Minto continues buying Toronto, Durham dev. sites

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

Minto Communities GTA has followed two late-2021 development site acquisitions with two more this year, continuing a steady stream of activity in the Greater Toronto Area. The most recent sites are in Toronto and Durham Region.

Lamb proposes 44-storey mixed-use

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

Lamb Development Corp. has proposed a a 44-storey mixed-use building at 134 Parliament St. in the King-Parliament area of downtown Toronto. The architects—Alliance-designed building would include 327 residential units and just over 2,000 square feet of  ground-floor retail.

Five-storey, 51-unit rental proposed for Ottawa

Residential  •  Ottawa Business Journal

42 Northside Ltd, the owner of a property at 42 Northside Rd. in Ottawa’s Bells Corners, is proposing to build a five-storey apartment building with 51 rental units on a site now occupied by a former restaurant and surface parking lot.

Real World of Real Estate › Podcast: Building reserve fund planning, with NLD Consulting

Gerald Tostowaryk:

Sewer assessments play key role in T.O. development

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

Toronto’s reach-for-the-sky development approach has a resulting impact underground. Imagine the number of kitchen and bathroom sinks, bathtubs and toilets in a 1,000-unit tower. Developers need to take stress on the city’s sewer system into account when designing their projects.

Downtowns need range of industries to thrive: CUI

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

Mary Rowe, president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI), said many downtowns, in Canada and elsewhere, have tended to be monocultures, dependent on a small cluster of industries. That needs to change, she said.

Sponsored by Austin Birch Latest Austin Birch report predicts booming 2022 condo market

The GTA’s leading pre-construction advisors share their latest insider insights for the 2022 market in the latest Austin Birch Report. The report shows evidence of another incredible year of growth for Toronto and examines new, noteworthy changes in the industry.

Van. Chinatown’s oldest building to become museum

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  CBC  •  Vancouver Sun

The Chinese Canadian Museum will have its first permanent home in Vancouver’s Chinatown – in the historic building that now houses real estate marketer Bob Rennie’s private art museum. The Chinese Canadian Museum Society will acquire the Wing Sang building.

Saks OFF 5TH to shut Calgary, Markham stores

Commercial  •  Retail Insider

Hudson’s Bay Company-owned off-price chain Saks OFF 5TH is shuttering stores at CF Market Mall in Calgary and at CF Markville in Markham. Saks OFF 5TH will continue to run 15 stores in Canada for the time being.

Zara to shutter Bloor Street store after 22 years

Commercial  •  Retail Insider

Spanish fast-fashion retailer Zara will shut its downtown Toronto store at 50 Bloor St. W. at the end of this month. The two-level store was the first in the Toronto market when it opened on April 11, 2000.

Artis, partnerships acquire 10% of Dream Office

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX  •  RENX

Artis REIT (AX-UN-T) has acquired an aggregate of 34,900 units, Series A of Dream Office REIT (D-UN-T) for $856,446. Artis, together with partnerships managed by Sandpiper Group, owns an aggregate of 5,386,429 units, representing approximately 10.06% of the 53,541,288 issued and outstanding voting units.

REIT fourth-quarter financial results

Residential, Commercial  • 

H&R REIT, (HR-UN-T), Canada Newswire
RioCan REIT, (REI-UN-T), Globe Newswire

Restaurant Brands nearly doubles quarterly profit

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Canada Newswire  •  Financial Post

Tim Hortons parent company Restaurant Brands International Inc. (QSR-T) reported its income nearly doubled in the fourth quarter, as its fast-food chains benefitted from fewer restrictions related to COVID-19.

Cineplex cuts quarterly loss

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

Cineplex Inc. (CGX-T) narrowed its net loss in the fourth quarter, as blockbusters such as Spider-Man: No Way Home drew audiences back to movie theatres – before renewed COVID-19 restrictions slowed the industry’s recovery in late December.

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts expands in Mexico

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts announced the new luxury tented resort Naviva will be an expansion of the existing Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita in an untouched enclave within the resort.

Retail REIT launches with $547M acquisition

Commercial  •  Bisnow

A portfolio acquisition of more than a half-billion dollars has a newly renamed retail REIT off to a fast start under its new moniker. American Finance Trust has completed the acquisition of 44 open-air U.S. shopping centres for $547 million

Feds don’t want to harm small investors

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

As home prices spiral out of control, Ahmed Hussen, the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion, said the federal government does not want to do anything that would harm “mom and pop” real estate investors.

Average home price sets record: CREA

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Toronto Star  •  Canada Newswire

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) says home sales in January fell compared with a year earlier, but still posted their second-best showing for the month as the average price climbed to record $748,450 in January, up 21 per cent year-over-year.

Annual pace of housing starts slowed in January: CMHC

Residential  •  Financial Post  •  Canada Newswire  •  Toronto Star

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts in January slowed compared with December. The national housing agency says the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts fell to 230,754 units in January compared with 238,405 in December.

Airbnb settles $6M class-action lawsuit

Residential  •  Toronto Star  •  CTV

Some 1.5 million Canadians are eligible to receive up to $45 in credit following a $6-million settlement in a lawsuit over Airbnb’s service fees. Users are eligible to receive the credit if they booked for the first time between Oct. 31, 2015, and June 25, 2019.