Broccolini prepares 2 major S. Ontario industrial builds

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial  •  Ontario, Toronto / GTA

Broccolini has begun site work for major industrial construction projects at two large Southern Ontario properties – in the GTA City of Cambridge and in the Township of Southwold near St. Thomas.

Apt. sector update: Demand grows, but questions remain

RENX  Residential  •  Apartments  •  National

While purpose-built rental apartments have performed well through the pandemic, SVN Rock Advisors Inc., Brokerage chief executive officer Derek Lobo believes there’s still some uncertainty in the market.

DHL opening 244K-sq.-ft. automated hub in Hamilton

Commercial  •  PR Newswire

DHL Express announced a 244,000-square-foot automated hub  – four times the size of the current one – will be built in Hamilton as part of a $451 million (Cdn) investment to build new and expand existing facilities within the Americas region.

Place Dor​ée revamps plan for Ott. multi-tower project

Residential, Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal

Montreal developer Place Dor​ée Real Estate Holdings has rejigged its plan to build a multi-tower residential project in Ottawa’s Sandy Hill neighbourhood, reducing the proposed number of mixed-use buildings from five to four. The new plan calls for 1,463 residential units.

Alberta approves Calgary’s Green Line LRT project

Residential, Commercial  •  Calgary Herald  •  CBC  •  Calgary Herald

Calgary arena project up to $60M over budget

Commercial  •  CTV  •  Calgary Herald  •  CBC

Construction on Calgary’s new arena has yet to break ground, but the estimated budget is already up to $60 million higher than the price tag agreed upon in 2019, city council heard in a closed-door meeting.

Value: Weighed and Measured › Of hybrid work, road moratoriums and the insurers’ take on climate change

John Clark: AACI, FRICS | Vice President, The Regional Group of Companies Inc.

Jobs, jobs, jobs drives real estate: Dennis Mitchell

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  RENX

Most real estate investors look at “location, location, location” when deciding where to put their money. Not Dennis Mitchell. “What drives real estate is jobs, jobs, jobs,” says the CEO and chief investment officer at Starlight Capital in Toronto.

Building more housing key: CMHC CEO

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Toronto Star  •  Financial Post

Romy Bowers, who became Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. CEO in April, says the best way to combat soaring home prices is to build more housing. “I do think housing is becoming a really significant societal issue,” Bowers said.

StorageVault to acquire 2 GTA locations for $11.1M

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire  •  RENX

StorageVault Canada (SVI-X) has agreed to acquire two GTA stores from two vendor groups for an aggregate purchase price of $11,122,000, subject to customary adjustments. Both acquisitions are arm’s-length and are expected to close in Q3 2021.

Parkit purchases Ottawa industrial property for $24.5M

Commercial  •  Newsfile  •  RENX

Parkit Enterprise Inc. (PKT-X) has completed its arm’s-length purchase of 415 Legget Dr. in Ottawa. The property, currently 200,000 square feet of flex and industrial space on approximately 18 acres, was acquired for $24.5 million.

B.C. wildfires spur Port of Vancouver trade delays

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

Shipments of goods have been delayed in and out of the Port of Vancouver after wildfires damaged railway tracks near Lytton. “There are a large number of trains waiting to arrive at the Port of Vancouver,” Canada’s largest port said.

Sun Life will let employees choose where to work

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Sun Life Financial Inc. (SLF-T) says it will not require its 12,000 Canadian employees to return to the office as pandemic restrictions ease, instead allowing them flexibility to decide their own work arrangements.

CPP, Greystar form U.S. life sciences development JV

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  IPE Real Assets  •  RENX

CPP Investments and Greystar Real Estate Partners, LLC have allocated an initial US$1.2 billion in equity to a joint venture to develop class-A life science office and lab buildings in leading U.S. life science markets.

Brookfield plans Long Island logistics centre

Commercial  •  Commercial Observer  •  IPE Real Assets  •  Bisnow

Brookfield Properties has purchased an industrial site in Garden City, Long Island, for $13.3 million. Brookfield plans to demolish the existing low-slung office building and build a 100,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution centre on the 6.5-acre property.

Owner of Forever 21, JCPenney files to go public

Commercial  •  Toronto Star

Authentic Brands Group Inc., the owner of downtrodden retail brands including JCPenney and Forever 21, plans to sell shares to the public according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Hottest RE markets show signs of tapering off

Residential  •  Financial Post  •  Ottawa Citizen  •  Toronto Star

Most of Canada’s housing markets are also showing signs of normalizing after a manic spring. In Calgary, house sales reached 2,915 units in June — a record high for the month — but the supply side also increased notably.

Feds, Alta. invest $444M in rent support

Residential  •  CBC  •  Global News

Rent support is on the way for those living in low-income housing in Alberta, thanks to the $444-million Canada-Alberta Housing Benefit, which will provide rent relief from 2019-’20 through to 2028. It’s expected 35,500 households will benefit from the program.

T.O., Hamilton one step closer to taxing vacant homes

Residential  •  CBC  •  CBC  •  Toronto Star

The City of Toronto is on track to begin taxing vacant properties to try to stop real estate speculators from buying up homes and letting them sit empty while residents struggle to find affordable housing.

$48M insurance inadequate for collapsed condo: Judge

Residential  •  Insurance Business America

A judge has ruled that the reported $48 million insurance coverage of a collapsed condominium building in Florida is “simply not enough,” as the association responsible for the facility faces five separate lawsuits.