have expressed concerns about Minister’s Zoning Orders — which allow the province to immediately authorize development. The duty to consult Indigenous communities trumps the power of an MZO.

The Property Law Hub › Vendor terminates purchase agreement, must pay $11M in lost profits

Daniel Waldman: Lawyer, Pallett Valo LLP

Downtown Montreal section removed from Eastern REM

Commercial  •  La Presse

The REM de l’Est will no longer pass through Montreal’s city centre. Claiming the project “lacks social acceptability,” the Quebec and Montreal governments are “taking the leadership.” The subsidiary of the Caisse de depot, CDPQ-Infra, is excluded from the process.

Embracer acquires Mtl. video game studios for $387M

Commercial  •  La Presse  •  Venturebeat  •  IGN

Swedish video game studio Embracer has acquired Square Enix Montreal and Eidos-Montreal. Crystal Dynamics of San Francisco is also part of this transaction, valued at $387 million Cdn. Eidos-Montréal has 500 employees, mostly in Montreal. Square Enix Montreal has 150.

CAPREIT acquires Alberta MHC for $16.5M

Residential  •  Globe Newswire

Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX:CAR.UN) has completed the purchase of a 172-site manufactured housing community in Red Deer, Alta. The community, developed in 2000, was acquired for $16.5 million, funded with existing liquidity. Occupancy was 100% at closing.

An inside look at IBM’s new 63,000-sq.-ft T.O. office

Commercial  •  Toronto Storeys

Technology company IBM officially opened its new downtown Toronto office last week. The three-storey office space, located at 16 York St. in Toronto’s entertainment district, spans 63,000 square feet and will be a new home base for hundreds of IBM employees.

Sheraton Laval receives $20M-plus facelift

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

After more than two years, Groupe Hôtelier Grand Château has revealed the new Sheraton Laval and a redesigned convention centre. Following a $20 million-plus investment, the Sheraton offers 45,000 square feet of space dedicated to corporate events.

REOC business updates/financial results

Residential, Commercial  • 

Chartwell Retirement Residences, (CSH-UN-T), Canada Newswire
Parkit Enterprise Inc., (PKT-X), Newsfile Corp.

Minto hits Florida lifestyle community home run

Residential  •  Financial Post  •  RENX

Minto Group’s Latitude Margaritaville Daytona, a Jimmy Buffett-branded, 55-and-over active-lifestyle community, symbolizes the Ottawa-based firm’s success in the U.S., representing about 10 per cent of its portfolio. “It is going like gangbusters for us,” executive chair Roger Greenberg said.

U.S. downtown department stores get residential revival

Residential, Commercial  •  Bloomberg

When it opened in 1915, the May Company building in downtown Cleveland was billed as the largest department store in Ohio and the third largest in the United States.

Office buildings dominate Hungarian CRE market

Commercial  •  Lexology

Despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, office buildings have proven to be Hungary’s most popular investment asset. Office properties accounted for around 57% of law firm DLA Piper Hungary’s transactions, a mere three per cent year-over-year decline.

Newmark picks a down time to open Hong Kong office

Commercial  •  South China Morning Post  •  PR Newswire  •  PR Newswire

Newmark Group has opened its first office in Hong Kong, as one of America’s biggest listed commercial real estate consultancies picked a down-market moment to establish a foothold in the world’s most expensive property market.

B.C. OKs bill to allow ‘cooling-off period’ for home buyers

Residential  •  CBC

Bill 12, which looks to provide purchasers with a “cooling-off period” in which buyers can change their minds and cancel the purchase with little-to-no legal consequences, has quietly passed through the B.C. legislature.

With rates rising, tenants could see rent hikes

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

As interest rates shoot up and price growth slows, some highly indebted landlords are beginning to feel the squeeze acutely. That financial pain could eventually push Toronto and Vancouver rents rents even higher, warns Ron Butler, a Toronto-based mortgage broker.

Halifax market won’t cool off anytime soon: Broker

Residential  •  Global News  •  Saltwire

A Halifax realtor who’s been in the business for more than three decades says he’s never seen the housing market so hot. Mark Stein, a broker with Priority 1 Real Estate, said he’s been “flat out” in recent weeks.

Airbnb regulation makes hosts legally vulnerable

Residential  •  CBC  •  Financial Post  •  Toronto Star

The growing drive by Ontario municipalities to regulate, license and crack down on online short-term rental services such as Airbnb may make hosts and landlords legally vulnerable like never before, according to Laura Gurr, a partner with Cohen Highley LLP.