Artis REIT puts Calgary office portfolio up for sale

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial, Office  •  Calgary, Alberta

Artis Real Estate Investment Trust (AX-UN-T) is selling the remainder of its Calgary office portfolio, which includes six buildings comprising close to 700,000 square feet. It’s part of the REIT’s overall strategy of divesting Calgary office property which began in 2016.

SmartCentres plans 42-, 45-storey Richmond Hill towers

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto  •  RENX

SmartCentres REIT (SRU-UN-T) is preparing a gradual transformation of the lands of the South Hill Shopping Centre in the heart of Richmond Hill. SmartCentres’ proposal would include a transit-oriented development with 42- and 45-storey mixed-use towers rising  from a five-storey podium.

New communities planned for Yonge subway extension

Residential, Commercial  •  Daily Commercial News  •  Ontario Government media release  •  Toronto Star

The Ontario government recently announced it has designated two sites along the Yonge North Subway Extension for transit-oriented developments. The two new community hubs would be at the Bridge and High Tech stations on the TTC’s extended Line 1.

Oxford, CPP selling NYC’s St. John’s Terminal to Google for $2.1B

RENX  Commercial  •  Office

Oxford Properties Group and joint venture partner CPPIB announced today that Google has exercised its option to purchase the St. John’s Terminal development, which it currently leases, for $2.1 billion (all figures US).

Greybrook, Tribute acquire Ontario land for $43.5M

Residential  •  Globe Newswire  •  RENX

Greybrook Realty Partners has acquired a prime parcel of land in Lindsay, Ont., for $43,525,000. Together with its developer partner, Tribute Communities, Greybrook intends to develop the land into a residential community consisting of over 2,600 townhomes, semi-detached and single-detached homes.

Historic Bank of Toronto building for lease

Commercial  •  Daily Hive

Anyone looking to lease office space in downtown Toronto now has the opportunity to acquire space inside the historic Bank of Toronto building. The building at 205 Yonge Street,  which sat vacant for nearly 20 years, is going for $37 per square foot.

Sponsored by Firm Capital Corporation Firm Capital, providing bridge financing for over 30 years

Firm Capital established a track record as a leading non-bank lender in Canada providing bridge financing – 1st and 2nd mortgages, land financing, construction financing, secondary debt on investment properties, subordinated debt and J/V equity capital.

Imperial acquires first B.C. property for $3.2M

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  Canada Newswire

Edmonton-headquartered Imperial Equities Inc. (IEI-X) has acquired a 21,140-square-foot industrial building situated on 4.62 acres in Fort St. John, its first B.C. transaction. The property, acquired for $3.2 million, is leased to industrial products and services provider Wajax.

Design, Policy and Canadian Cities › Issues which impact housing affordability, beyond supply and demand

Naama Blonder: Architect, Urban Designer, Urban Planner | B.Arch, OAA, RPP, MCIP

Zyer proposes eight-storey Ott. apartment building

Residential  •  Ottawa Business Journal

Ottawa developer Zyer Developments’ proposal for a multi-residential complex in Centretown would restore one of the buildings currently occupying the site to its early 20th-century appearance while also building an eight-storey apartment building with 30 residential units at 283 and 285 McLeod St.

Van. office market will rebound slowly: Colliers

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver

“The challenge with COVID is it’s not a tap that’s just going to turn off,” Colliers International Canada executive vice-president Colin Scarlett says. “It’s not like . . . after Labour Day suddenly everybody’s back downtown. It will be a slow progression back.”

West Edmonton Mall marks 40 years of operations

Commercial  •  Retail Insider

West Edmonton Mall last week marked 40 years of operations. The massive shopping centre opened in September 1981 and has expanded to four phases over the years. The entertainment-heavy shopping centre began adding luxury brand stores several years ago.

Chinese developer Sinic halts trading after sinking 87%

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

Shanghai-based developer Sinic Holdings Group Co. has halted trading after an 87% slump in its shares Monday afternoon. The sudden selloff in the last two hours leading up to the suspension was accompanied by a surge in trading volume.

JLL enters U.K. short-term rental sector

Residential  •  PhocusWire  •  ShortTermRentalz

JLL is launching a short-term rental platform it’s positioning as a rival to giants in the space including Airbnb and Booking.com. JLL Short Stays will offer stays ranging from three nights to more than 12 months in cities across the U.K.

Berlin’s proposal for surging rents: Evict the landlords

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

Faced with a growing affordability crisis, Berlin will ask voters this month to consider a radical housing decision: whether or not to evict the city’s biggest landlords and transfer 240,000 rental units to public ownership.

The global housing market is broken

Residential  •  Financial Post

Soaring property prices are forcing people all over the world to abandon all hope of owning a home. The fallout is shaking governments of all political persuasions. And it’s not just buyers — rents are also soaring in many cities.

Purpose-built rental building to open in Nelson

Residential  •  Vancouver Sun

A 39-suite rental building for workers in the hospitality and service industry will open in Nelson next month. The project will be owned and operated by the SHARE Housing Initiative Society, a spin-off of the Kootenay Christian Fellowship

Hamilton’s growth means changes in housing: OPINION

Residential  •  Hamilton Spectator

To provide enough housing, Hamilton needs to grow up, in and out: up — with taller buildings around transit and central arteries; in — with denser infill housing in existing neighbourhoods; and, out — with communities built at the edges of the city.

Home price gains slow for third consecutive month

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Canadian home prices rose month-over-month in August as the price growth slowed for the third consecutive month. The Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index rose 1.0 per cent in August, following a 2.0% gain in July and a 2.7% gain in June.

Tribe to acquire B.C. property management portfolio

Residential  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX

Tribe Property Technologies Inc. (TRBE-X) has entered into an agreement to acquire Powder Highway Management Group’s property management portfolio, comprising of residential management contracts and current employees in the communities of Revelstoke and Golden in South-Eastern British Columbia.