Montoni joins the move into multifamily development

RENX  Residential  •  Office, Apartments, Industrial  •  Greater Montreal

After a quarter century developing industrial, commercial and institutional real estate, Montoni Group has decided to venture into the residential market, with a $40 million development in Montreal’s Park Extension neighbourhood.

FCT partners to offer Remine’s PropertyFlow in Canada

RENX  Residential, Commercial  •  Technology, Homes  •  National

As the rush continues to provide expanded data services in the commercial real estate industry, FCT has formed a joint venture with U.S.-based Remine Inc. to bring the PropertyFlow platform to Canada. FCT announced the partnership on Monday morning.

Artis REIT appoints Samir Manji interim CEO

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX

Artis REIT (AX-UN-T) announced the Board of Trustees has appointed Sandpiper Group CEO Samir Manji interim chief executive officer and Ben Rodney as lead trustee of the board, effective Jan. 1, 2021.

QuadReal, PC Urban propose 22-storey office tower

Commercial  •  urbanYVR  •  RENX

QuadReal and PC Urban have proposed a 22-storey office tower at 550 Cambie St. in Crosstown, near the Stadium SkyTrain station. The design by Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership would achieve a minimum of LEED Gold for sustainability.

Proposed high-rises meet ‘landmark’ criteria: Taggart

Residential, Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal  •  RENX

Ottawa-based Taggart Group of Companies says its proposal for a pair of apartment high-rises meets the standard of a civic “landmark” required at the site. The 28- and 30-storey towers would include 541 rental units and a small amount of retail space.

Minto’s Oakvillage looks to hackathon for solutions

Commercial  •  Sustainable Biz Canada

The winner of the Nordic-Canadian Circular Economy Hackathon, a digital competition on energy, construction and the circular economy to devise innovative solutions for Minto Communities‘ Oakvillage development in Oakville was chosen on Nov. 26.

Real Estate Wealth Insights › How industrial space saved the commercial real estate market in 2020

Greg Placidi: Chief Investment Officer & Portfolio Manager, Equiton Capital

Loblaw looks to sell all 22 Provigos to franchisees

Commercial  •  La Presse

Loblaw Companies Ltd. (L-T) is looking to sell all of its Provigos to franchisees for  $50,000 each. Of the 84 Provigo locations in Quebec, 22 are still operated by Loblaw, which gives itself two years to find them a new owner.

Brookfield is ready for interest rates to rise

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (BAM-A-T) doesn’t need interest rates to stay lower for longer. In fact, CEO Bruce Flatt wouldn’t mind seeing them go up more than a little bit. “Rising interest rates? That would be great . . .,” Flatt said.

HBC court action receiving retailer support

Commercial  •  Financial Post  •  Financial Post

Hudson’s Bay Co. ULC’s legal fight against lockdown orders in Ontario is drawing significant support from the broader retail sector as the provincial government expands its shutdown orders into two more regions.

Stressed small landlords bailing on Vancouver

Residential  •  Western Investor

Zac Killam, Vancouver-based CEO of the Landlord Credit Bureau, says hundreds of small landlords, such as homeowners renting a basement suite, are bailing out of Vancouver’s rental market due to a provincially-mandated rental freeze and difficulties in evicting scofflaw tenants.

Two dead, four hurt in London after wall collapses

Residential, Commercial  •  Toronto Star  •  CBC

Two people are dead after a four-storey wall collapsed at a construction site in London, Ont. The Ontario Ministry of Labour had two investigators and an engineer at the site, which it said was managed by Brock Developments.

Apollo may increase $2.5B Great Canadian Gaming offer

Commercial  •  Financial Post

Apollo Global Management Inc. is mulling an increase to its US$2.5-billion takeover bid for Great Canadian Gaming Corp. but may walk away from the deal if it can’t win approval at an upcoming shareholder meeting, according to sources.

Brookfield sells $3.45B life-science portfolio to Blackstone

Commercial  •  IPE Real Assets  •  Bisnow  •  IPE Real Assets

Blackstone has expanded its multi-billion dollar life-science real estate fund with the acquisition of a US$3.45 billion portfolio from Brookfield Asset Management. Approximately 90 per cent of the 2.3-mllion-square-foot portfolio of lab offices is located in Cambridge, Mass.

Public Storage expands with $528M portfolio acquisition

Commercial  •  CP Executive

Public Storage has acquired 24 properties with 2.3 million square feet of space from Beyond Self Storage in the first phase of a 36-property portfolio transaction totaling 3.6 million square feet and valued at $528 million.

Hong Kong mogul puts billions of RE up for sale

Commercial  •  Bloomberg

Hong Kong property tycoon Tang Shing-bor is seeking to offload billions in real estate after an ill-timed expansion at the top of the market. With rental income evaporating, he’s put a quarter of his family’s portfolio up for sale.

Montreal competing with real estate speculators

Residential  •  CTV

To keep housing affordable, the City of Montreal is competing with investors, then locking in property at low rents. Nonprofit Solides used a $2.1-million grant from the city to buy Verdun and Lachine buildings and turn them into social housing.

Canadian home prices to rise 5.5% in 2021: Royal LePage

Residential  •  Reuters  •  Canada Newswire  •  Toronto Star

Canadian real estate brokerage Royal LePage expects home prices to rise 5.5% in 2021, building on unexpectedly strong growth this year, driven by a shortage of properties for sale and record low interest rates.

Ontario’s most and least competitive real estate markets

Residential  •  Daily Hive

The housing market has continued to heat up across Ontario. A recent report by Zoocasa evaluated 35 real estate markets in Ontario by reviewing sales and new listings data for each region for the month of October.

Ottawa mulling tax on vacant homes

Residential  •  CBC

The City of Ottawa will look into implementing a vacant homes tax, a step Vancouver has taken and Toronto is on the verge of taking. City council asked staff to study whether such a tax would work in Ottawa.