First Capital’s REIT conversion tops off pivotal year

RENX  Residential, Commercial  •  Apartments, Retail  •  National

First Capital REIT (FCR-UN-T) says its “super-urban” strategy of investing in mixed-use properties in dense, high-growth neighbourhoods in major cities really took hold in 2019, says president and CEO Adam Paul.

Anthem finds Sacramento more developer-friendly

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver

A year ago, Anthem Properties Group CEO Eric Carlson announced at the Urban Development Institute’s (UDI) annual forecast luncheon that he was decamping for Sacramento, as the California city was far friendlier to developers than North Vancouver.

$400M Portage Place facelift offers community space

Commercial  •  Global News  •  CTV  •  CBC

The $400-million redevelopment of Portage Place Shopping Centre will include a 24-hour community space complete with public washrooms, says Toronto-based Starlight Investments, which is being referred to as P3 Commons for the downtown Winnipeg project.

Starlight, KingSett bid $4.8B for Northview Apt. REIT

RENX  Residential, Commercial  •  Apartments  •  National

Starlight Group Property Holdings and KingSett Capital have made an offer to acquire Calgary-based Northview Apartment REIT (NVU-UN-T) for $4.8 billion. Northview says the transaction represents a 25 per cent premium to “consensus analyst net asset value per unit.”

Carlyle proposes mixed-use centre

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

Carlyle Communities have proposed a mixed-use office, retail, and residential project at 6 Lloyd Ave. in Toronto’s Stockyards neighbourhood. Abutting the rail corridor, the project is the third such proposal on the site in recent years,

Trolleybus proposes 35-storey condo tower

Residential  •  Urban Toronto

Trolleybus Urban Development has proposed a 35-storey condominium tower to rise just north of Weston Road, with frontages on both Locust Street and Oxford Drive, featuring a design by architects SvN.

Calgary office building for sale

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

Ernst & Young Inc., in its capacity as court-appointed receiver, is seeking proposals for the purchase of Petro West’s interest in a four-storey office building located at 1210 – 8th Street SW in Calgary.

Victoria’s Secret sold; CEO Lex Wexner steps down

Commercial  •  CBC

A page is turned for the lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret, known for its ultra-sexy fashion show that has since disappeared: its parent company L Brands sold its control to the Sycamore Partners fund at a price valuing it at $1.1 billion.

Temple, Morguard complete going private transaction

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX

Morguard Corporation (MRC-T) and Temple Hotels Inc., (TPH-T) announced they have completed the statutory plan of arrangement, pursuant to which Morguard has acquired all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Temple it did not already own.

Inovalis REIT sells Paris property for $138.4M

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

Inovalis REIT (INO-UN-T) has successfully closed the disposition of its Vanves (Paris) property for net proceeds of $138.4 million Cdn. The property was sold for $13.1 million above the Dec. 31, 2018 asset valuation and represents a capitalization rate near six per cent.

REIT fourth-quarter financial results

Commercial  • 

Dream Industrial REIT, (DIR-UN-T), Globe Newswire

RioCan REIT, (REI-UN-T), Globe Newswire

Summit Industrial Income REIT, (SMU-UN-T), Canada Newswire

REOC fourth-quarter financial results

Commercial  • 

Dream Alternatives, (DRA-UN-T), Globe Newswire

Sienna Senior Living Inc., (SIA-T), Globe Newswire

Coronavirus hits Walmart’s $10B business in China

Commercial  •  Business Insider  •  Reuters

In response to the coronavirus outbreak, Walmart (WMT-N) is cutting store hours at locations in China and doubling down on a partnership with Chinese delivery and logistics firm Dada-JD Daojia. It’s also anticipating a negative hit to its first-quarter numbers.

Coronavirus slows China’s property market to a crawl

Residential  •  MarketWatch

Zhu Min decided to put her three-bedroom apartment on the market two months ago. She had inherited the aging first-floor unit from her grandparents and felt it was time to trade it in for a newer, higher-floor unit.

Northland Properties acquires prime Dallas land

Commercial  •  Dallas Morning News

Dallas Stars owner Tom Gaglardi’s Vancouver-based Northland Properties has acquired two of the last development blocks in Dallas’ Victory Park. Gaglardi plans hospitality, entertainment and other buildings that will enhance the American Airlines Center and benefit the Stars.

CrowdStreet hits $1B crowdfunding milestone

Commercial  •  The Real Deal

CrowdStreet said it has raised over $1 billion for commercial real estate deals through its online crowdfunding platform. The milestone comes as the crowdfunding industry continues to mature, with some startups falling away and others facing troubles with underperforming assets.

Calgary apartment rents drop six per cent

Residential  •  Calgary Herald

Median rent for apartments in Calgary has dropped six per cent in the past year, but as of January, Calgary still had the 17th-highest average monthly rent for one-bedroom homes in Canada at $1,227, according to Rentals.ca and Bullpen Research & Consulting.

Victoria Canada’s fourth-most expensive rental market

Residential  •  CTV  •  Daily Hive  •  Huffington Post

Victoria ranked fourth in Canada for one-bedroom rental rates in the latest PadMapper rental analysis report. Victoria, with an average cost of a one-bedroom apartment at $1,590, trailed only Toronto, Vancouver and Burnaby.

Pointe-Claire to buy lot to block condo development

Residential  •  CBC

The City of Pointe-Claire has voted to buy a vacant lot in its historic village for about $3.75 million to prevent the space from being turned into condos. The vote passed unanimously at a special city council session Tuesday night.

Vulnerability rating lowered in several Western cities

Residential  •  Canada Newswire  •  Winnipeg Free Press

Ratings for Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon and Winnipeg were downgraded from moderate to low in overall degree of vulnerability in the CMHC Housing Market Assessment (HMA) released today. Victoria is the lone market maintaining an overall high degree of vulnerability rating.