CRE investment still on the rise, despite late-cycle concerns

RENX  Commercial  •  Investment  •  National

Institutional investors and investment management funds are shifting more of their capital allocations into the commercial and multi-family real estate markets, despite indications they’re late in the cycle and due for a downturn after a long period of good times.

Multi-million makeover for Ottawa’s Constitution Square

RENX  Commercial  •  Office  •  Ottawa

Ottawa’s largest office complex, the million-square foot, three-tower Constitution Square, is getting a multi-million-dollar upgrade to reposition the property as the city’s “pre-eminent building”. Constitution Square is owned by the TD Asset Management TD Greystone Real Estate Fund and Canderel.

Windsor identifies ‘unicorn sites’ to lure manufacturers

Commercial  •  Windsor Star

Windsor officials are compiling a list of “unicorn sites”, massive properties that check all the shovel-ready boxes to submit to the province’s Job Site Challenge which will identify several “mega sites” – 500 to 1,500 acres – for auto or advanced manufacturers.

U.S. warehouse developer to expand into Canada

Commercial  •  Chicago Business

After spending two decades building a coast-to-coast real estate business, Steve Poulos is now seeking opportunity beyond U.S. borders. The founder and CEO of Bridge Development Partners is leading the industrial developer into Canada, Great Britain and eventually continental Europe.

Startup tokenizes $2.2B in CRE through Polymath

Commercial  •  Coin Desk

Montreal ‘pink’ transit line cost rises to $24B

Commercial  •  LaPresse

The cost of the ‘pink line’, part of Montreal’s Regional Metropolitan Transport Authority new $50-billion 10-year strategic plan, has risen from $17 to $24 billion dollars. The pink line includes 28 stations and 30 kilometres of track connecting Montreal North and Lachine to downtown.

CRE Matters › Equity in metrics: Women in commercial real estate

Synthia Kloot: Senior Vice President, Operations

Parliament buildings reno faces space utilization challenge

Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal

Contractors Ellis Don and PC have to find out a way to cram more than 100 additional MPs into the House of Commons without compromising its architectural heritage as part of the massive restoration of the federal Parliament Buildings Centre Block.

The changing face of downtown Vancouver

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

When the Caprice Nightclub closed on Granville Street two years ago and was replaced by the Colony, a multilevel bar with Ping-Pong and arcade games, that marked a shift in Vancouver’s downtown to a different generation.

StorageVault reports $373M in acquisitions

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire

StorageVault (SVI-X) achieved significant growth in 2019 with $372.7 million in acquisitions. The full effect of these acquisitions will not be realized until 2020. StorageVault has completed $1.3 billion acquisitions in the past 5 years.

Skyline Apartment REIT reports 21.7% unit price increase

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire

Skyline Apartment REIT, a Canadian private REIT, announced a 21.7% increase in the REIT’s unit price to $21 effective February 11, 2020. Launched in 2006, Skyline Apartment REIT holdings comprise more than 18,000 apartment suites in over 200 multi-residential properties.

REIT fourth-quarter financial results

Commercial  • 

Artis REIT, (AX-UN-T), Canada Newswire

Boardwalk REIT, (BEI-UN-T), Canada Newswire

CAPREIT, (CAR-UN-T), Globe Newswire

Crombie REIT, (CRR-UN-T), Canada Newswire

Skyline Apartment REIT, Globe Newswire

New Winnipeg planning review body proposed

Residential, Commercial  •  CBC

A planning commission could make Winnipeg land-use decisions more consistent and better informed — but could also place too much power in the hands of a small number of unelected people, according to a background study prepared by the city.

WSP Global CEO says coronavirus a minor concern

Commercial  •  Winnipeg Free Press

Chief executive of WSP Global Inc. Alexandre L’Heureux says the engineering firm expects lower productivity from its Chinese operations after asking employees to work from home as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, but he doesn’t expect it to impact its profit forecast.

Vancouver port CEO warns China trade continues to ebb

Commercial  •  Toronto Star

Vancouver Port Authority CEO Robin Silvester says the coronavirus is eating into trade following a year that saw cargo volumes dip. The number of canceled sailings is rising as broad swathes of the Chinese economy remain effectively shut down.

Hong Kong CRE market to ‘walk out of the shadows’ in 2020

Commercial  •  Retalkasia.com  •  The Chronicle Herald

The COVID-19 outbreak, residual impact from sociopolitical unrest and external economic and geopolitical headwinds may point to a challenging 2020 for Hong Kong but there is hope on the horizon for the region’s commercial real estate market, CBRE says.

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices lands in T.O.

Residential  •  Business Wire

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Tuesday began operating in Canada, as Toronto-based Blue Elephant Realty joined the globally acclaimed brokerage network. Blue Elephant will begin operating as Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Toronto Living Realty next month.

GTA new single-family home sales soar in January

Residential  •  Toronto Star

The new construction home market has continued the upward momentum of 2019 with January sales of single-family homes approaching 2017 levels and condos 12 per cent above the 10-year average.

Calgary residential rental market attractive to investors

Commercial  •  Calgary Business

Economic factors in Calgary are making the residential rental market an attractive one for investors and landlords. Recently, Avenue Living Asset Management acquired 179 multi-family units in the city, with another 10 buildings expected to close over the next couple of months.

West-end Toronto home under construction collapses

Commercial  •  Toronto Star

No one was injured after a home under construction in the city’s west end collapsed on Thursday. Toronto Fire Services received a call for a structural collapse just after 1 p.m. Thursday on Homeview Avenue, near Jane Street and St. Clair Avenue West.