Skyline sells 6 Cambridge industrial bldgs. to KingSett

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial  •  Toronto / GTA

Skyline Commercial REIT has sold a six-building industrial portfolio in Cambridge, Ont., for $58.2 million, bringing its dispositions since January 21 to over $355 million. The 291,000-square-foot-plus portfolio was acquired by KingSett Real Estate Growth LP No. 7.

High-density Burnaby Metrotown site sells for over $45M

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

A highly coveted 1.4-acre site in the Metrotown area of Burnaby, B.C., has sold for over $45 million and will likely become a large-scale high-density multiresidential development, taking advantage of the strong residential demand in the area.

Surrey endorses Semiahmoo Town Centre Plan

Residential, Commercial  •  City of Surrey media release  •  Business In Vancouver

The City of Surrey Council has approved the Semiahmoo Town Centre Plan, which encompasses 336 acres and includes residential and commercial redevelopment within the existing Semiahmoo Shopping Centre site and along transit-served mixed-use high streets.

Kayak maker building 255K-sq.-ft. Montreal warehouse

Commercial  •  La Presse

Laval-based kayak and sled manufacturer Pélican International is building a 255,000-square-foot warehouse at 2900, chemin de la Baronnie on the South Shore of Montreal. The investment, spread over several years, will be around $25 million.

Avenue seeks to repurpose Calgary office building

Commercial  •  CBC  •  RENX

Avenue Living Real Estate Opportunity intends to apply for a development permit to convert the Paramount Building, a vacant five-storey office building in Calgary’s Beltline area, to a self-storage business. The building would maintain its ground-floor retail/commercial space.

The Industrial Real Estate Show › Podcast: SIOR president Patrick Sentner with host Chad Griffiths

Chad Griffiths: Partner, NAI Commercial

The age of the high-rise arrives in Brampton

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Solmar Development Corp.’s proposal to build Bristol Place, a pair of 48-storey towers at 199 Main St., is still awaiting approval from Brampton’s planning department, but it’s probable these will be among the first high-rise towers in the city.

Toronto’s Dufferin Mall getting major facelift

Commercial  •  Retail Insider  •  RENX

Shopping centres remain a powerful conduit for human interaction is a philosophy held by H&R REIT executive vice-president, development and construction Matthew Kingston. He says it was a driving force behind the redevelopment of H&R’s former Toronto Dufferin Mall property.

Canadian Net acquires Quebec retail property for $6.5M

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire  •  RENX

Canadian Net REIT  (NET-UN-X) announced the acquisition of a 29,904-square-foot retail property in Verchères, Que. The property is leased to a Metro grocery store, a Brunet pharmacy and a National Bank of Canada branch. Total consideration paid was $6,500,000.

Yorkton acquires two B.C. multires properties for $4.6M

Residential  •  The Newswire

Yorkton Equity Group Inc. (YEG-X) has closed on the purchase of two Fort St. John, B.C., residential properties: Canterbury Estates, a 21-unit townhouse project; and Midtown Apartments, a 12-unit apartment building, for $4,629,800.

Distillery District building finds new life as hotel

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  RENX

Over the next three years, Easton’s Group of Hotels‘ chairman Steve Gupta and his team are going to transform Rack House D in Toronto’s Distillery District into one of the hottest hotels in the city, a Curio by Hilton.

BKR Capital sets up office in Montréal

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

North York-headquartered BKR Capital (formerly known as Black Innovation Capital), announced it is opening an office at Montréal’s Espace CDPQ, a venture capital hub created by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ).

Mohawk acquires 48K-sq.-ft. Chicago-area MOB

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

Mohawk Asset Management Corp., a Toronto-based alternative asset management firm specializing in health-care real estate, announced the purchase of a three-storey, 48,000-square-foot, medical/professional office building in Lisle, Ill., by the Mohawk Chicago (DuPage County) Opportunity Partner.

PSP, Greystar JV on London student housing

Residential  •  Canada Newswire

The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments), one of Canada’s largest pension investment managers, and Greystar Real Estate Partners have begun work on a new 39-storey, 905-bed, purpose-built student accommodation asset near London Bridge Station.

U.S. companies aren’t cutting back on office space

Commercial  •  Harvard Business Review

In monthly surveys of 5,000 American workers and 500 U.S. employers, a huge shift to hybrid work is abundantly clear for office and knowledge workers. However, data suggests cuts in office space of only one to two per cent on average.

Sidewalk Labs is now a unicorn

Residential, Commercial  •  Financial Post  •  Financial Post

After Alphabet shelved plans to build its own city and wound down the company in charge of the project, a group of former employees is carrying on its legacy. Their startup, Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners LLC, is pursuing ambitious infrastructure projects.

Van. January home sales slow as supply dwindled

Residential  •  Toronto Star

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says January home sales slowed from a record-setting pace last year as the number of properties available dropped. The board says home sales totalled 2,285 last month, an almost five per cent year-over-year decrease.

As market thaws, signs of migration back to Toronto

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Frozen listings in the Toronto market are showing signs of a gradual thaw as buyers and sellers enter 2022 with renewed energy. “They’re saying ‘I’m going to do this – COVID or no COVID,’ ” says Sotheby’s International Realty Canada’s Elli Davis.

OPINION: GTA TOD plans are too large

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

Queen’s Park recently announced two “transit-oriented communities” in the Toronto suburbs of Richmond Hill and Markham. The Ford government is taking a laudable planning idea and supersizing it, pushing for massive density without the ingredients to create a successful community.

Should T.O. use size limits to rein in ‘monster homes’?

Residential  •  Toronto Star

For newly built homes, Seattle representatives decided three years ago there would be limits restricting the size you could build. On a typical, 5,000-square-foot lot, the biggest new house allowed would be 2,500 square feet.