Buyers snap up Calgary industrial buildings, land

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial  •  Calgary

Calgary industrial remains a hot commodity, as illustrated by two transactions involving three buildings, and a tract of undeveloped land. Colliers was involved in the sales of the Foothills Industrial Park portfolio for $77 million and the 127-acre McCall Landing.

Terrace banking on China-focused industrial park

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver  •  Business In Vancouver

Terrace, B.C., officials are focused on attracting businesses to the Skeena Industrial Development Park, a 2,400-acre site partly owned and developed by Burnaby’s Taisheng International Investment Services. The search for tenants will not be limited to China.

The Well site abuzz with construction activity

Commercial  •  Urban Toronto  •  RENX  •  RENX

Toronto’s largest construction site is moving along at the massive project by Diamond Corp, Allied Properties REIT (AP-UN-T), RioCan REIT (REI-UN-T), Tridel, and Woodbourne — known as The Well — which will bring seven towers to a superblock.

Terrasses de la Chaudière in for major facelift

Commercial  •  CBC

A prominent federal government complex in downtown Gatineau will have its brick façade removed and replaced with black and silver aluminum panels, a dramatic new look approved Thursday by the board of National Capital Commission.

Ottawa approves Regional Group’s mixed-use plan

Residential, Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal

Ottawa’s planning committee voted Thursday to approve Regional Group’s plan to build a six-storey mixed-use building with 125 rental units and 18,000 square feet of retail. However, the committee deferred the developer’s proposal for a separate nine-storey apartment building.

Ottawa OKs Taggart mixed-use development

Residential, Commercial  •  CBC  •  Global News

Ottawa city council has approved Taggart Group‘s proposed mixed-use development at Hunt Club Road and Riverside Drive despite a consensus it will only add more traffic to an intersection that’s already received a failing grade.

The Saskatchewan Edge › New Saskatoon arena gets priority from city

Kelly Macsymic: Business Manager, B. Stuart P.C. Inc. , Sales Associate, ICR Commercial Real Estate

Hamilton church redevelopment back on track

Residential  •  Construction Canada

A signature downtown Hamilton project, a proposed adaptive reuse integrating the iconic James Street Baptist Church with a new 30-storey condo tower, is back on with a new owner, a revamped vision, 41 more units and $20 million added to its budget.

Reliance proposes mixed-use project for Victoria

Residential, Commercial  •  Victoria Times Colonist

Reliance Properties has introduced new scaled-down plans for a Victoria site that would incorporate two warehouses dating to the 1860s. Reliance is proposing a project with 47 residential rental units and commercial space for the waterfront property.

Halifax may allow 27-storey buildings in urban core

Commercial  •  CBC

Buildings as high as 27 storeys will be allowed in parts of downtown Halifax and Dartmouth if the latest version of the Centre Plan is approved. In an earlier version of the proposed plan, the maximum height limit was 20 storeys.

Farmers market second anchor for New Horizon Mall

Commercial  •  CBC  •  Global News  •  RENX

A new farmers market was announced as a second anchor tenant at the multi-cultural New Horizon Mall in Balzac, Alta. Prairie Horizon Fresh Market adds a western touch to the mall, which has been slow to attract businesses and customers.

Surrey land assessed at $7.61M for sale

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver

In 1969, John Woodward and four fellow Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) members bought a five-acre lot in Surrey’s Guildford area for around $25,000. This month the board put the site, now assessed at $7.61 million, on the market.

Eight well-valued REITs in a surging RE sector

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Dream Global REIT, (DRG-UN-T) tops our list with a $2.7-billion market cap and 5.6 per cent distribution yield. It has performed well over the past five years and hit a record high in September.

Canadian home prices drop for sixth straight month

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

Canadian home prices fell in March for the sixth straight month as most major markets weakened, data showed on Thursday. The Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index showed prices fell 0.3 per cent last month from February.

Ontario budget leaves Toronto hanging on housing

Residential  •  CBC  •  Globe and Mail  •  Canada Newswire

Premier Doug Ford’s first provincial budget offers Toronto a few things, but it doesn’t offer any confirmation of new provincial support for housing for a city suffering from a deep affordable housing crisis.

New reality for Toronto’s aspiring condo-sellers

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Real estate agent Erica Smith was surprised when her client faced only two rivals in the chase for a one-bedroom condo unit in the coveted St. Lawrence Market area. The relatively low turnout helped her client snag the unit for $535,000.

Condo developers need to disclose all features to buyers

Residential  •  Toronto Star

The Ontario Court of Appeal has affirmed the obligations of condominium developers to provide buyers with complete and transparent disclosure of a proposed project’s features, including a budget statement which fairly and accurately reveals costs for purchasers.

Toronto needs non-resident buyers: Ben Myers

Residential  •  Newinhomes.com

One in 10 Toronto condos is owned by a non-resident. “I don’t see (that) as a negative, as long as those non-residents are renting the units out and creating tenant supply,” says Ben Myers, president of Bullpen Research & Consulting Inc.

Rent-to-own program sprouting in Langford, B.C.

Residential  •  Victoria Times Colonist

A crush of prospective tenants is expected to queue up Saturday for more than a chance to land one of 156 new rental units in a Langford development. Some may line up for a chance to buy a new home.

Half of Montreal renters live alone

Residential  •  Montreal Gazette

Almost half of Greater Montreal households rent, and the number rises to almost two-thirds if you don’t include off-Island suburbs. According to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the majority of Montrealers who rent can’t afford to buy.