Canada’s economy ready to ‘take off like a rocket’: Tal

RENX  Residential, Commercial  •  Office, Industrial, Homes, Investment, Retail  •  National

Canada’s pandemic-weary economy is poised to “take off like a rocket” in the latter part of 2021, says CIBC World Markets deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal. His economic update at the Real Estate Forum in Toronto was a message of hope.

Starlight plans Metro Vancouver’s largest apt. community

RENX  Residential  •  Apartments  •  Metro Vancouver

Canada’s largest provider of purpose-built rental development, Starlight, is planning to build Metro Vancouver’s largest rental housing community. Lougheed Village, which would create a 1,728-unit rental complex near Lougheed Mall, is going through the City of Burnaby’s rezoning process.

Polygon, Madison project to double Mission’s population

Residential, Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver

The District of Mission has started the transformation of the largest private land parcels in the Lower Mainland – more than 4,400 acres. Ongoing development by Polygon Homes and Madison Development will create a new Fraser Valley community and double Mission’s population.

OPUS Corp. grows into leader in Calgary real estate

Residential, Commercial  •  Calgary Herald

Since OPUS Corp. was launched in Calgary in 1983 it has grown to be a leader in commercial and residential real estate, developing more than 25 million square feet of attractive and functional buildings. Today, president/CEO Hannes Kovac leads a team of 38.

CAPREIT acquires Halifax apartment building for $11.9M

Residential  •  Globe Newswire  •  RENX

CAPREIT (CAR-UN-T) announced it has purchased a recently constructed apartment building containing 38 suites in Bedford, a suburb of Halifax. CAPREIT paid $11.9 million for the property financed by cash. The Madison’s suites are all large two-bedroom units and occupancy currently stands at 97.4%.

The Legal Corner › CERS: New benefit program assists commercial tenants, property owners

Rachel Puma & Darrell Gold: Lawyers

Europe No. 1, but Canada GRESB leader in the Americas

Commercial  •  Sustainable Biz Canada

Canada has extended its lead as the top GRESB performer in the Americas, outpacing the United States, Mexico and Brazil in management and performance according to 2020 assessment results. GRESB revealed the results during a Nov. 24 event co-hosted by REALPAC.

Dorval Gardens location latest HBC to shutter

Commercial  •  Montreal Gazette  •  Retail Insider  •  Montreal Gazette

The West Island footprint of North America’s oldest company is about to shrink. Hudson’s Bay Co. will shut its Dorval Gardens store for good in September 2021, the 350-year-old retailer confirmed Wednesday in an emailed statement.

Consumers remain the cornerstone: Supermarket CEOs

Commercial  •  Canadian Grocer

Though this has been a year filled with unprecedented disruptions and uncertainty for Canada’s grocery industry, one thing remains: consumers are the cornerstone of all strategic decision-making, Save-On-Foods president Darrell Jones said during the virtual Thought Leadership conference held Monday.

Ottawa’s ByWard Market to add ‘destination building’

Commercial  •  CBC  •  Ottawa Citizen  •  CTV

Ottawa’s finance and economic development committee approved a revitalization strategy for the ByWard Market on Tuesday — a plan that would see wider sidewalks, a new “destination building,” and fewer cars in the downtown neighbourhood.

Gaming studio Phoenix Labs expands to Montreal

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver

Prior to launching Phoenix Labs Canada ULC in 2014, Jesse Houston had spent years cutting his teeth in the gaming industry in Montreal and Edmonton. On Wednesday, Phoenix Labs officially opened its fourth North American location in Montreal.

Sandpiper increases Artis REIT investment to 10%

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX

Sandpiper Group has acquired, through Sandpiper Real Estate Fund 4 Limited Partnership, 100,000 units of Artis REIT (AX-UN-T) at an average price of $11.10 per unit or $1,110,000. Sandpiper owns 13,612,584 units, representing approximately 10.07 per cent of the 135,221,252 units issued.

BSR REIT sells five U.S. properties for $86M US

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX

BSR REIT (HOM.U-T) announced it has sold five non-core properties, comprising 890 apartment units: two in Houston; one each in Beaumont, Texas; Little Rock, Ark; and Longview, Texas. The REIT received total gross proceeds of $86 million US.

Dalfen acquires Texas’ Peachtree Distribution Center

Commercial  •  PR Newswire  •  RENX

Montreal-based Dalfen Industrial has acquired Peachtree Distribution Center from Clarion Partners at 17745 Lookout Rd.in the East Dallas suburb of Mesquite. This property is a 396,750-square-foot cross-dock, multi-tenant distribution facility with a minute drive of I-635 – the loop around Dallas.

NPC International cancels bidding for Wendy’s and Pizza Huts

Commercial  •  Nation’s Restaurant News

NPC International, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July, has cancelled bidding procedures for roughly 1,300 Wendy’s and Pizza Hut restaurants, according to a court document this week, paving the way for stalking-horse bidder Flynn Restaurant Group to buy NPC’s assets.

U.S. CRE executives optimistic despite market challenges

Commercial  •  PR Newswire

U.S. CRE executives expressed a modest increase in optimism about future market conditions, according to The Real Estate Roundtable’s Q4 Economic Sentiment Index. A majority believed general conditions one year from now will be either “somewhat better” or “much better.”

Offshore investor claims Vancouver housing fraud

Residential  •  Vancouver Sun

A Chinese investor who entrusted $45 million to a Vancouver-based property developer claims in B.C. Supreme Court he has been defrauded. Tong Zhang also alleges Hang Yin, his Canadian partner in the purchase of almost a dozen properties, has disappeared.

Alabaster proposes three Vancouver condo buildings

Residential  •  urbanYVR

Alabaster Homes is proposing three condo buildings on a land assembly consisting of eight single-family home sites on Vancouver’s Ash Street. The GBL Architects-designed development woould include two four-storey and one six-storey building, with a total of 133 strata condo units.

B.C.’s Sunshine Coast sales up 82% YOY

Residential  •  Vancouver Sun  •  CTV  •  CBC

The Sunshine Coast is officially the hottest real estate market in B.C., recording an 82 per cent year-over-year increase in home sales in November. “The market has heated up tremendously,” said Sechelt-based realtor Gary Little of Holywell Properties and Zealty.ca.

Canadians on the move: RE/MAX

Residential  •  Canada Newswire  •  CTV

RE/MAX Canada is anticipating healthy housing price growth in 2021, with move-up and move-over buyers continuing to drive activity. The 2021 RE/MAX Housing Market Outlook Report estimates a four to six per cent increase in the average residential sales price nation-wide.