Real Estate News Exchange (RENX)
c/o Squall Inc.
P.O. Box 1484, Stn. B
Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 5P6

thankyou@renx.ca
Canada: 1-855-569-6300

Hines creates new Canadian fund, to invest up to $2B

2 years ago

Global real estate firm Hines has created a closed-end fund for up to $2 billion in investment capacity dedicated to key markets in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary.

The Well, one of Toronto’s largest ongoing downtown developments, has now leased 98 per cent of its 1.17 million square feet of office space, its developers say.

 • 

The first residential high-rises – 26 and 34 storeys, respectively – in the Township of Langley have broken ground in the billion-dollar, 74-acre Latimer Heights master-planned community by Vesta Properties. Latimer Heights also includes a retail village with 36,000 square feet of commercial space.

 •   • 

Carbonleo and its Quebec partners are buying back the shares held by Oxford in DIX30, a popular “lifestyle” shopping centre on the South Shore of Montreal. The objective is to add 4,000 housing units in coming years.

Future Designated Employment Lands for Sale

 • 

Pedestrian traffic data from Société de développement commercial (SDC) du Quartier Latin confirms it: Montrealers and vacationers are back on the streets and stores in the heart of the metropolis, providing a boon for businesses and the tourism industry post-pandemic.

FCT

Sponsored by

When should a Leasehold Endorsement be considered? The simple answer: anytime you have a leasehold interest.

 • 

San Francisco-headquartered Faire Wholesale Inc., with 250 staff (comprised mostly of engineers) in the Kitchener-Waterloo region, announced a new downtown Toronto office Thursday with room for at least 150 staff. Faire’s executives are confident it won’t stop there.

 • 

GSK Canada has opened its new headquarters at 100 Milverton Dr, in Mississauga, the city where the company has been located for over 30 years. The headquarters includes elements such as LED lighting with occupancy timers and water-reducing features.

 • 

CIBC REIT analyst Dean Wilkinson writes REITs are currently trading at a roughly 24 per cent discount to net asset value compared with the usual five per cent discount and a return to normal implies “healthy double digit upside” for the sector.

 • 

McKesson Canada has opened a 120,000-square-foot pharmaceutical distribution centre, tripling the size of its legacy operation in Winnipeg. The $65-million facility coincided with construction of another distribution centre in Edmonton that is three times the size.

IMAGE: Chad Griffiths, partner with NAI Commercial.

Partner, NAI Commercial

 • 

Second-hand clothing thrift chain Value Village is opening two uniquely branded stores in Toronto this summer. The new stores in Toronto’s west end will only carry clothing, shoes and accessories, and will be distinctly titled “Value Village Boutique.”

2385 Meadowpine

 •   • 

New York City’s office occupancy has pushed past 40 per cent for the first time since the start of the pandemic. The Kastle Back to Work Barometer increased to 41.2 per cent; Kastle Systems measures office occupancy by entry into office buildings.

 • 

Toymaker Lego on Wednesday said it will invest more than $1 billion in a factory in Chesterfield County, Va., to shorten supply chains and keep up with growing demand for its coloured plastic bricks in one of its biggest markets.

 • 

KORE Power, the Coeur d’Alene, Idaho–based maker of high-tech batteries, will break ground this fall on KOREPlex, its planned $1.25 billion gigafactory in Buckeye, Ariz. The purchase of the 214-acre site, situated 40 miles from Phoenix, for $29 million was announced last August.

 • 

The Federal Reserve made its boldest move to tamp down inflation with a 0.75 percentage-point rate increase, the largest since 1994. CRE economists and executives say the industry has already seen impacts from earlier rate hikes, including higher cost of debt capital.

Yardi

 •   •   • 

Even though B.C. real estate is “highly vulnerable” to money laundering, real estate agents report few suspicious transactions and the federal regulator should provide more guidance on what to report, according to B.C.’s report on money laundering released Wednesday.

 •   •   • 

Soaring mortgage rates have blown up a foundational argument for owning a home versus renting. No longer is a monthly mortgage payment comparable to the cost of renting a place. Renters, even in expensive markets, are saving hundreds over owning.

 •   •   • 

Starting Oct. 1, London will begin regulating short-term online rentals, including a new rule limiting such properties to a person’s own home. If you want to rent out a house, you’ve got to live there most of the time.

 • 

Statistics Canada says the amount Canadians owe relative to their income pulled back in the first quarter from the record level set in the fourth quarter of 2021 as incomes grew faster than debt.

Industry Events