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Amazon announces new Hamilton, Ajax fulfillment centres

4 years ago

E-commerce giant Amazon plans to add two new fulfillment centres and five last-mile “delivery stations” across the Greater Toronto and Greater Golden Horseshoe areas, the company announced Wednesday morning.

Investors covet pure-play REITS, so that’s what Artis REIT (AX.UN-T) president/CEO Armin Martens intends to offer. Martens said spinning off a $779M retail REIT reflects a new reality in investing, should unlock value, and offers more future alternatives.

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The federal government is extending its commercial rent relief program one last time to the end of September. Take-up by the property owners has lagged expectations and spending is projected to fall far short of the nearly $3 billion budgeted amount.

Ted Willcocks is leaving Manulife Investment Management after 10 years heading its global real estate division to become the president, chief executive office and a board member with Triovest.

CMLS Mortgage Commentary

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Rental housing markets across Canada are seeing weaker demand this fall as some postsecondary students pivot to online learning and stay in their hometowns. The result is a spate of empty bedrooms and mounting losses for landlords with continuing uncertainty.

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A year fraught with uncertainty and challenges for B.C. landlords and tenants is far from over.  As of Sept. 1, landlords were able to evict tenants for failure to pay rent. On Dec. 1, the freeze on rent increases will be lifted.

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B.C. has ordered nightclubs and banquet halls to close, with provincial health officer Bonnie Henry citing such facilities as a major source of coronavirus transmission. In one week in August, there were public exposures at three separate Vancouver nightclubs.

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A CIBT Education Group subsidiary limited partnership has received $13.1 million to acquire two rental apartment buildings in Vancouver, expanding its portfolio to 11 projects and 16 buildings operating under the GEC brand, for a total of 1.5 million square feet.

Stewart Title

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As the push to build housing along the Confederation LRT Line ramps up, LaSalle Investment Management is proposing to build a 29-storey, 300,000-square-foot high-rise with 337 rental units and ground-level commercial space at Holland Cross.

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The HUB, a 57-storey office tower by Oxford Properties at Bay and Harbour in Toronto, received zoning by-law approval in 2019. Recently submitted updated materials for its site plan application have moved the project a step closer to starting construction.

 

 

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OPINION: Ideas about cultural heritage have become increasingly broad. And City of Toronto heritage planning staff are now willing to conserve some very undistinguished structures – while also beginning a heritage survey that aims to touch every corner of the city.

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Calls are mounting for the City of Montreal’s administration to pressure the province of Quebec to “temporarily” reduce taxes on non-residential buildings in the city centre. Advocates maintain the measure would “give hope” to businesses and revive the local economy.

Smart Density

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In RBI’s Q2 results last month, the numbers for Tim Hortons were brutal, with same-store sales falling by 29.3 per cent. Tim’s is RBI’s largest source of profit, providing 47 per cent of its total adjusted EBITDA in 2019.

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Offices in central London are set to decline in value by as much as 10% this year as the pandemic drives down demand for space, likely pushing down rents in the expensive areas by about 8% according to DWS Group.

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Google has walked away from a plan to rent space in Dublin, shelving one of the city’s biggest real-estate deals in recent years. Google had been in talks to rent about 202,000 square feet in the Irish capital.

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Marcus Sperber, BlackRock’s former global real estate head, has launched a new property investment and advisory business. Sperber is to lead NorthCroft Capital including its advisory business, together with David Bearman, a founding partner of Firefly Capital.

Canadian Apartment Investment Conference

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The City of Toronto has received a development proposal for a 13-storey mixed-use building where Sneaky Dee’s resides, as well as other neighbouring units along College Street east of Bathurst Street. The plan is opposed by the surrounding community.

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An application to bring a high-rise residential development to Toronto’s Weston area has advanced through a resubmission. The project at 1695 Weston Rd. is designed by Core Architects for Old Stonehenge Development Corporation, and has evolved significantly since its 2017 submission.

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The heatwave in the Toronto-area real estate market in July and August may give way to a slightly cooler September, but buyers and sellers who haven’t secured a deal aren’t giving up. A grand Victorian-era house sold for $5.7-million.

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One of Canada’s most resilient and prolific sectors has been its real estate market. The residential market has mainly been on a consistent rise for the last several years. Canadians already know this. It is the reason for the buzzing activity in the housing market since the 2008 financial crisis.

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