Oxford making big commitment to life sciences sector

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial, Office, Investment  •  National, International

Oxford Properties Group’s $350-million acquisition of four life sciences properties in Boston and San Francisco in January continued the company’s expansion in the sector, which has become a global priority over the past four years.

Work underway at new Chatham industrial site

Commercial  •  Chatham Daily News

Lots are reportedly selling briskly at an industrial property under construction in Chatham. Permissible zoning uses for Apollo General Contracting‘s 33-acre private development include light industrial and office building. The site will feature seven lots in its first phase.

12-storey mixed-use building proposed for Saint John

Residential, Commercial  •  CBC

A plan for a major 12-storey retail, office and residential development on King Street in Saint John is being put together by developer Percy Wilbur as a replacement for the abandoned former Woolworth’s store he bought in November.

Nicola Wealth, First Gulf JV to buy GTA ind. portfolio

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial  •  Toronto / GTA

Nicola Wealth Real Estate (NWRE) and First Gulf are expanding their existing partnership with the acquisitions of 10 industrial buildings and 30 acres of industrial land in the Greater Toronto Area. The acquisitions are two separate transactions.

N. Ontario office market ‘frozen’ as firms wait and see

Commercial  •  CBC

It’s still unclear how many Northern Ontario workers will eventually return to the office. “It’s pretty much status quo, just everybody’s frozen, slow motion,” says Paul Zulich, of Zulich Enterprises, which has 300,000 square feet of commercial space in Greater Sudbury.

The post-pandemic office: Two views from Ottawa tech

Commercial  •  Ottawa Citizen

When the pandemic triggered an economic lockdown a year ago, Ottawa’s two largest software firms – Shopify and Kinaxis (KXS-T) – drew opposite conclusions about the future of work. Kinaxis CEO John Sicard remains convinced most workers will return to the office.

Real Estate by the Numbers › Predictably wrong: Forecasts and real estate investment

Volodya Gusak: President, Denciti Development

Sobeys’ parent Empire takes aim at major competitors

Commercial  •  Financial Post  •  Toronto Star  •  Canada Newswire

CEO Michael Medline told investors that Sobeys’ parent company Empire Company Ltd. (EMP-A-T) paid millions in “hero pay” bonuses to frontline workers during the second wave of infections this winter, “even while much of the industry did not do so.”

Competition laws under scrutiny after grocery bonus cuts

Commercial  •  Financial Post

A group of MPs will start considering changes to Canada’s antitrust rules next month. Supermarket chains have been under scrutiny from Ottawa since the country’s three largest grocers opted to simultaneously cut $2-per-hour pandemic pay bonuses for front-line workers.

Slate Grocery joins the 5G rooftop club

Commercial  •  Globest.com  •  Business Wire

Slate Grocery REIT (SGR-UN-T) has inked a deal with 5G LLC to install equipment on the rooftop of grocery-anchored assets across the country, marking the latest entrant of REITs into the space.

ERES REIT, CAPREIT extend $248M pipeline agreement

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire  •  RENX

ERES REIT (ERE-UN-X) and CAPREIT (CAR-UN-T) announced the extension of their pipeline agreement for an additional two-year period, ending on March 29, 2023. The pipeline agreement makes up to $248 million Cdn available for ERES to acquire properties.

REIT fourth-quarter financial results

Commercial  • 

American Hotel Income Properties REIT, (HOT-UN-T), Canada Newswire
Firm Capital REIT, (FCA-U-X), Globe Newswire
WPT Industrial REIT, (WIR-U-T), Globe Newswire

Rapidly rising mortgage rates could end housing party

Residential  •  Reuters

Canadian banks’ profit margins are expected to get a boost from an earlier-than-expected increase in mortgage rates but a sustained rise could dent home loan demand, which has been the only driver of lending growth during the coronavirus pandemic.

BoC’s low interest rates could further heat housing market

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

The Bank of Canada’s continued low-interest-rate policy risks sending home prices up further, economists such as Toronto-Dominion Bank’s Sri Thanabalasingam say, adding to concerns the market is overheated and debt levels will be unmanageable when rates do start to rise.

Developers finding ways to provide more condo space

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Developers are preparing for a world where some condo purchasers want more. In some cases, if the floor plan doesn’t have sufficient space or features, developers are increasingly open to combining more than one unit to make a new space.

Pandemic has changed where innovation thrives

Residential, Commercial  •  Financial Post

In 2018, around 10 per cent of Canadian workers had the choice to work one or two days a week from home. During the pandemic, downtown cores emptied out: offices, restaurants, shopping areas, transportation hubs and cultural attractions. Will cities bounce back?

Brooklyn returns to industrial roots

Commercial  •  Bisnow  •  Forbes

Around the turn of the 20th century, before Brooklyn was the global brand it is today, the industrial buildings that line the borough’s waterfront were the blue-collar engine that powered the rise of New York City.

Mixed-use projects around stadiums a security blanket

Commercial  •  Bisnow

While teams across the major professional U.S. sports leagues lost billions of dollars in the past year due to the lack of ticket sales, ownership entities with stakes in commercial developments surrounding their stadiums have managed to insulate themselves slightly.

U.S. mall owner preparing for possible bankruptcy

Commercial  •  Star Press

Washington Prime Group, which owns about 100 malls throughout the U.S., is preparing a potential bankruptcy filing, according to a financial report. WPG officials told Bloomberg last month it would use a 30-day grace period to continue negotiations with its lenders.

Deutsche Bank weighing less time at the office

Commercial  •  Bloomberg

With the end of U.K. lockdowns in sight, Deutsche Bank AG is considering letting British staff work from home between one and three days a week. Standard Life Aberdeen expects workers will spend a similar amount of time at home.