Toronto’s Gehry-designed Forma condo tower selling well

RENX  Residential  •  Condominiums  •  Toronto / GTA

The 73-storey east tower of Toronto’s Frank Gehry-designed Forma condominiums sold half its suites in six weeks. “This building is one of a kind and our sales velocity in these economic headwinds proves it,” Westdale Properties COO Mitchell Cohen said.

Lender alleges delays blew up London project budget

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

A nearly complete mixed-use retail and residential rental project has been pushed into receivership in London, Ont., as its lender alleges construction delays blew up an initial $18-million construction budget and dozens of contractors claim millions in unpaid work.

Firms allegedly collected deposits in Paradise’s name

Residential  •  CBC

A CBC News investigation revealed Paradise Developments Inc. has been trying to prevent a number of individuals and companies — including two that have used the similar-sounding name — from collecting deposits for homes in its GTA developments.

B.C. municipalities must make mass timber home building more feasible

Zack Ross: President, Cape Group

Molson investing $60 million in Toronto plant

Commercial  •  Toronto Star

In attempting to adapt to dwindling beer consumption, Molson Coors (TAP-N) has invested $100 million into the world of hard seltzers in the past year, including a $60-million investment in a new production and packaging line at its Toronto facility.

Couche-Tard reaches deal over Wilsons acquisition

Commercial  •  Toronto Star  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX

Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD-A-T), which has signed a deal to buy the Wilsons chain of gas stations in Atlantic Canada, has reached an agreement with the Competition Bureau to resolve concerns over the acquisition. Couche-Tard has agreed to sell 46 Wilsons sites.

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Recession will return employees to the office: HR exec

Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal

The rising risk of a recession could give bosses the leverage they need to get their remote workforce back into the office, especially if employees want to hold onto their jobs, says Keynote Search CEO and co-founder James Baker.

Golfour proposes 25-, 35-storey condo towers

Residential  •  Urban Toronto

Golfour Property Services Inc. has proposed 25- and 35-storey mixed-use condominium towers at 5576 Yonge St. The Graziani + Corazza Architects-designed towers would comprise of 608 residential units: 32 studios, 366 one-bedrooms, 154 two-bedrooms and 56 three-bedrooms.

Fora, Firm Capital propose 35-storey residential

Residential  •  Urban Toronto

Fora Developments and Firm Capital are working with Goldberg Group on a proposed 35-storey residential development at 77 Erskine Ave. in Midtown. The gh3-designed tower would include 377 units – more than half one-bedroom, 35 per cent two-bedrooms and more than 10 per cent three-bedrooms.

Progressive Planet aims to cut cement’s carbon footprint

Residential, Commercial  •  Sustainable Biz Canada

Kamloops-headquartered Progressive Planet is one step closer to marketing a process that turns post-consumer glass into high-performance cement which also sequesters CO2.

A road trip through the Wright side of history

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Globe and Mail

With eight Frank Lloyd Wright-designed sites within driving distance from Toronto, Visit Buffalo Niagara, the Hagen History Center in Erie, Pa., and GO Laurel Highlands created the Great Wright Road Trip to honour America’s greatest architect.

U.S. medical office sector resists adversity

Commercial  •  Commercial Property Executive  •  Wealth Management

Despite reduced transaction volume and economic uncertainty, the U.S. medical office sector is showing resilience. “Health-care (real estate) is recession-proof and COVID-proof. Doctors still need a physical location to see their patients,” NAI James E. Hanson‘s Darren Lizzack said.

Lyft to scale back U.S. office space

Commercial  •  Financial Post

San Francisco-based Lyft Inc. plans to reduce its physical office space in its biggest U.S. markets as the ride-hailing company adapts to a largely remote workforce. It will sublease corporate offices in San Francisco, New York City, Seattle and Nashville.

Office Depot’s HQ to be sold by parent company

Commercial  •  Bisnow

The ODP Corp., the parent company of Office Depot and OfficeMax, has agreed to sell its Boca Raton headquarters and lease a portion of it back from the new owners for at least two years, it announced Wednesday.

Evergrande bondholders push own restructuring plan

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Wall Street Journal

Global funds that invested in China Evergrande Group’s bonds have come up with their own debt restructuring plan for the property developer and demanded that its chair repay liabilities with his own fortune, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

TD sees up to 25% drop in home prices by Q1 2023

Residential  •  Bloomberg  •  BlogTO  •  Financial Post

A new TD Bank report suggests the average price of a home in Canada could fall between 20 and 25 per cent from its peak seen earlier this year to the first quarter of 2023.

Country dwellers returning to the city

Residential  •  Globe and Mail

Michael Perkins and Christopher Charles – who ventured from Toronto to Innisfil, Ont., – are among a cohort of people giving up their brief flirtation with a quieter country life in favour of a return to the city.

Students particularly vulnerable to rent scams

Residential  •  Financial Post

Rental scams are increasing in lockstep with surging rents, with international students among the most common victims, according to data from Liv Strategies Inc., a Vancouver-based rental platform.

U.S. rents hit record as parts of NYC soar past $4,000

Residential  •  Bloomberg

The Zumper National Rent Index shows the median national one-bedroom rent for a newly listed one-bedroom at $1,486 in August, up 11.8% year-over-year, beating July’s record high. More than half of U.S. cities are showing double-digit rent hikes – some over 30%.