Towering urban enclaves grow in Metro Vancouver

RENX  Residential, Commercial  •  Office, Land, Homes, Retail  •  Metro Vancouver

Seeds of change by Metro Vancouver’s planning strategy eight years ago are growing into cities within the city, says an Avison Young report. Towering urban enclaves are taking root in Oakridge, Brentwood, Lougheed, Metrotown and a dozen other places.

Big designs to change Vancouver skyline

Residential  •  Vancouver Sun

Several new high-rise developments are in the works for downtown Vancouver. A rezoning application was recently posted at 1075 Nelson for a 60-storey tower designed by British architect Tom Wright. Wright achieved fame for the Burj Al Arab in Dubai.

Why Ottawa faces office, industrial space crunch

Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal  •  RENX  •  RENX

VIDEO: CBRE said Ottawa is facing a “shortage” of office spaces in excess of 50,000 square feet – a situation limiting the ability of tenants to expand or relocate. Industrial tenants are also currently facing a record low availability rate.

Winnipeg’s 136-year-old Fortune Block restored

Commercial  •  CBC

It took several million dollars and 2 ½ years for Ryan Pollard to perform major reconstructive surgery on two of Winnipeg’s ‘s oldest buildings. Now, the Fortune Block and its attached twin, the Macdonald Block, look exactly as they did in 1883.

Edmonton unveils latest plans for ‘River Crossing’

Residential, Commercial  •  Edmonton Journal

Decades on, dreams of adding urban vibrancy to the flats on the north bank of the North Saskatchewan River are taking shape as the City of Edmonton zeros in on its vision for west Rossdale.

Value: Weighed and Measured › Public transit: Must revenues and ridership be at odds?

John Clark: Vice President , The Regional Group of Companies Inc

Redpath Sugar marks 60 years on Toronto’s waterfront

Commercial  •  CBC  •  Globe Newswire

Sixty years ago, Redpath Sugar Ltd. opened a refinery on Toronto’s waterfront. On Saturday, company and city officials remembered that day. Phil Guglielmi, general manager of Redpath, says the company has seen the city grow around its landmark industrial site.

Mattamy CEO on moving beyond housing

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

A titanium hip isn’t the only shiny new thing in Mattamy Homes CEO Peter Gilgan’s life. The new hip joint  coincided with the launch of Mattamy Asset Management, a venture to broaden the reach of Canada’s largest residential home builder.

Fengate JVs on $255M Canadian travel centre deal

Commercial  •  The Moodie Davitt Report  •  Bloomberg

Italy’s highway services group Autogrill has completed the disposal of its Canadian motorway travel centre operations to a consortium led by Toronto’s Fengate Capital Management and Arjun Infrastructure Partners. The purchase price was $255 million Cdn.

Corporate Stays opens two buildings in Winnipeg

Residential  •  Winnipeg Free Press

Corporate Stays, a national leading brand in the corporate housing market has opened the doors on its first two buildings in Winnipeg, officially extending the company’s reach and operation into every major Canadian city.

CMHC targets banks for ‘cavalier’ approach to lending

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Evan Siddall, the guy who backstops $448-billion in mortgages for Canadian homeowners, is calling out the big banks for what he calls irresponsible behaviour that’s fuelling a highly leveraged residential real estate market.

9,000 churches, religious spaces to close in next 10 years

Commercial  •  CBC

According to the National Trust for Canada, over the next 10 years, 9,000 churches and other faith-owned buildings in Canada will be shuttered, sold off or demolished.

FreshCo continues Western expansion

Commercial  •  Canadian Grocer

Sobeys has opened two FreshCo stores in Richmond, B.C., as it continues to grow the discount banner in Western Canada. Parent company Empire (EMP-A-T) is starting to regain its footing after losing ground to competitors following its acquisition of Safeway.

Holloway acquires Houston office properties

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX

Holloway Lodging Corp. (HLC-T) announced it recently acquired three vacant office properties in Houston for an aggregate purchase price of US $13.2 million. Each property is located in the Greenspoint area of Houston.

NorthWest’s MOB earn digital connectivity distinction

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

NorthWest Healthcare Properties (NWH-UN-T) and WiredScore, the international standard internet connectivity in office buildings, announced each of the REIT’s 31 medical office building properties have been awarded the level of Wired Certified or higher, a first.

REIT first-quarter financial results

Commercial  • 

Fronsac REIT, (FRO-UN-X), Globe Newswire

Lanesborough REIT, (LRT-UN-X), Canada Newswire

Top 10 most and least expensive cities to rent

Residential  •  RentSeeker  •  Globe Newswire

Many of the top cities in Canada are expected to see rental rates increase anywhere between seven and 11 per cent by the end of 2019, and despite the dip in buying prices, rental prices are showing no signs of slowing down.

Great Gulf’s 1421 Yonge submitted for approval

Residential  •  Urban Toronto  •  RENX

Development in Toronto’s Yonge-St. Clair neighbourhood has been ramping up in recent years. 1421 Yonge is a 34-storey condo tower proposed by Great Gulf Group which features a bold design from Hariri Pontarini Architects (HPA).

Homebuyers escape high costs in secondary cities

Residential  •  CBC

Danielle Bacci’s favourite part of her move to near Windsor is the lack of traffic along her 15-minute commute to work in nearby Leamington. She and her partner left Toronto for the affordability of Kingsville, Ont.

Mount Dennis could use some new planning

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

How could Toronto evolve differently if you rewrote the rules, a group of young development industry professionals asked of Mount Dennis. Their answers suggested how the northwest Toronto neighbourhood might adapt to money and development coming its way.