Republic debuts with huge Scarborough development

RENX  Residential, Commercial  •  Condominiums, Apartments, Infrastructure, Retail  •  Toronto / GTA

Republic Developments just launched a year ago and it certainly isn’t easing its way into the business. The company’s first project is a 25.8-acre master-planned community called Scarborough Junction in the Toronto suburb for which it’s named.

Brookfield looking to sell Bay Adelaide Centre stake

Commercial  •  Financial Post  •  RENX

Brookfield Asset Management is looking to sell a 50 per cent stake in an office tower it’s developing in Toronto’s financial district, according to sources. Brookfield has valued the north tower of its Bay Adelaide Centre office complex at about $650 million.

Airbnb boosts IPO price range; looks to raise $3.09B

Residential  •  Reuters  •  Financial Post

Airbnb Inc expects to raise up to $3.09 billion in a stock market launch later this week after boosting its price range, capping a stunning recovery in its fortunes after it was heavily damaged by the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year.

RioCan’s payout cuts left BMO ‘quite surprised’

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  RENX

“We were quite surprised by RioCan REIT’s announcement of a distribution cut . . .,” BMO Nesbitt Burns’ Jenny Ma wrote wrote in a note to clients Friday. Canaccord Genuity analyst Mark Rothschild also downgraded his recommendation on RioCan to “hold” from “buy.”

Investors desperate to buy apartment buildings

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Vancouver Sun

Intense demand for Canadian apartment buildings has come roaring back, reigniting bidding wars between institutional investors for rental towers. With private buyers lining up in spades again, older properties have become prized assets – especially those with recent vacancies.

Investors will continue to favour B.C. multifamily: CBRE

Residential, Commercial  •  Western Investor  •  Western Investor

GUEST COLUMN: We predict 2021 will be a very active and positive year for multifamily as investors continue to be drawn towards defensive real estate assets. Strong investor demand for multifamily assets from the second half of 2019 carried over into Q1 2020.

CRE Matters › Productivity rethink must drive office space planning

Sarah Bramley and Amy Vuong: Colliers International

Intracorp plans 55-, 15-storey mixed-use towers

Residential, Commercial  •  urbanYVR

Intracorp, Forseed Group and CM Partners’ concept for 1045 Haro St. in Vancouver, which will include: 55- and 15-storey towers with a total of 516 units (450 strata condominiums and 66 rental units); 42,000 square feet of retail space; and a 49-space daycare.

Chard plans light industrial & office strata

Commercial  •  urbanYVR

Chard Development is planning an eight-storey, mixed-use building at 750 Southwest Marine Dr. between Cambie and Oak in Vancouver. The project is a strata office and light industrial offering, similar to Chard’s recent redevelopment of the former 3 Vets site.

Despite falling demand, developers build small condos

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Even as demand for smaller units has plummeted, studios and one-bedrooms account for 61 per cent of the units in new condo project launches in the Toronto region this year, according to new data from Urbanation Inc.

Strategic Storage Trust IV opens new facility in Brampton

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

Strategic Storage Trust IV, a public non-traded REIT sponsored by an affiliate of SmartStop Self Storage REIT, announced it has opened a newly constructed self-storage facility with 101,000 square feet of storage space in Brampton, in partnership with SmartCentres REIT.

BMO’s Griffiths one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

For the fifth consecutive year, a BMO Financial Group leader is among the recipients of the WXN (Women’s Executive Network) Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards. Sheri Griffiths, senior vice-president, Canadian Commercial Banking, will be celebrated along with 105 honourees.

Parkit sells Connecticut parking lot for $4.55M

Commercial  •  Yahoo Finance  •  RENX

Parkit Enterprise (PKT-X) announced the Riccio parking lot in New Haven, Conn., which was held within the OP Holdings Joint Venture, has been sold for US$4,550,000. Parkit’s share of the proceeds is approximately US$2 million.

Oxford Properties in talks to buy M7 Real Estate

Commercial  •  IPE Real Assets

Oxford Properties Group, the real estate arm of Canadian pension fund OMERS, is reportedly in talks to buy $5.2 billion Cdn European property fund manager M7 Real Estate. M7 confirmed it was “in exclusive negotiations” over a potential acquisition.

J.C. Penney’s retail and operating assets to exit Chapter 11

Commercial  •  Reuters

J.C. Penney Co Inc said on Monday its retail and operating assets would exit Chapter 11 as two of its biggest landlords, Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management Inc, have acquired nearly all such assets.

SERIES: Racial diversity falls short at major U.S. CRE firms

Commercial  •  Bisnow: Overview  •  Bisnow: Part III  •  Bisnow: Part II

Hundreds of billions flow through commercial real estate every year, but the people who control the vast majority of that wealth are white. This has been a truism since the dawn of the modern U.S. CRE era in the 1980s.

Bisnow: Part I

54-storey mixed-use tower proposed near Quebec village

Residential, Commercial  •  Ottawa Citizen

Montreal firefighter Karim Zaghbani Cloutier has proposed Domaine PÉKULIARI, a 54-storey tower about two kilometres from the centre of Namur, Que., in the middle of a forest, reaching 670 feet into the sky, easily the tallest building west of Montreal.

HSBC first Canadian bank with sub-1% variable mortgage

Residential  •  CBC  •  Toronto Star

HSBC has come out with a variable rate mortgage at 0.99 per cent, which industry watchers believe is a first in Canada. The promotion is for high-ratio, insured mortgages only — meaning only for buyers with less than 20 per cent down.

Pandemic boosts Canadian real estate: Soper

Residential  •  Global News

“Real estate is one of those sectors that is actually seeing what I call a ‘COVID catalyst,’ maybe the three P’s of the pandemic: puppies, Peloton and property,” said Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal Lepage.

Hidden foreign ownership explain Van. house prices, incomes

Residential  •  Vancouver Sun

The lack of connection between soaring housing prices and tepid local wages in Metro Vancouver is caused in large part by hidden foreign ownership, says a peer-reviewed study from Simon Fraser University welcomed by the B.C. minister responsible for housing.