Allied Properties REIT to buy Vancouver’s The Landing

RENX  Commercial  •  Office  •  Metro Vancouver

Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (AP-UN-T) has agreed to acquire The Landing at 375 Water St., considered to be one of the best class-I buildings in Vancouver.

Four-storey industrial development launches in Richmond

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial  •  Metro Vancouver

The trend toward multi-level industrial strata development in Metro Vancouver is picking up steam, with two more local builders partnering on the four-storey, 200,000-square-foot Vanguard project in Richmond. Alliance Partners and Union Allied will construct the facility.

PROREIT buys Moncton industrial property for $8.36M

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX

PROREIT (PRV-UN-T) announced the closing of its acquisition of a 100 per cent interest in a 135,494 square-foot light industrial property in Moncton. The temperature-controlled building was acquired for $8.36 million before closing costs, representing a going-in capitalization rate of 6.80 per cent.

Potential impact of COVID-19 crisis on Canadian CRE

RENX  Commercial  •  Investment  •  National

While retail is going through a transformative period due to changes in shopping habits and demographic trends, Canada’s office, industrial and multi-family residential rental markets have registered near-record low vacancy levels and near-record high rental rate averages.

Feds purchasing up to $50B of mortgage pools

Residential  •  Canada Newswire  •  Financial Post

As a measure to bolster the financial system and the Canadian economy, the government is launching a revised Insured Mortgage Purchase Program (IMPP). Under this program, the government will purchase up to $50 billion of insured mortgage pools through CMHC.

Ontario halts new evictions due to COVID-19

Residential  •  Toronto Star

No new eviction orders will be issued until further notice in Ontario due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ministry of the Attorney General spokesperson Jesse Robichaud confirmed the news in an email to the Star Monday evening.

Cineplex closes all its theatres in Canada

Commercial  •  Financial Post  •  Toronto Star

Canada’s largest movie exhibitor Cineplex (CGX-T) is closing all of its 165 theatres nationwide until at least April 2 in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The chain also was to temporarily shutter entertainment complexes the Rec Room and Playdium effective Monday night.

B.C. casinos to close to limit COVID-19 spread

Commercial  •  CityNews  •  Daily Hive

All casinos in B.C. closed indefinitely starting Monday night. The move comes after provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced further restrictions on public gatherings in an attempt to control the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tim Hortons to close dining rooms

Commercial  •  Financial Post  •  Financial Post  •  Toronto Star

Tim Hortons will close its dining rooms in Canada and only provide take-out and drive-thru service in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the chain told franchisees Monday. Tims said changes, to start Tuesday, will remain in effect “until further notice.”

Aritzia, other retailers, closing stores until further notice

Commercial  •  CTV  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Daily Hive

Clothing retailer Aritzia Inc. is closing all of its stores until further notice as businesses across Canada move to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Plans resubmitted for KingSett Capital complex

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto  •  RENX

Following planning submissions in 2018 and 2019, as well as an appearance at Toronto’s Design Review Panel last summer, KingSett Capital‘s plan to build a mixed-use, multi-tower complex at 300 The East Mall has evolved yet again.

Investor demand surges for Van. apartment buildings

Residential  •  Western Investor

A series of cuts in lending rates has led to a sudden surge in demand for multifamily buildings in Metro Vancouver, according to Mark Goodman, a principal with Goodman Commercial Inc.

Amazon to recruit 100,000 workers due to coronavirus

Commercial  •  Nasdaq

Amazon is on a hiring spree in the U.S. amid the coronavirus outbreak. Amazon said it is seeing a “significant increase” in online demand for products, particularly from persons most vulnerable to being out in public due to the pandemic.

Large investors turn to Hines European core fund

Commercial  •  IPE Real Assets

Hines’ $2.2 billion Cdn pan-European core real estate fund had its strongest year for capital raising in 2019 – $1.9 billion – as Japanese and large investors turned to the vehicle to gain exposure to the region.

The most expensive U.S. office submarkets

Commercial  •  PropertyShark

The U.S. commercial real estate market saw a total of 2,619 major deals last year, averaging $233 per square foot of office space. The office market is presently driven by Silicon Valley tech giants as well as financial conglomerates in New York.

Oregon PERF ends U.S. mall REIT portfolio after 20 years

Commercial  •  IPE Real Assets

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund (PERF) has terminated its porfolio of shopping-mall REITs which had been managed by Cohen & Steers for 20 years. The $261-million US portfolio held investments in three REITs: Simon Property, Taubman and Macerich.

Mortgage stress test changes suspended indefinitely: OSFI

Residential  •  Castanet

Changes to the federal mortgage stress test, scheduled for April 6, have been put on hold indefinitely, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions announced. OSFI had previously announced the stress test would be relaxed for insured-mortgage applicants.

B of C unveils new measures to support mortgage markets

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

The Bank of Canada unveiled new measures to keep Canada’s financial system flowing and support mortgage markets. It said it “stands ready, as a proactive measure,” to purchase Canada Mortgage Bonds to ensure “that this important funding market functions well.”

Toronto needs new zoning laws: Housing advocates

Residential  •  CBC

People in the urban planning and real estate industries say Toronto must introduce significant changes to zoning regulations if it wants to combat the ongoing housing crisis. The calls come while Toronto’s planning department works on a new report.

Toronto housing market in flux

Residential  •  Toronto Star