Aspen invests $25M in Calgary Sun Life Plaza reno

RENX  Commercial  •  Office  •  Calgary

While Calgary’s downtown office market continues to experience severe challenges, local real estate company Aspen Properties has invested millions of dollars in renovations at the downtown Sun Life Plaza in an effort to attract tenants.

Parkit buying third GTA property, plans new development

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial, Office  •  Toronto / GTA

Parkit Enterprise (PKT-X) is continuing its expansion into the industrial sector, acquiring its third such property in the Greater Toronto Area. The $12.25 million acquisition isn’t large by Toronto standards, but it’s adjacent to an existing asset and can be expanded.

Calculating redevelopment potential of buildings

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  RENX

In Toronto’s financial district, three aging office buildings were considered by Oxford Properties Group well worth the effort to restore for the needs of modern tenants as part of a large-scale redevelopment in the area.

Oxford buys M7 in move into European logistics

Commercial  •  IPE Real Assets

Oxford Properties Group has confirmed it is buying European fund manager M7 Real Estate. Oxford said it was making the acquisition as part of plans to deploy $5.23 billion Cdn into multi-let industrial and urban logistics across Europe.

Canadians ‘overdoing it’ with work-from-home trend: Tal

Commercial  •  Bloomberg  •  RENX

The COVID-19 pandemic has transported many Canadians from the downtown cores to the comforts of home with the remote-work trend. However, CIBC World Markets’ Benjamin Tal said some risks await Canadians when remote work is no longer an option post-pandemic.

Multi-suite, industrial to remain strong in 2021: Morguard

Residential, Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX

Morguard Corporation’s 2021 Canadian Economic Outlook and Market Fundamentals Report predicts the multi-suite residential rental sector will remain healthy and industrial real estate will continue to outperform, driven by increased online shopping and demand for delivery and logistics space.

Sponsored by MNP Your construction company – employee share ownership plans and profit sharing

Building Resilience, and Bench Strength for Changing Times. It’s no secret Canadian construction companies are experiencing change at an unprecedented pace – fueled by almost daily shifts due to the impact of COVID-19, compressed margins, an aging workforce . . .

Portland Commons designed around occupants’ wellness

Commercial  •  Daily Commercial News  •  RENX

Portland Commons, a new office project rising in downtown Toronto, stresses the health and wellness of the building’s occupants. “We’re not trying to build the tallest, shiniest attractive tower,” says Dean Cutting, partner at Carttera, the  developer.

39% of Ottawa big-box stores flout COVID rules

Commercial  •  Global News  •  CBC  •  Ottawa Citizen

In a blitz of big-box and essential businesses in Ottawa over the weekend, under 61 per cent were found to be in compliance with public health requirements laid out in the Reopening Ontario Act, according to the Ministry of Labour.

Quebec creates online marketplace to battle Amazon

Commercial  •  Montreal Gazette  •  Les Affaires

Quebec is creating an online marketplace for homegrown retailers that will offer an alternative to Amazon.com, starting this fall. The transactional website will build on the foundations of Le Panier Bleu, a retailer directory Quebec set up in April.

Empire announces seven new FreshCo locations

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX

Empire Company Ltd. (EMP-A-T) announced the next seven locations for the expansion of its FreshCo discount banner: six in Alberta and one in Thunder Bay, Ont. Empire is converting approximately 25 per cent of Safeway and Sobeys stores to FreshCos.

Parking minimums stifle Winnipeg development

Residential, Commercial  •  Winnipeg Free Press

OPINION: For the next few weeks, the City of Winnipeg is seeking public feedback on the Winnipeg Parking Strategy, a five-year vision to manage vehicle parking across the city. Parking is one of the most powerful forces shaping our cities.

Industrial workplaces driving COVID-19 in Brampton: Experts

Commercial  •  CBC

Peel’s robust manufacturing and industrial sector, which is largely centred in Brampton, has accounted for 39.7 per cent of the 204 total workplace outbreaks in the region since the start of the pandemic.

VM Hotel files preliminary prospectus for $100M IPO

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

VM Hotel Acquisition Corp. has filed a preliminary prospectus with the securities regulatory authorities in all provinces and territories of Canada, except Quebec, in respect of its proposed initial public offering of $100 million US of class-A restricted voting units.

Subversive announces qualifying transaction with InterCure

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

Subversive Real Estate Acquisition REIT (SVX-U-NE), a special-purpose acquisition company, today announced its qualifying transaction to combine with InterCure Ltd., Israel’s leading cannabis company. InterCure’s growth plans include tripling its retail footprint.

NYC construction activity hits eight-year low

Residential, Commercial  •  CP Executive

New building filings in New York City last year represented a proposed 42.6 million square feet — about a 28 per cent decrease in construction activity year-over-year and the lowest figure since 2012, according to the Real Estate Board of New York.

Canada’s most unaffordable cities for homebuyers

Residential  •  Daily Hive  •  Mtl Blog  •  Narcity

GRAPHS: According to a recent study by Point 2 Homes, in the last 10 years the share of income needed to afford housing has gone up exponentially, with monthly mortgage payments becoming a “financial burden” for more people across Canada.

B.C. 2021 home sales will rival 2016 boom year: BCREA

Residential  •  Vancouver Sun

The market for single-family detached houses is so hot in Metro Vancouver a realtor booked 130 tours of a Cloverdale home before turning away other potential customers. The house had an asking price of $1.05 million.

Vancouver real estate shakes off pandemic fetters

Residential  •  Globe and Mail

Royal LePage released its quarterly house price survey last week that showed the median price of a two-storey detached house in Greater Vancouver had gone up 8.8 per cent by the end of 2020.

Hudson plans 79-unit mixed-use project in East Van.

Residential, Commercial  •  urbanYVR

Hudson is planning a purpose-built rental development named ‘J@K’ (Joyce at Kingsway) in East Vancouver consisting of: 79 secured market rentals; ground-floor retail space including a restaurant; and 31 underground parking stalls and 174 bicycle parking spots.