Vancouver, Seattle, Portland mega-region concept lives

RENX  Commercial  •  Infrastructure, Investment  •  Metro Vancouver, International

A high-speed rail connecting Vancouver, Seattle and Portland would help develop a so-called Cascadia mega-region comprised of hub cities, boosting economic growth and creating smart density instead of sprawl, panelists heard at the recent Vancouver Real Estate Forum.

Dymon plans ‘Ritz Carlton’ of facilities in Scarborough

Commercial  •  Toronto Star  •  RENX

Ottawa-based Dymon Storage has proposed a six-storey facility claiming to be the “Ritz Carlton of storage” in Malvern, a neighbourhood in Northeast Scarborough. If approved, the 88.6-foot high 1370 Neilson Rd. facility would be Dymon’s fourth location in the GTA.

Collingwood halts development due to water shortage

Residential  •  Toronto Star

Developer Thomas Vincent’s still-in-progress adult lifestyle village is just a five-minute walk from Georgian Bay, “the sixth Great Lake.” However, Collingwood, Ont., council says there soon won’t be enough treated water for new condos and homes so development is halting.

Marlin Spring buys 8 srs. homes, founds Spring Living

RENX  Residential  •  Seniors Housing  •  Ontario, Toronto / GTA, Ottawa

Marlin Spring dipped its toe into the retirement housing pool by purchasing two Southern Ontario seniors homes in 2019. It has now acquired eight additional residences from Revera and launched Spring Living Retirement Communities with Lois Cormack at the helm.

Who are Canada’s real estate billionaires?

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

You might know Vancouver housing developer Francesco Aquilini, who owns the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks, and Mattamy Homes founder Peter Gilgan. However, the vast majority of the country’s real estate billionaires remain low-key, to the point of being obsessively private.

The Saskatchewan Edge › Liken your commercial real estate portfolio to a fleet of ships

Barry Stuart: Managing Partner and Senior Sales Associate , ICR Commercial Real Estate

Developers eye shuttering golf course for housing

Residential, Commercial  •  La Presse

The Morin family-owned Les Légendes Golf Clubs in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu is shuttering at season’s end. The 6.4 million square feet of land is owned by three groups, including the Morin family. Developers want to build 750 homes in two projects.

Ground broken on $500M Calgary BMO Centre project

Commercial  •  CBC

After years of preparations, the ceremonial groundbreaking for the half-billion-dollar expansion of Calgary’s BMO Centre was held Thursday. The expansion will see the current facility at Stampede Park double in size, adding 560,000 square feet of space to the building.

Auburn Developments exec blasts London city hall

Residential  •  London Free Press

Auburn Developments wants to bring a 350-unit housing development to northwest London, but city hall is reviewing whether the 20-hectare site should stay green. “The city is constraining development it seems,” said Auburn vice-president Stephen Stapleton.

Metro Van. population to increase more than 1M by 2050

Residential  •  CBC

Metro Vancouver planners project the region will have more than one million additional residents by 2050. According to new data, planners project there will be 3.8 million people living in Metro Vancouver in the next 30 years — an average growth of 35,000 per year.

Wills Transfer acquires Orange Logistics Centres

Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal

Smiths Falls, Ont.-headquartered Wills Transfer has purchased Orange Logistics Centres, a third-party logistics business that operates a 30,000-square-foot warehouse in Carp. Wills Transfer operates more than 800,000 square feet of Ontario warehouse space in Ottawa, Perth, Smiths Falls, Brockville and Carp.

Imperial acquires 6K-sq.-ft Edm. office building

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

Imperial Equities Inc. (IEI-X) has acquired the Teamsters’ former Edmonton property in Imperial’s Coppertone Industrial Common, which consists of seven properties with almost 120,000 square feet of first-class industrial space. The Teamsters property has 6,000 square feet of office building.

Amazon plans further logistics expansion

Commercial  •  Bisnow  •  Globe and Mail  •  RENX

E-commerce giant Amazon (AMZN-Q), whose sales have benefited enormously from the coronavirus pandemic, will continue to invest massively in its logistics capabilities, which is one of the company’s long-standing goals, including a larger distribution footprint.

Sonder to go public via SPAC deal at $2.2B valuation

Residential  •  Bisnow  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  RENX

Sonder, which leases and manages blocks of apartments for short-term rentals, will go public through an acquisition by a SPAC called Gores Metropoulos II. The SPAC raised $450 million when founders Alec Gores and Dean Metropoulos took it public in January.

RHP Properties acquires 29 U.S. MHCs for $184M

Residential  •  PR Newswire

RHP Properties, the nation’s largest private owner and operator of manufactured home communities, announced the acquisition of 29 manufactured home communities in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan containing more than 4,200 sites, for a purchase price of $184 million.

U.S. home builders push for new softwood deal

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

U.S. home builders are urging the Biden administration to negotiate a new softwood deal with Canada after lumber costs for a single-family house tripled over the past year to nearly $53,000 US.

B.C. to temporarily stop taxing homes that do not exist

Residential  •  Western Investor

Two years after the B.C. Liberal opposition and small-business commercial tenants called for its elimination, the B.C. government will temporarily stop charging a speculation and vacancy tax on homes that do not and may never exist.

Escalation clauses raise the stakes in bidding process

Residential  •  Globe and Mail  •  CBC  •  Globe and Mail

Homebuyers are having bids stymied by a competitor who declared they would pay $5,000 more than the highest offer. The use of an escalation clause “is just a land mine waiting for someone to step on,” says realtor Shawn Lackie.

State of mortgage lending isn’t precarious

Residential  •  Financial Post  •  Western Investor

Unlike the U.S., where subprime mortgages were at the heart of the financial meltdown in 2008, recent Canadian homebuyers are financially strong and stable. No fewer than 62 per cent of recent homebuyers used their savings for a down payment.

Peerage Realty acquires partnership interest in Byng Group

Residential  •  Canada Newswire

Peerage Realty Partners Inc. has acquired a substantial partnership interest in The Byng Group, Canada’s leading provider of services that prepare multifamily residential rental units for new occupants. Byng’s executive team will continue to lead the company.