Blue Vista acquires Toronto student building for $82M

RENX  Residential  •  Apartments  •  Ontario, Toronto / GTA

A major U.S.-based student housing provider which plans to also become a significant player in Canada has acquired the 12-storey Campus Common residence at Toronto’s Ryerson University. Blue Vista LLC of Chicago bought it from developer and operator Horizon Legacy.

National office report offers year-end big-city snapshots

RENX  Commercial  •  Office  •  National

Office vacancy rates continue to rise in major markets across Canada, reaching 10.8 per cent this quarter, according to Colliers Canada’s 2020 Q4 National Market Snapshot.

Amazon builds fourth Montreal warehouse in Lachine

Commercial  •  La Presse  •  RENX  •  RENX

Amazon will have a fourth location in the Montreal area next year. The e-commerce giant is having a new warehouse built at a cost of $66 million by its favourite developer, Broccolini, on Norman Street in Lachine.

Freed proposes 68-storey mixed-use tower

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto  •  RENX

Freed Developments has submitted a redevelopment proposal for a 68-storey mixed-use tower in Toronto’s Entertainment District. The AS + GG Architecture design for 240 Adelaide West would contain 637 residential units, 23,949 square feet of office space and 1,206 square feet of grade-level retail.

First Capital proposes three Liberty Village towers

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

First Capital is looking to redevelop Shops at King Liberty, a suburban-style plaza in Toronto’s bustling Liberty Village neighbourhood it acquired in 2004 with three three towers and podiums with 850 residential units in addition to retail and office space.

Inmino proposes 32-storey residential tower

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

Inmino Developments has proposed to build a 32-storey mixed-use residential tower two blocks north of North York Centre subway station. The proposal for 5205 Yonge would include a two-storey base/podium comprising a mix of residential, retail and commercial uses.

The Saskatchewan Edge › Ho Ho holding out hope for 2021

Kelly Macsymic: Business Manager, Stuart Commercial Inc., Sales Associate, ICR Commercial Real Estate

Polygon plans rental, condo towers near Oakridge Centre

Residential  •  urbanYVR

Polygon has applied to rezone a city block it owns across from Oakridge Centre to permit two residential towers. The redevelopment will see an existing commercial building replaced by a 14-storey market rental tower and a 27-storey market condo tower.

RH Architects proposes 150 rental units, pharmacy

Residential, Commercial  •  urbanYVR

RH Architects has applied to the City of Vancouver for the development of a six-storey building in the Hastings-Sunrise neighbourhood with 150 secured market rental units, and a new ground-floor London Drugs store with a pharmacy, medical clinic and restaurant.

Lockdowns turn very bad year worse for hotels

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Montreal Gazette

Hotel operators are bracing for another devastating lockdown after suffering through months of ultralow occupancy rates during the pandemic. Impending restrictions on travelling within Ontario are the latest blow to hotels that have lost most of their guests.

Vancouver wanted to buy all five Sahota-owned hotels

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

The City of Vancouver tried to buy all five of the Sahota family’s dorm-style apartment buildings before its protracted expropriation of their Regent and Balmoral hotels, according to a lawsuit from the barkeeper at one of those Downtown Eastside properties.

Podcasts from the real estate world

Residential, Commercial  • 

Geoff Smith, Kieran Hawe, EllisDon: Current challenges in construction industry, REALtalk: Episode 17
Colin Lynch, TD Asset Management: Advocating diversity, CRE Podcast
Kristian Halkias, Menkes Developments: The power of human connection, Highview Partners People Who Perform: Episode 30

Firm Capital REIT sells U.S. multifamily portfolio for $4.5M

Residential  •  Globe Newswire

Firm Capital Apartment REIT (FCA-UN-X) announced it has completed a sale of its interest in 14 multifamily buildings located in Bridgeport, Conn., to its joint venture partner. The trust received net proceeds of approximately $4.5 million from the sale.

Data-centre development accelerates for our digital lives

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

The shift to digital work and play from home, hastened by the pandemic, has wreaked havoc on commercial real estate. However, experts say it has also generated one surprising bright spot for the industry: data centres.

Korean investors acquire Seattle office tower for $669M

Commercial  •  Seattle Times

South Korean investment group Hana Alternative Asset Management and Hana Financial Group will buy a 95% stake in a newly opened 38-story office tower downtown for $669 million, Swedish developer Skanska announced Tuesday.

Lululemon plans overseas expansion

Commercial  •  Financial Post

Lululemon Athletica, whose upmarket leggings and sweatpants have taken affluent North Americans by storm, is eyeing plans to more than triple the proportion of revenues from overseas in an intensified global branding push in countries from the U.K. to Japan.

Here’s what $1M will get you in Montreal

Residential  •  Montreal Gazette

In the market for a million-dollar home in Montreal? At this price point, real estate broker Marc Lefrançois of Royal LePage Tendance said buyers should expect to make a few trade-offs.

Toronto opens 1st modular supportive housing building

Residential  •  Global News  •  Canada Newswire  •  CTV

The City of Toronto opened its first modular supportive housing building on Saturday in Scarborough. The building is one of two modular buildings that will soon bring 100 affordable housing units, city officials said in a news release.

U.S. luxury home sales surge a record 61% YOY

Residential  •  PR Newswire

U.S. luxury home sales surged 60.7% year-over-year during the three months ending Nov. 30, the biggest jump since at least 2013, according to a new report from Redfin. That nearly quadrupled the growth seen during the three months ending Feb. 29, before the coronavirus was declared a pandemic.

Zillow predicts stronger U.S. housing market in 2021

Residential  •  PR Newswire  •  Winnipeg Free Press

Zillow predicts the U.S. housing market will be even stronger in 2021. Zillow forecasts annual home sales growth will be the highest in nearly 40 years as life and financial certainty brings more sellers into the market to meet the heavy demand.