Rakotta converts Mtl. offices, hotels into rental apts.

RENX  Residential  •  Apartments  •  Greater Montreal

Rakotta Real Estate is making it a habit to transform former hotels and office buildings in the western sector of downtown Montreal into rental housing aimed at university students, young professionals and young families.

Industrial assets deliver outsized Q1 returns: MSCI

Commercial  •  REMI Network  •  RENX

Canada stands out in newly released global investment performance data for outsized returns on industrial assets during Q1 2022. MSCI pegs the annualized total return at 35.7 per cent — a surge from the two-year annualized total return of 22% recorded in Q4 2021.

Metro Vancouver industrial vacancies ease: C&W

Commercial  •  Western Investor

Metro Vancouver’s industrial vacancy rate, which hit a North American low of 0.1 per cent this year, according to Colliers, has eased to 0.5 per cent due to a huge increase in supply, a new Cushman & Wakefield market survey says.

T.O. council rejects major developments as term ends

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

As the 2018-’22 term concluded, Toronto City Council rejected Fengate‘s proposal for a five-building mixed-use community at 10 Concorde Pl. in Don Mills and Fieldgate Urban‘s seven-building proposal at 670 Progress Ave. in Scarborough. Other proposals were also denied.

Kelowna rejects Safari Capital’s three-tower proposal

Residential, Commercial  •  Castanet

Kelowna city council has rejected Safari Capital‘s proposal to build 20-, 27- and 33-storey towers in the Coronation Avenue neighbourhood. The overall development would feature more that 700 residential units, an 85-room hotel and some ground floor commercial.

The People Space › People Space: Promotions, hirings at Terra Firma, AIC, Crombie…

Don Wilcox: Managing Editor

Teranet, Sustainalytics team up for climate risk data

Residential, Commercial  •  Sustainable Biz Canada

As part of its strategy to expand its climate risk assessment capabilities, Toronto-based Teranet Inc. is partnering with Morningstar Sustainalytics, a leader in the field of ESG research, ratings and data collection.

COVID’s seventh wave hampers Mtl.’s office return

Commercial  •  La Presse

The rise in the number of workers returning to office towers has come to a halt with COVID-19 cases rising in Montreal, data from Avison Young showed. Pedestrian traffic has been at a standstill since the beginning of June.

Aryze proposes 85 apt. units in Vic West

Residential, Commercial  •  Victoria Times Colonist

Aryze Developments has proposed to build a six-storey rental building atop three commercial/industrial units at 480 and 492 Esquimalt Rd. in Victoria. The building would include 85 units – 25 studios, 30 one-bedrooms and 30 two-bedrooms – along with 13,000 square feet of commercial space at grade.

West Van. approves three-storey mixed-use

Residential, Commercial  •  Western Investor

West Vancouver council has given the OK to Dundarave Beachside LP’s three-storey mixed-use development at 2452 to 2496 Marine Dr. The building will hold 55 strata homes, 12,000 square feet of commercial space and 10,000 square feet of office space.

The Industrial Real Estate Show › Podcast: Industrial planning, development with Eric Aderneck

Chad Griffiths: Partner, NAI Commercial

REIT second-quarter financial results

Residential, Commercial  • 

Melcor REIT, (MR-UN-T), Globe Newswire
Morguard North American Residential REIT, (MRG-UN-T), Canada Newswire

CF, Boreal JV acquires 15 Dutch warehouses

Commercial  •  Cadillac Fairview media release  •  IPE Real Assets

The Boreal and Cadillac Fairview joint venture has closed its third deal, acquiring a logistics portfolio in the Netherlands for an undisclosed sum from Europa Capital. The 1.5-million-square-foot portfolio comprises 15 warehouses across four regions, the majority being last-mile distribution centres.

CPP backs Octopus Energy’s latest $550M fundraise

Commercial  •  The Energyst  •  IPE Real Assets

Existing investors are backing privately held Octopus Energy Group by injecting a massive $550 million of new funds. CPP Investments has committed an extra $225 million US to Octopus’ efforts to accelerate the integration of renewables in the U.K. power system.

Amazon buys more land as it pulls out of leased spaces

Commercial  •  Bisnow

Amazon has reportedly spent $2.3 billion US on property acquisitions in the last two years, as the e-commerce giant shifts from being a tenant to an owner-operator. The acquisitions span land, offices, warehouses and shopping centres.

Co-warehousing comes to the industrial sector

Commercial  •  Commercial Property Executive

To serve industrial tenants who don’t want to invest in large-scale warehouse facilities, private equity real estate firm Capstone Equities launched its Portal Warehousing concept last year, a sort of flexible warehouse solution offering smaller spaces and shared amenities.

Real estate market storm clouds are gathering

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Professionals who help homeowners grapple with rising interest rates and debt are trying to keep up with the volume of new business. “We’re aware that the storm is brewing and likely to get worse,” warns real estate lawyer Mark Morris.

Ontario homeowners moving in search of affordability

Residential  •  Financial Post

High home prices, exacerbated by rising mortgage rates, are forcing some homeowners in Ontario to sell and find more affordable digs, says a LowestRates.ca survey. Over the past two years, 20 per cent have had to move to lower their costs.

Report challenges Toronto to confront ‘renoviction’

Residential  •  Financial Post

City of Toronto leaders are being challenged to confront a surge in “renovictions,” a phenomenon that has already caused tensions between landlords, tenants, and politicians in other big municipalities, including Vancouver and Montreal.

More families choosing multi-generational living

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

According to new census data by Statistics Canada, the number of homes shared by multiple generations of a family, two or more families, or one family living with unrelated individuals has grown by 45 per cent in the past two decades.