Cannabis CRE: Big boost for retail, production in flux

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial, Retail  •  National

The real estate needs of the emerging cannabis sector are still shaking down as producers, processors and retailers mature. While the retail sector grows rapidly and offers opportunity for property owners, the market for massive greenhouse production facilities slumps.

Marlin Spring buys T.O. property with Development Fund

RENX  Residential  •  Condominiums, Investment, Land  •  Toronto / GTA

Marlin Spring has announced more than $115 million in commitments to its new Development Fund, made two Toronto acquisitions over the past two months, and has an additional fund closing at the end of this month.

Marwest acquires Wpg. multires properties for $27M

Residential  •  Canada Newswire

Winnipeg-based Marwest Apartment REIT (MAR-UN-X) has entered into agreements to purchase 112 units in two adjacent multifamily residential properties in Winnipeg. The properties, which were completed between 2019 and 2021, are 99 per cent occupied and were acquired for $27 million.

The People Space › People Space: Senior hirings at Colliers, Freed, Cdn. Gaming …

Don Wilcox: Managing Editor

City and residents oppose Metrolinx rail yard plan

Commercial  •  CBC

A grassroots group in Thorncliffe Park trying to stop Metrolinx from building a mammoth rail yard in the community are supported by Toronto city council, which has unanimously requested the province move the proposed maintenance and storage facility.

Ottawa details funding for Tewin suburb infrastructure

Residential  •  CBC

City of Ottawa staff have outlined how to pay for infrastructure when it expands its urban boundary for new housing, including a 445-hectare suburb called Tewin, a development the Algonquins of Ontario proposed with their partner Taggart.

Opposition emerges to Taggart’s two-tower proposal

Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal  •  CBC

Taggart Realty Management filed a proposal in Ottawa to demolish an office building and build 22- and 28-storey towers containing 460 residential units near the future hospital site. The local councillor says the development would cause traffic problems and overshadow homes.

City funds office-to-residential conversions in Calgary

Commercial  •  Everyday Tourist

The City of Calgary recently announced a $45-million program to provide grants to downtown office building owners, of up to $75 per square foot up, to convert them to residential. This would support about four large office building conversions.

Zellers pop-up launches inside HBC location

Commercial  •  Retail Insider

Hudson’s Bay Co. recently launched a Zellers pop-up shop-in-store at its Burlington Centre location near Toronto, and more Zellers pop-ups could follow according to the retailer. At its peak in the 1990s, Zellers had over 350 stores in Canada.

DHL launching four Canada mobile retail stores

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

DHL, a global express and logistics company, is opening first-of-its-kind mobile retail stores in Canada. The company has invested more than $430,000 to create four, electric-powered mobile pop-up locations, called DHL pop-up stores, to provide a safe and easy-to-use shipping option.

Uniqlo to double Montreal store count in 2022

Commercial  •  Retail Insider

Japanese fashion retailer Uniqlo will double its store count in the Montreal area by opening two new locations in the spring of 2022. The new stores follow the opening of Canada’s largest Uniqlo store in downtown Montreal last year.

High land prices detour Vancouver industrial users

Commercial  •  Western Investor

Recent sales of brownfield industrial sites for more than $15 million an acre are further evidence of a “deepening crisis” driving investors and owner-occupiers out of Metro Vancouver, where industrial vacancy rates are the second-lowest in North America.

Port of Vancouver expects container crunch, price hikes

Commercial  •  Financial Post

The CEO of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, Canada’s largest port, anticipates it will run out of container capacity between 2025 and 2028 despite expanding by the equivalent of 600,000 containers. This threatens to prolong the price pains of Canadian importers and exporters.

Prince Rupert Port an economic anchor during pandemic

Commercial  •  Western Investor

While the COVID-19 pandemic dampened the B.C. economy, strong trade through the Port of Prince Rupert helped sustain the province according to the Port of Prince Rupert Gateway Council’s study.

Office properties increasingly transformed into labs

Commercial  •  Wealth Management

In about a dozen top cities, demand is high and rents are growing quickly for lab spaces and life sciences buildings. In response, a growing number of investors are converting conventional office buildings to include laboratory spaces.

The co-working sector is bouncing back

Commercial  •  Wealth Management  •  CP Executive  •  TECHSTORY

As  multiple effective COVID-19 vaccines arrived on the market, it’s becoming clear co-working has staying power. In 2021, both of the world’s largest co-working operators —WeWork and IWG — report upticks in occupancy and desk sales approaching pre-pandemic levels.

City orders common area for residents not penthouse owner

Residential  •  Vancouver Sun

The City of Vancouver has ordered that a 6,000-sq.-ft. space in a luxury condo building in Yaletown that had been the “exclusive” domain of the penthouse owner, Concord Pacific president and CEO Terry Hui, be available to all residents.

New Mtl. home under construction after illegal demo

Residential  •  Montreal Gazette

A call for tougher measures comes after a home at 4 St. Joachim Ave. in the Pointe-Claire Village that dates back some 100 years was demolished last summer without city approval. Owner André Meloche eventually paid a $25,000 fine.

Competition for Toronto’s apartments is back

Residential  •  Toronto Star

Requests such as five months’ rental payment in advance, and bidding wars on apartments, are expected to become more common as Toronto’s pandemic rent contraction appears to be at an end. Rents were already hitting a ceiling before COVID-19.

COVID-19 will leave a lasting mark on real estate

Residential  •  Globe and Mail

As COVID-19 restrictions ease a question for the real estate industry is what pandemic practices it should keep and what can go by the wayside including sanitary practices, virtual showings, digital documentation, and numerous other changes introduced during the pandemic.