Allied to buy 50% of Westbank’s BC Place office tower

RENX  Commercial  •  Office, Retail  •  Metro Vancouver

Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (AP-UN-T) will provide up to $185 million in funding for a 17-storey Westbank office development at 720 Beatty Street in Vancouver, beside BC Place stadium. Allied will become a 50% owner of the 620,000-square-foot development upon completion.

Strategic Group turns Calgary office into apartments

RENX  Residential, Commercial  •  Office, Apartments  •  Calgary

The repurposing of an unused office building in downtown Calgary into the Cube apartments is more than symbolic. It’s tangible evidence of property owners adapting to new economic realities and thinking creatively about their commercial real estate.

Calgary’s Bow Valley Square standing strong

Commercial  •  Calgary Herald  •  RENX

Bow Valley Square, the four white towers that make up one of Calgary’s most iconic developments in the heart of its downtown office district, has tackled commercial vacancy rates with imaginative hospitality-focused offerings.

Arena could be ready for Flames’ 2024-’25 season

Commercial  •  Calgary Herald  •  CBC  •  CBC

The timeline for building a new $550-million event centre could see the Calgary Flames kicking off the 2024-’25 NHL season in their new Victoria Park digs. Following a year of finalizing design details and acquiring requisite permits, construction will commence in 2021.

Zoning approved for London casino development

Commercial  •  CBC  •  CTV

London is one step closer to getting a new casino in the city’s south end. City council voted to rezone the land on Wonderland Road South where Gateway Casinos and Entertainment plans to build a $75M Starlight Casino entertainment complex.

Equitable, Home Capital cash in on mortgage rules

Residential  •  Bloomberg  •  Financial Post  •  Canada Newswire

Shares of alternative lenders Equitable Group (EQB-T) and Home Capital Group (HCG-T) are surging as homebuyers seek financing outside the big banks in the wake of new mortgage rules and as prices in big cities Toronto remain lofty.

Vancouver home prices have sunk. Is CRE next?

Commercial  •  Real Capital Analytics

Home prices have been in a sharp retreat in Vancouver ever since the British Columbia government introduced a foreign buyers tax in mid-2016. The concern for some is that commercial property prices will be pulled down by the residential sector.

Sun Life could spend up to $1B on private credit deal

Commercial  •  Bloomberg  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX

Sun Life Financial (SLF-T) is looking to add private credit firepower. It is willing to spend up to $1 billion on firms with more than $10 billion in managed assets in mid-market lending, mezzanine financing or other areas of private credit space.

Charlesfort wins $4.5M lawsuit over Ottawa water main

Residential  •  CBC

Charlesfort Developments has won a $4.5-million lawsuit against the City of Ottawa over a water main that led to a costly redesign of its condo project. City solicitor Rick O’Connor said it plans to appeal the decision.

Developer hopes to help settle Oka land grievances

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

Developer Gregoire Gollin thought he had a steal when he purchased 220 hectares of land between the First Nations territory of Kanesatake and the village of Oka, Que., in 2004. The non-Indigenous family who sold him the land were eager to sell.

Mission tops off all-concrete Kelowna condo tower

Residential  •  Global News  •  RENX

Construction crews at Mission Group‘s new Kelowna condo projects held a topping-off ceremony on Tuesday, pouring the last bit of concrete. And with the topping off, the 205-foot height of 20-storey residential tower Ella is now complete.

13-storey mixed-use project proposed for Spadina

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

Rezoning is being sought from the City of Toronto for a 13-storey residential rental and retail building at 315 Spadina Ave. Designed by Montgomery Sisam Architects, the proposal would redevelop an existing single-storey commercial building.

Green REIT narrows buyout field to one

Commercial  •  Reuters  •  IPE Real Assets

Green REIT, the $1.9 billion Cdn-valued Irish REIT that put itself up for sale in April, said on Wednesday it had narrowed the field of possible buyers to one, after an auction process that ended on July 25.

Retail problems good news for WPT Industrial REIT 

Commercial  •  Motley Fool  •  RENX

It is becoming increasingly clear that brick-and-mortar retail is in decline. Despite this being bad news for retail REITs, it is a very positive development for the likes of Toronto-based WPT Industrial REIT (WIR-U-T).

REIT second-quarter financial results

Commercial  • 

Allied Properties REIT, (AP-UN-T), Globe Newswire

CT REIT, (CRT-UN-T), Canada Newswire

Granite REIT, (GRT-UN-T), Canada Newswire

Morguard REIT, (MRT-UN-T), Canada Newswire

REOC second-quarter financial results

Commercial  • 

First Capital Realty Inc., (FCR-T), Canada Newswire

Vancouver improves to moderate vulnerability: CMHC

Residential  •  Canada Newswire  •  Globe and Mail  •  Globe and Mail

After three years of high vulnerability, Vancouver now shows evidence of moderate vulnerability. Canada as a whole also continues to exhibit a moderate degree of vulnerability, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Housing Market Assessment (HMA).

T.O. federal site to include affordable housing

Residential  •  Toronto Star  •  CBC

The federal government’s realty arm – Canada Lands Company – is now asking bidders to include affordable housing on a large piece of surplus land up for sale on Toronto’s waterfront, after criticism from the local councillor and others.

Deals to be found in Toronto’s sleepy market

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Swimming against the current can be a rewarding strategy in a meandering mid-summer real estate market. Listings are slim in the Toronto area, but sellers now face less competition from other properties.

Toronto tenants fighting eviction by 1% landlord

Residential  •  CBC

Devon McKenzie and her roommates are refusing to vacate their Toronto home. McKenzie is one of seven tenants being evicted so the new landlord, a 20-year-old university student with a one per cent stake, can move in.