REF development panel offers overview of COVID-19 impacts

RENX  Commercial  •  Hotels and Resorts, Homes, Investment  •  National

PART I: CBRE’s Casey Gallagher moderated a panel of leading executives at the Real Estate Forum in Toronto. COVID-19’s effect on development was the central theme as they offered a “state-of-the-business” update on many CRE sectors and issues.

World’s CFOs have dire message for real estate investors

Commercial  •  Bloomberg

Hundreds of corporate executives tracked in earnings calls around the world in the past five months addressed the urgency to cut real estate costs. Tactics include cutting office space, accelerating branch closures, renegotiating rents on warehouses and shutting data centres.

Choice Properties acquires Weston Foods portfolio

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  Canadian Grocer  •  RENX

Choice Properties REIT (CHP-UN-T) has acquired a portfolio of six industrial properties from Weston Foods for $79.1 million. The portfolio comprises 835,000 square feet of gross leasable area and is 100% leased to Weston Foods with an average lease term of 20 years.

Oxford, CT REIT plan 3M-sq.-ft. Canada Square redev.

RENX  Residential, Commercial  •  Office, Homes, Retail  •  Toronto / GTA

Oxford Properties Group and CT REIT plan to redevelop the 9.2-acre Canada Square with a three-million-square-foot mixed-use development at Yonge and Eglinton in Toronto. The proposal includes five towers with over 650,000 square feet of office space, retail and 2,700 housing units.

Canadian Tire’s new CEO managed a baptism by virus

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

The announcement heralded one of those rare moments when corporate life reaches its zenith. Greg Hicks, president of Canadian Tire Retail, had been elevated to the role of chief executive officer of Canadian Tire Corp. (CTC-T), a giant, near-century-old institution.

Medline set to tackle an e-commerce revolution

Commercial  •  Financial Post

CEO Michael Medline joined Empire after a long career at Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd., including CEO from 2014 to 2016. That gives Medline a different perspective on the grocery business, one that was likely needed when he arrived at Empire in January 2017.

The Legal Corner › COVID-19 Litigation: Supporting Ontario’s recovery Act, 2020 (the “Act”)

Samuel Mosonyi and Darrell Gold:

As others exit, Avenue, Mainstreet buying Alta. multires

Residential  •  Western Investor  •  RENX  •  RENX

Two of the biggest and most successful landlords in Alberta – Mainstreet Equity Corporation (MEQ-T) and Avenue Living – have perfected a go low and get big strategy that has allowed them to thrive despite Alberta’s economic headwinds over the past 20 years.

Lifetime proposes 29-storey, 217-unit condo

Residential  •  Urban Toronto

Lifetime Developments has proposed a 29-storey condominium tower at 49 Jackes Ave. in the city’s Summerhill neighbourhood. The Hariri Pontarini Architects-designed proposal would house a total of 217 condominium units proposed in a mix of 104 one-bedrooms, 90 two-bedrooms, and 23 three-bedrooms.

Soroptimis plans 13-storey, 135-unit rental tower

Residential  •  urbanYVR

Soroptimist International of Vancouver is planning to redevelop their property at West 13th Ave., demolishing an existing rental building and replacing it with a 13-storey rental tower. The GBL Architects-designed tower would contain 135 units, 47 of which would be family-friendly.

HBC attempt to overturn lockdowns dismissed by court

Commercial  •  Financial Post  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed an attempt by Hudson’s Bay Co. to have the province’s lockdown restrictions struck down or modified to allow its stores to open alongside competitors such as Walmart and Costco.

Podcasts from the real estate world

Residential, Commercial  • 

Mark Fieder, Avison Young: Founding a brokerage, CRE Podcast
Vera Liu, KingSett Capital: Not one to miss out, Highview Partners People Who Perform: Episode 29
Trevor David, The Art of BBQ: On the frontlines of a restaurant in the pandemic, Down to Business: Episode 82

OFL calls for panel to probe construction site deaths

Residential  •  Daily Commercial News  •  Daily Commercial News  •  Daily Commercial News

The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) is calling for immediate action including a panel of inquiry to investigate and stop workers’ deaths on construction sites and other workplaces across Ontario.  

Apollo raises takeover offer for Great Canadian Gaming

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Financial Post  •  Toronto Star

Great Canadian Gaming Corp. (GC-T) says Apollo Global Management Inc. (APO-N) has raised its takeover offer for the casino operator, winning key shareholder support. Apollo will now pay $45 per share, up from its earlier offer of $39 per share.

Blackwells offers to acquire Monmouth for $3.8B

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire  •  Bloomberg

Blackwells Capital LLC announced it submitted an offer letter to Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corp.’s (MNR-N) Board of Directors outlining an all-cash offer to acquire Monmouth for $18.00 per share. The all-cash transaction is valued at approximately $3.8 billion.

Plummeting real estate sales cost NYC $1.2B

Residential, Commercial  •  Bloomberg  •  Bisnow

The pandemic’s slowdown in real estate deals has cost New York City $1.2 billion in lost revenue so far this year. Sales of commercial and residential properties are down 49% year-over-year through November, according to the Real Estate Board of New York.

Five condo developments coming to Montreal in 2021

Residential  •  Montreal Gazette  •  Montreal Gazette

From cutting-edge LEED-certified projects to high-end boutique buildings, 2021 will see a slew of fascinating new condo projects in the City of Montreal. Here, we examine the details of a few unique developments on the horizon:

No simple solutions to skyrocketing condo insurance: Report

Residential  •  CBC  •  Global News

The BC Financial Services Authority said in a report Friday risks related to catastrophic events, some involving climate change, have put additional pressure on insurance companies’ profitability, leading to premium and deductible increases in parts of Canada and globally.

Van.’s heritage-homes policy appears to miss the mark

Residential  •  Globe and Mail

Judging by the signs on construction sites and the official policies, many of the City of Vancouver’s older houses are being lovingly renovated and restored to enhance their historic character. However, that’s not true, many experienced developers and builders say.

B.C. seeks forfeiture of $1.8 million in properties

Residential  •  Vancouver Sun

The B.C. Civil Forfeiture Office seeks to have forfeited two Chilliwack properties valued at $1.8 million that are allegedly linked to drug trafficking and money laundering. The accusations also include the failure to declare taxable income.