Prime downtown Edmonton dev. block for sale

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial, Retail, Land  •  Edmonton

CBRE has listed a city block with significant development potential for sale in Edmonton’s downtown warehouse district. The 74,884-square-foot Massey Harris Ferguson Block is close to MacEwan University and the Ice District.

The brave new world of investor communications in CRE

RENX  Commercial  •  Human Resources, Investment, Technology  •  National

Communicating with investors has always been vital, but the pandemic both created greater demand, and forced most firms to change their interactions with clients. Panelists during a June 17 webinar agreed, those who successfully navigated the upheaval have reaped benefits.

Mattamy Homes plans to move into high-rise condos

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Canada Newswire

Mattamy Homes, known as a force in the suburbs, wants to meet soaring demand for homes in the Toronto area by building up, along with out. Mattamy on Thursday is launching Mattamy GTA Urban, a dedicated high-rise development division.

The People Space › People Space: Machin joins Serendipity, moves at C&W, AY, CMLS…

Don Wilcox: Managing Editor

Dream closes on $1.3B European logistics buy

Commercial  •  Business Wire  •  IPE Real Assets  •  RENX

Dream Industrial REIT (DIR-UN-T) has closed on the acquisition of shares of a corporation that owns a portfolio of 31 institutional quality, logistics properties across Europe. The value of the real estate in connection with the acquisition is approximately $1.3 billion Cdn.

Council approves South Edmonton LRT extension

Commercial  •  Global News  •  CTV

Extending the Capital Line LRT to the city’s southern suburbs is one step closer to reality after Edmonton city council approved amended plans that includes a new elevated station, overpass and maintenance facility on Tuesday.

Hamilton-Montreal marine shipping to cut emissions

Commercial  •  Sustainable Biz Canada

Convinced that marine shipping is the greenest form of transportation, Hamilton Container Terminal and the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority (HOPA) have launched a container shipping service between Hamilton and the Port of Montreal and could become a weekly service soon.

IBI Group proposes mixed-use complex in Kelowna

Residential, Commercial  •  Castanet

IBI Group has proposed on behalf of Vancouver’s Peterson Group to build 466 residential units, 10,000 square feet of commercial space and another 9,000 square feet of amenities spread over four six-storey buildings on the western part of Kelowna’s Dilworth Shopping Centre.

Port Alberni to expropriate 43 industrial acres

Commercial  •  Port Alberni Valley News

The City of Port Alberni has served Western Forest Products with a notice of expropriation for the Somass Sawmill lands, 43 acres of prime waterfront industrial property in the centre of the waterfront. The mill has been indefinitely curtailed since July 2017.

YM Inc. buys Le Château assets

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

Toronto-based YM Inc., the owner of mall-based clothing chains such as Stitches, Bluenotes and Suzy Shier, has agreed to purchase Le Château’s intellectual property, as well as some of its merchandise and signage out of bankruptcy.

Gravy train is over for Canadian grocery stores

Commercial  •  Toronto Star

Supermarkets will face tougher competition and declining sales in the coming months as consumers shift their shopping behaviours amid lifted restrictions and widespread vaccinations. The first signs of abating came as Empire posted its first sales decline in a year.

COVID-19’s third wave walloped retailers: StatsCan

Commercial  •  CBC  •  Bloomberg  •  Globe and Mail

Retail sales fell by almost six per cent in April, the biggest slump in a year, as the third wave of COVID-19 across Canada closed stores. Statistics Canada reported Wednesday that nine of 11 retail sectors saw lower sales.

Brookfield, Tishman bet billions on return to office

Commercial  •  Bloomberg  •  Commercial Observer  •  Financial Post

The pandemic has created a once-in-a-generation buying opportunity for investors willing to bet on the long-term prospects of workers returning to the hearts of global cities, according to Tishman Speyer president Rob Speyer and Brookfield Asset Management CEO Bruce Flatt.

Financial centre workers slow to return to office

Commercial  •  Bloomberg

Roughly 15 months after locking down, several of the globe’s key financial centres are struggling to get employees back to their offices. Workplace activity in London, New York and San Francisco is still 50% below its normal level, according to Google data.

Colliers launches strategic partnership with Blue Skyre

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire

Leading diversified professional services and investment management company Colliers (CIGI-T) announced a global partnership with Blue Skyre IBE, LLC to accelerate the growth of an innovative Facilities Management Advisory offering.

China’s first REITs make steady debut

Commercial  •  South China Morning Post  •  Reuters

China’s first nine publicly traded REITS got off to a steady start on their debut. The REITs, linked to infrastructure projects from industrial estates to waste water treatment plants, rose above their offer price on the mainland’s exchanges on Monday.

Marlin Spring to build multi-tiered res building in T.O.

Residential  •  Globe Newswire  •  RENX

Marlin Spring, along with its capital partner Greybrook Realty Partners, has acquired a 1.12-acre property on Cosburn Avenue in Toronto’s Old East York Region and plans to develop and construct a significant multi-tiered residential building.

T.O. bewildering landscape for would-be buyers

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

Buyers and sellers in the Toronto-area real estate market need a sound strategy in a market that has become unpredictable. “It has been such a changing market – there’s no consistency,” says Christopher Bibby, broker with Re/Max Hallmark Bibby Group Realty.

Rising interest rates top issue for housing market: Economists

Residential  •  Global News  •  RENX

With economic activity revving up again, several analysts believe the Bank of Canada will start raising its trend-setting interest rate in the second half of 2022. That is expected to provide relief from rapid home price growth, CIBC’s Benjamin Tal says.

U.S. mortgage rates rise above three per cent

Residential  •  Globe Newswire

Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey showing the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.02 per cent, rising above three per cent for the first time in 10 weeks.