PIRET focuses on Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial  •  Toronto / GTA

The redevelopment of a property in East Toronto is the latest result of Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust‘s (PIRET) strong focus on its three primary markets, Vancouver, Montreal and the Greater Toronto Area.

Office building kicks off new Kamloops development

RENX  Commercial  •  Office  •  British Columbia

Kamloops is getting its first significant new office building in 20 years, a five-storey building due to break ground in the spring as part of a larger downtown development.

Hard Rock Ottawa has new plan for $318M expansion

Commercial  •  CBC

Hard Rock Ottawa has submitted a new plan for its $318-million casino expansion, but now the entertainment complex will face a road that doesn’t yet exist.

Canada’s tech boom is here to stay: Analysis

Commercial  •  CBC  •  Financial Post (Sub. required)  •  CBC

When a company as big and powerful as Google decides to triple its workforce in Canada, everyone else is forced to take notice. It also means the country has accomplished something extraordinary.

Ex-BILD CEO Tuckey appointed to LPAT

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

The Ontario government has named ex-BILD president/CEO Bryan Tuckey to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT), while stripping it of four adjudicators with environmental backgrounds. Tuckey was a vocal critic of elements of the previous Liberal government’s anti-sprawl policies.

Planned T.O. office building pushes timber limits

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Next Property Group’s  77 Wade will be Toronto’s tallest tall-timber office building – a visually striking venture that cuts its reliance on carbon-intensive building materials. The 150,000-square-foot project could have been quashed by officials for failing to comply with building code rules.

Bay Street heritage preserved in redevelopment

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

When Dream Unlimited (DRM-T) vice-president of construction Harvey Barth thrust Antiquated Structural Systems – written by a guy with many letters after his name – into my hands before he began his PowerPoint presentation, I knew this would be a good story.

Mile-Ex small businesses give way to tech giants

Commercial  •  La Presse

California’s Spear Street Capital, which designs and manages buildings for technology companies, purchased Montreal’s O Mile-Ex complex in August for $153 million ($413.50 per square foot). The new owner wants to rent only to AI companies, forcing out long-time small businesses.

Regina office project moving forward with conditions

Commercial  •  CBC  •  CBC

The Provincial Capital Commission board says it will allow CNIB and Brandt Developments to move forward with their plans to construct a controversial office building in Regina’s Wascana Park — with conditions.

Construction halted on toppled crane replacement

Commercial  •  CBC

When it comes to erecting cranes in downtown Halifax, it seems the third time’s the charm. Earlier this week, pieces of a new crane were arranged at the site where a previous crane had failed during post-tropical storm Dorian.

Ex-Paramount Group officials under investigation

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

The Ontario Provincial Police have launched a criminal investigation into three former officials from the Paramount Group, which sold investments in pooled mortgage funds before it was forced into receivership in 2017.

REOC fourth-quarter financial results

Commercial  • 

Brookfield Infrastructure, (BIP-UN-T), Globe Newswire

Brookfield Property Partners, (BPY-UN-T), Globe Newswire

Gazit reduces First Capital ownership to 4.4%

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

First Capital REIT (FCR-UN-T), an owner and operator of mixed-use urban real estate in Canada’s most densely populated neighbourhoods, announced Gazit-Globe Ltd. has sold a portion of its interest in FCR, reducing its ownership from approximately 6.7 to 4.4 per cent.

Simon buying 80% stake in Taubman Centers

Commercial  •  The Real Deal  •  CP Executive  •  Globe Newswire

Simon Property Group (SPG-N), the largest U.S. mall owner, is buying Taubman Centers (TCO-N), its smaller rival. The two companies announced Monday they had reached an agreement for Simon to buy an 80 per cent stake in Taubman at $52.50 per share.

WeWork vacancy rate could stress saturated U.S. markets

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire

A number of U.S. markets could feel the impact of WeWork’s setback as landlords wrestle with how to fill space in a cooling economic environment. This analysis is shared in Transwestern’s latest research report, Where WE Go From Here.

35 U.S. mega-projects make up 15% of CRE starts

Commercial  •  Daily Commercial News

In 2019, mega-projects accounted for 15 per cent of the total value of U.S. nonresidential starts. The South led with 16 mega-projects, followed by the West with eight and the Midwest with seven. The Northeast recorded only four projects.

Vancouver mayor says empty homes tax working

Residential  •  CityNews  •  Global News  •  Daily Hive

Vancouver’s empty homes tax is returning homes and condos that were once sitting empty to renters, according to Mayor Kennedy Stewart. New numbers released by the city show more homes that were once sitting empty are now being lived in.

Housing solutions that really work: UDI

Residential  •  Vancouver Sun

If our collective world wisdom can launch rockets that fly faster than the speed of sound, create driverless cars and invent life-saving medical marvels like insulin for diabetics, then surely we can find a way to cure the housing crisis.

Van. co-op lease plan strikes a balance

Residential  •  Globe and Mail

Vancouver housing staff recently released a plan that promises to resolve one of council’s most vexing problems: how to break the stalemate over lease renewal negotiations with co-ops on city land. The plan offers co-ops renewal options at lower rates.

Vancouver, Montréal, Toronto most walkable cities

Residential  •  Canada Newswire

Vancouver, Montréal and Toronto are the most walkable cities in Canada in 2020, according to a new ranking from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage. The ranking was determined using data from Walk Score.