Darwin/QuadReal redevelopment back to drawing board

RENX  Residential, Commercial  •  Retail, Apartments, Condominiums  •  Metro Vancouver

Darwin Properties had spent five years planning a major new mixed-use redevelopment in North Vancouver, but the District of North Vancouver mayor and councillors weren’t entirely sold on the idea.

Damis proposes three-tower residential complex

Residential  •  Urban Toronto

Damis Properties has proposed to build predominantly residential towers of 30, 41, and 46 storeys, respectively, at 7 through 11 Rochefort Dr. in Toronto’s Flemingdon Park neighbourhood. The Diamond Schmitt Architects-designed towers would include a total of 1,322 residential units.

29-storey mixed-use proposed for Old Town

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

5050075 Ontario Ltd. has proposed a 29-storey mixed-use condo building at 550 Adelaide St. E. in Toronto’s Old Town neighbourhood. The Giannone Petricone Associates-designed building would feature a 10,764-square-foot automotive showroom at grade and 240 residential units including 137 one-bedrooms (57%), 73 two-bedrooms (30%) and 30 three-bedrooms (13%).

Starlight’s new U.S. Residential Fund tops 1,100 rentals

RENX  Residential  •  Apartments  •  International

Starlight’s two-month-old U.S. Residential Fund (SURF-A-X) will push its portfolio past the 1,100-unit mark with the pending acquisition of the class-A Emerson at Buda multifamily community in Austin, Texas.

BSR acquires three Texas apt. communities for $273.6M

Residential  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX

BSR REIT (HOM-UN-T) has acquired Aura Benbrook Apartments and Overlook by the Park Apartments, both in the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan statistical area as well as The M at Lakeline  Apartments in Austin, Texas for a combined purchase price of $273.6 million.

The Apartment Building Expert › Renters often pay higher municipal taxes than homeowners

Derek Lobo: Founder and CEO , SVN Rock Advisors Inc.

IBM spinoff Kyndryl establishing Montreal hub

Commercial  •  Montreal Gazette

A new name in tech is expanding in Montreal. New York-based IBM spinoff Kyndryl (KD-N) plans to hire about 350 over the next five years to staff its new cloud innovation centre. Kyndryl expects to sign a downtown office this month.

Tech can aid building reserve funds in unexpected ways

Residential, Commercial  •  Sustainable Biz Canada – Energy Tech Today

Condo corporations and rental building owners are always looking for resourceful solutions to keep budgets balanced and cash reserves healthy. With inflationary pressures on the horizon and volatile markets, there’s no promise how healthy reserve funds will be in future.

It’s a seller’s market for industrial assets

Commercial  •  Toronto Storeys

“It’s a very good seller’s market right now,” CBRE Vancouver’s Managing Director Jason Kiselbach said. “There’s huge demand from private and institutional capital for industrial product; it seems like people can’t get enough of it, so you’ll hit high valuation.”

‘Non-issue’ if Omicron delays return to office: Cooper

Commercial  •  Bloomberg

A potentially delayed return to the office due to an imminent threat of the COVID-19 Omicron variant should be treated as a “non-issue,” according to Michael Cooper, chief executive officer and chair of Dream Office REIT (D-UN-T).

City of Ottawa, banks pause return-to-office plan

Commercial  •  CTV  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Toronto Star

The City of Ottawa’s plans to have more of its employees return to the office in January have been put on hold with the new Omicron variant set to take over as the dominant strain of COVID-19 in Ontario.

Glass Lewis latest to support Cominar takeover

Commercial  •  La Presse  •  Canada Newswire  •  Canada Newswire

After the independent voting advisory agency ISS, it is the turn of the Glass Lewis agency to recommend holders of Cominar (CUF-UN-T) units vote in favor of the proposed sale of the Quebec REIT to a Canderel-led consortium.

Oxford partners on 42-storey Aussie build-to-rent tower

Residential  •  The Urban Developer  •  IPE Real Assets  •  Oxford media release

Oxford Properties is partnering with PDG Corporation and Indi to develop a 42-storey tower in the Southbank neighbourhood to take advantage of Melbourne’s growing built-to-rent market. The 434-apartment tower will include 40 for key workers at 132 Kavanagh St. in Southbank.

SL Green unloads 707 11th Ave after less than two years

Commercial  •  The Real Deal  •  CP Executive

After almost two years of ownership, SL Green has sold 707 11th Avenue. The company sold the 160,000-square-foot, loft-style building for $95 million to an undisclosed domestic buyer. The REIT purchased the West Side office building in January 2020 for $90 million.

Global hotel cancellations rise ahead of holidays

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

Concerns over the Omicron coronavirus variant and fresh travel restrictions have led to a spike in hotel booking cancellations globally, online hotel search firm Trivago said on Tuesday, threatening to upend a fragile recovery in tourism.

New York considers law to end single-family zoning

Residential  •  Bisnow

New York lawmakers are weighing a new bill that aims to end exclusionary zoning and allow for multiple units to be built on most lots earmarked for residential development. Under the law, localities wouldn’t be allowed to require large lot sizes or mandate off-street parking.

Sky-high Van. rents expected to rise 6% in 2022

Residential  •  CTV

According to a national rent report released by Rentals.ca and Bullpen Research and Consulting, Vancouver’s average rates could go up by six per cent in 2022. This year, average rental rates ended at $2,485, but could go up to $2,635, the report suggests.

GTA condo price gains to outpace detached homes

Residential  •  Financial Post  •  Canada Newswire  •  Montreal Gazette

Royal LePage’s 2022 forecast, out this morning, predicts the median price of a condo in Toronto will rise 12% to $763,800 by Q4 2022, beating the 10% gain that will take a detached home to $1,564,200.

Ontario to raise tax on foreign homebuyers

Residential  •  Globe and Mail

Ontario is poised to increase its speculation tax for foreign property buyers. An official says the province plans in the new year to boost its non-resident speculation tax to 20 per cent from 15 per cent, while also applying the tax provincewide.

Victoria cracks down on illegal short-term rentals

Residential  •  Victoria Times Colonist

The City of Victoria is cracking down on operators of illegal short-term rentals, with one condo owner facing a fine of $15,200. The city recently won four court cases against people operating short-term rentals without a business licence.