Christmas shoppers returning to stores on ‘grand scale’

RENX  Commercial  •  Retail  •  National

A new report by commercial real estate firm JLL indicates Canadians will return to shopping centres and physical retail sites on a “grand scale” this holiday season – which is great news for property owners and managers.

Van. office sector slated for smooth rebound: Colliers

Commercial  •  Toronto Storeys

Not only does Vancouver, at 6.2%, have the lowest office vacancy rate of all major North American cities, demand has been even stronger than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Dan Jordan, a broker with Colliers in Vancouver.

New Edm. office tenancies spur hope of recovery

Commercial  •  Edmonton Journal  •  Global News

Montoni JV acquires 4M sq. ft. of Montreal industrial land

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial, Land  •  Greater Montreal

Montoni Group has created a new partnership with Alberta Investment Management Co. (AIMCo) and another institutional pension fund to acquire a four-million-square-foot parcel of industrial development land in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville in Greater Montreal.

Charlottetown Mall to get $100M makeover

Commercial  •  CBC  •  RENX

Charlottetown Mall, purchased earlier this year by Pan American Properties and Killam Apartment REIT (KMP-UN-T), is getting a $100-million makeover and a new name: Royalty Crossing. The changes include the addition of office space and upgrades to the food court.

The Industrial Real Estate Show › Podcast: 2 experts discuss the construction industry and CRE

Chad Griffiths: Partner, NAI Commercial

Warehouses fill up as B.C. floods stop flow of goods

Commercial  •  Financial Post  •  Toronto Star  •  Montreal Gazette

Canada’s warehouses are filling up with everything from furniture to alcohol, after B.C. floods washed out critical rail and road lines, further disrupting supply chains. Vancouver’s warehousing/trucking firm 18 Wheels Logistics has filled every inch of its existing storage space.

Canada and B.C. create supply chain recovery group

Commercial  •  REMI Network  •  Retail Insider  •  Toronto Star

The federal and B.C. governments announced the creation of a joint Federal Provincial Supply Chain Recovery Working Group to restore the flow of goods. Those invited to participate include the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority and the Vancouver International Airport Authority.

SmartStop opens five-storey facility in Scarborough

Commercial  •  Business Wire  •  RENX

SmartStop Self Storage REIT announced the opening of a five-storey facility in Scarborough in partnership with SmartCentres REIT  (SRU-UN-T). It is SmartStop’s 19th owned or managed location in the Greater Toronto Area and 159th property in North America.

Burnaby planning $200M community centre

Commercial  •  REMI Network

The City of Burnaby plans a $200-million, 200,000-square-foot-plus Cameron Community Centre which will become the civic heart of Lougheed Town Centre. The three-storey structure would include a 30,000-square-foot aquatic centre and a 10,000-square-foot fitness gym.

Cominar recommends unitholders approve takeover

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX

Cominar REIT (CUF-UN-T) has outlined the reasons Cominar’s unitholders should vote for the proposed arrangement in which a Canderel-led consortium would acquire its issued and outstanding units for $11.75 per unit. The vote is scheduled on or about Dec. 21.

REOC third-quarter financial results

Residential, Commercial  • 

Madison Pacific Properties Inc., (MPC-T), Globe Newswire
NexPoint Hospitality Trust, (NHT-U-X), Canada Newswire

Slate acquires German grocery assets for $142M

Commercial  •  Business Wire  •  RENX

Slate Asset Management announced today it has acquired a portfolio of grocery real estate assets in Germany for over $142 million Cdn. Slate acquired the portfolio in an off-market transaction from KRE GROUP at an attractive discount to replacement cost.

BSR REIT sells two Texas apt. properties for $147.9M

Residential  •  RENX

BSR REIT (HOM-UN-T) has sold Windhaven Park Apartments in Plano, Texas, consisting of 474 apartment units, and The Heritage at Hillcrest Apartments in Austin, Texas, consisting of 286 apartment units, for gross proceeds of $147.9 million US.

Chinese banks told to issue development loans: Sources

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

Some Chinese banks have been told by financial regulators to issue more loans to property firms for project development in efforts to marginally ease liquidity strains across the industry, two banking sources told Reuters on Monday.

Target will no longer open stores on U.S. Thanksgiving

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

Target (TGT-N) will no longer open its stores on Thanksgiving Day, making permanent a shift to the unofficial start of the holiday season that was suspended during the pandemic.

B of C says investors increase risk of housing correction

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Bloomberg  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

The Bank of Canada said investors have likely contributed to the rapid spike in home prices, exposing the market to a downturn where the fallout could spread to the overall economy and put Canada’s biggest cities at risk of correction.

Ont. brokerages dealing with fallout from ‘misconduct’ probe

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Real estate brokers whose businesses were affected by a “learner misconduct” investigation at Humber College are questioning why it took months for the Real Estate Council of Ontario to act in the case.

N.S. giving $6.4M to developers for affordable builds

Residential  •  CBC  •  Saltwire  •  Globe and Mail

The Nova Scotia government will help fund the construction of 178 affordable housing units in parts of the Halifax Regional Municipality and the Annapolis Valley. The province announced it plans to spend $6.4 million on housing projects in Lantz, Kentville and Halifax.

Affluent families giving $145K for kids’ first home

Residential  •  CTV  •  Canada Newswire

Children from many affluent families are receiving “significant funding” from the “Bank of Mom and Dad” for post-secondary education, a first home and new businesses, a study of high-net-worth households by IG Private Wealth Management has found.