Calgary, Edm. economies boost purpose-built rental

RENX  Residential  •  Apartments  •  Calgary, Edmonton

Developers are building or planning 94 purpose-built rental projects in Calgary, and 84 in Edmonton, participants in a multiresidential panel at the  Alberta Real Estate Forum heard. However, it could be a while before some of those projects come to fruition.

WWC buys large Tempe apt. complex for $154.5M

RENX  Residential  •  Apartments  •  International, Metro Vancouver

Western Wealth Capital continues to expand its U.S. multifamily portfolio in large chunks, with the acquisition of Onnix, a 659-unit apartment community in one of its favourite markets, Tempe, Ariz. The 30-acre property sold for $154.5M.

Greybrook, Marlin Spring JV on mixed-use condo

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe Newswire  •  RENX  •  RENX

Greybrook Realty Partners has acquired a prime parcel of land at 2231 St. Clair Ave. W. in Toronto. Greybrook and Marlin Spring intend to develop a mid-rise condominium residence consisting of over 220 units and more than 12,000 square feet of commercial space.

Ironwood project leads to naturalized Oshawa Creek

Residential  •  Sustainable Biz Canada

An Oshawa development has had a significant positive impact on the environment before construction even begins on the project itself. Ironwood will be a multi-phased development in Oshawa, east of Toronto, being constructed by Podium Developments and Building Capital.

Bastion proposes 11-storey Vancouver tower

Residential, Commercial  •  urbanYVR

Bastion Development is proposing an 11-storey tower called Cassis, across from a future SkyTrain station. The Francl Architecture-designed tower will include 79 units, including five, two-storey townhouses; ground-floor retail space; and two levels of underground parking with 120 stalls and EV stations.

COVID takes terrible toll on downtown Mtl: UDI

Residential, Commercial  •  Montreal Gazette  •  Montreal Gazette

COVID-19 has robbed downtown Montreal of most of its 400,000 office workers and 127,000 university students. Only about 12,700 Montreal university students were attending classes in person in Q3, according to an Urban Development Institute study — a drop of 90 per cent year-over-year.

The Legal Corner › CERS: New benefit to assist landlords, tenants, charities, not-for-profits

Darrell Gold: Partner, Robins Appleby LLP

Ont. legislation would fast-track infra projects

Commercial  •  Daily Commercial News  •  Ontario Newsroom  •  Globe Newswire

The provincial government is introducing the Ontario Rebuilding and Recovery Act, 2020, a package of legislative and policy measures which, if passed, would accelerate the construction of major infrastructure projects.

1 of 7 stores may not survive COVID-19: CFIB

Commercial  •  CTV

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) has serious concerns after a new survey found Canadian shoppers plan to spend 66 per cent of their holiday shopping budget at big box stores and through online giants like Amazon.

Le Château files for CCAA protection, to close stores

Commercial  •  Global News  •  Canada Newswire  •  La Presse

Le Château Inc. (CTU-X) says it is seeking court protection from creditors to allow it to shut down and liquidate its assets. The clothing retailer says it can no longer continue its operations as a going concern.

Fresh Perspectives Series: Canada’s produce leaders

Commercial  •  Canadian Grocer: Sobeys  •  Canadian Grocer: Country Grocer  •  Canadian Grocer: Walmart Canada

Fresh Perspectives is an ongoing series looking to find out how consumer behaviours are changing, what are the biggest challenges for produce and what is the outlook for this critical department? Up today are Sobeys’ Yan Branco and Mireille Thibodeau.

Ottawa retail market positioned for quick rebound: JLL

Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal

Things are looking grim at the moment, but Jones Lang LaSalle says Ottawa’s retail real estate market has a good chance of a “fast recovery” due to relatively little new retail space under construction that’s poised for an imminent delivery.

Top 10 Ontario, Quebec construction projects

Residential, Commercial  •  Daily Commercial News

The accompanying tables show the top 10 major upcoming Ontario and Quebec construction projects in Canada. They are all in the planning stage and are mainly new projects, but may also involve additions and/or alterations.

Ghost kitchens reshaping restaurant delivery

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

The office cafeteria at the Kraft Heinz Co.’s Canadian headquarters is quiet, but in the kitchen, the grill sizzles. Alon Chitiz is flipping burgers, while nearby an iPad keeps track of the SkipTheDishes driver coming to pick up an order.

Gap plans to close nearly a third of N.A. stores by 2024

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

San Francisco-based Gap said Thursday it will be closing 220 of its namesake Gap stores – or one-third of its store base – by early 2024. Gap said it also plans to close 130 of its Banana Republic stores in North America in three years.

Cuomo extends NYC CRE eviction ban — again

Commercial  •  Forbes

New York governor Andrew Cuomo extended the ban on COVID-related commercial evictions and foreclosures on Tuesday. Landlords are now prevented from attempting to oust commercial tenants through Jan. 1. The moratorium had been set to expire on Oct. 20.

Toronto landlords dish out incentives as rentals cool

Residential  •  Bloomberg

Toronto’s red-hot rental market has cooled and PadMapper’s Crystal Chen says landlords are getting desperate: “I’ve seen two months of free rent with at least a year-long lease as well as things like six months of free parking or storage.”

Calgary may charge people to park in residential zones

Residential  •  CBC  •  Calgary Herald  •  Global News

Calgarians will have to pay new fees in order to park in front of their house if council approves proposed changes next month. Currently, those who live in 80 permit parking zones can register their plates to park close to home.

Calgary’s housing sales beat expectations

Residential  •  CTV

Housing sales in Calgary did much better than originally forecasted. Data compiled by the Calgary Real Estate Board shows a 12 per cent improvement in sales activity during the third quarter of 2020 over the same period last year.

U.S. home prices post 15% gain YOY: Redfin

Residential  •  PR Newswire  •  Daily Commercial News

The median home sale price increased 15% year-over-year to $320,625 — the highest on record, according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage. In the week ending Oct. 18, home prices were up 16% from the same week a year earlier.