Calgary’s flood of new rental apts.: 100 projects in 5 yrs.

RENX  Residential  •  Apartments  •  Calgary

Calgary has experienced an explosion of interest in the purpose-built rental market, with 100 buildings launched over the past five years. Another 96 projects have been approved by the city and are either under construction, or planned.

Nicola acquires Van.’s City Centre hotel: Sources

Commercial  •  Vancouver Sun  •  RENX

Nicola Wealth Real Estate has acquired Vancouver’s City Centre Motor Hotel, one of Lower Mount Pleasant’s prime properties, according to sources. The purchase price is believed to be around $60 million. The property’s 2021 property assessment is $36,958,000.

Technological giants eye Quebec for data centres

Commercial  •  La Presse  •  RENX

With its cheap and renewable electricity, Quebec is dreaming of becoming a new El Dorado for technological giants. Fifty data centres are currently installed in the Canadian province, versus 39 at the start of 2019.

Innovation driving transformation of retail

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

The rise of e-commerce has retailers re-evaluating their retail footprint, Colliers executive Madeleine Nicholls says. Walmart Canada announced in November that more than one in four of its 403 Canadian locations will be renovated to make more space for e-commerce fulfillment.

Central Walk to give Victoria mall a facelift

Residential, Commercial  •  Victoria Times Colonist

Central Walk, the new international owner of Victoria’s Mayfair Shopping Centre and a commercial lot to the south, is embarking on a long-term development plan that includes new housing. Central Walk owns and manages  projects in Asia and North America.

The Saskatchewan Edge › Should you hire a broker to negotiate your lease renewal?

Barry Stuart: Managing Partner and Senior Sales Associate , ICR Commercial Real Estate

4Tracks investing $12.5M in CentrePort facility

Commercial  •  Winnipeg Free Press  •  RENX

Rosser, Man.-based transportation company 4Tracks Ltd., which owns 40 acres in Manitoba’s 20,000-acre CentrePort Canada, is investing $12.5 million to build a 27,000-square-foot building, which will include an office, warehouse and cross-dock facility. 4Tracks said the new space should open in September.

Pandemic to accelerate interest in urban office: Emory

Commercial  •  Bloomberg  •  RENX

VIDEO: Allied Properties REIT (AP-UN-T) CEO Michael Emory discusses Q3 earnings and his outlook for CRE as workers return to the office. He says tech, advertising, media and information companies have been Allied’s dominant tenants over the past year.

Investors see enduring value in heritage buildings

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver  •  RENX

Allied Properties REIT’s (AP-UN-T) decision to buy Vancouver’s Dominion Building highlights the enduring attraction of heritage structures, as some tenants seek well-maintained, older and distinctive buildings because they value the prestige they believe the locations carry.

Limen proposes three-building mixed-use development

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

Limen has proposed a TACT Architecture-designed mixed-use development at 189-195 Old Weston Rd. The proposal includes eight- and 20-storey condo buildings with a total of 346 units, including 48 three-bedrooms. The proposal also includes a stand-alone four-storey arts collective and retail building.

Toronto’s first car condo coming to Etobicoke

Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

Toronto’s first condo for cars is on its way at 20 Towns Rd., in Etobicoke. The ToyBx project offers the option to own commercial condominium units specifically tailored for car storage at the site of a former purpose-built concrete distillery building.

Mission resumes construction on Kelowna collapse site

Residential  •  CBC

Family and friends of the five men killed by the crane collapse in Kelowna in July are asking Mission Group to put its downtown construction project on hold until WorkSafeBC completes its investigation into the cause of the incident.

A&W to launch trial of Pret A Manger chain in Canada

Commercial  •  Toronto Star  •  Globe Newswire

A&W Revenue Royalties Income Fund (AW-UN-T) says it has reached an agreement in principle with the U.K.-based Pret A Manger chain to bring the sandwich and coffee chain to Canada. Details of the exclusive rights remain subject to negotiation.

Colliers to acquire Colliers Italy

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire  •  RENX

Colliers (CIGI-T) has entered into an agreement to acquire a controlling interest in Colliers International Italia S.p.A., Colliers Real Estate Services Italia S.R.L. and Colliers Real Estate Management Services Italia S.R.L., collectively Colliers Italy and previously an affiliate operation.

New demand for office space drops in U.S.

Commercial  •  Business Wire

After a prolonged nine-month surge in demand for office space which defied typical seasonal patterns, new U.S. demand receded 17 per cent month-over-month in September. The seven-city VTS Office Demand Index is now 28% lower than it was, on average, pre-pandemic.

Chinese developers hit by downgrades

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

Chinese developers took a drubbing on Thursday, with shares and bonds falling, creditors seizing assets and rating agencies distributing more downgrades, ahead of a final debt payment deadline for China Evergrande Group on Friday.

Tewin development kept inside Ottawa urban boundary

Residential, Commercial  •  CBC  •  Ottawa Citizen  •  CBC

Ottawa city council has voted to keep the Tewin lands inside Ottawa’s urban boundary. One councillor argued creating a new suburb in the rural southeast end, with unknown costs for city infrastructure, does not make for sound urban planning.

In condo land, COVID-19 vaccine rules are hazy

Residential  •  Globe and Mail

The consensus in the legal community advising the 12,000 condominium corporations in Ontario is the rules for proof of vaccination to access indoor spaces don’t apply to the province’s approximately 1.8 million condo residents – unless condo boards decide they want them to.

Three-building 55-plus complex proposed in Wpg.

Residential  •  Winnipeg Free Press

McGowan Russell Group has proposed a three-building, 55-plus residential complex in Winnipeg’s Charleswood neighbourhood. The two five-storey and one seven-storey structures would create 275 housing units at 363-365 Oakdale Dr. and would include 412 parking stalls and 42 bicycle spots.

Incentives would make housing more affordable: BCREA

Residential  •  CTV  •  B.C. Government media release  •  Vancouver Sun

The B.C. Real Estate Association said more incentives are needed as the province grapples with low supply, a major factor in sky-high pricing. The association is also advocating for measures that would speed up development approvals.