The Crossroads in P.E.I. next step for The Gray Group

RENX  Commercial  •  Investment, Land  •  Atlantic Canada

The Gray Group has grown and evolved considerably from its 1979 origins as Gray’s Optical and the Charlottetown-based company is making preparations for its biggest development yet, The Crossroads in nearby Stratford, P.E.I.

Genworth revives mortgage insurance unit’s IPO

Residential  •  Financial Post

Genworth Financial Inc. on Monday revived plans for an initial public offering of Enact Holdings, aiming for a valuation of more than $3 billion for its mortgage insurance unit. The company had deferred the IPO in May due to market volatility.

Federal loans to developers don’t deliver affordable rents

Residential  •  CBC

Under the federal government’s $25-billion rental construction financing initiative, developers received more than 130 low-cost loans for affordable rents. However, in more than half of the cases, the average rents are higher than those in the city’s other residences.

CRE Matters › Canada’s rental apartment has evolved and investors should look beyond cap rates

Karl Innannen: Managing Director, Broker, Colliers, Kitchener

Yorkton acquires Langford Apartments in Victoria

Residential  •  Yorkton Equity Group media release

Yorkton Equity Group Inc. (YEG-X) announced it has acquired the Langford Apartments located in Langford’s city centre in Greater Victoria. The Langford Apartments, built in 2014, is an upscale four-storeyed building with three one-bedroom-plus-den units and 12 two-bedrooms and one commercial unit.

Core acquires T.O. site; plans 10-storey mixed-use

Residential, Commercial  •  Business Wire

Toronto-based Core Development Group has acquired 403 Keele St., a .57-acre property in the heart of Toronto’s Junction neighbourhood with plans to develop a 10-storey mixed-use residential building with approximately 209 units and 7,500 square feet of ground-oriented commercial space.

Fonds, Cloriacité JV on five-storey mixed-use

Residential, Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

The Fonds immobilier de solidarité FTQ is teaming up with Cloriacité Investissements on CLORIA Trois-Rivières, a commercial and residential rental project consisting of a five-storey building with 120 apartments and commercial space on the ground floor. Delivery is slated for spring 2023.

Measurabl expands in Canada, partners with Colliers

Commercial  •  Sustainable Biz Canada

Measurabl, the world’s most widely-adopted software for commercial real estate ESG (environmental, social, governance) data management, is expanding its presence in Canada with a recent partnership announcement with commercial real estate firm Colliers.

Real estate will see supercharged revenue line: Mitchell

Commercial  •  Bloomberg

VIDEO: While some areas of the market might struggle with inflation, others like real estate and infrastructure will benefit from it given the nature of their business, according to Dennis Mitchell, CEO and CIO of Starlight Capital.

$30M development lawsuit to proceed in Winnipeg

Commercial  •  CBC

A $30-million lawsuit by Gem Equities developer Andrew Marquess against the City of Winnipeg over the slow development of the Parker lands is going ahead despite the efforts of 10 lawyers to get the legal action tossed out of court.

Montreal health centre attracts int’l tenants

Commercial  •  La Presse  •  La Presse  •  La Presse

SERIES: Following the efforts of the Montreal International business promotion agency, Recursion Pharmaceuticals of Salt Lake City announced in June it was leasing office space at Mila, a community of over 500 researchers located in the heart of the city.

REIT ETF picks to benefit from the shift to hybrid work

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  Business Inquirer  •  Wealth Professional

Broadly diversified real estate exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are a good way to limit the threat that the shift to hybrid work poses for the sector, says Ben Johnson, director of global ETF research at Morningstar.

TD set to further reduce U.S. retail footprint

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

Toronto-Dominion Bank is set to continue “pruning” branches as the pandemic unwinds, while building new brick-and-mortar locations with less space but more technology. TD closed 82 branches in the United States in February to reallocate resources to digital banking alternatives.

Oxford selling 50% of Aussie property portfolio

Commercial  •  Commercial Real Estate

Oxford Investa Property Partners is selling up to a 50 per cent interest in Investa Gateway Offices, an Australian property portfolio valued at $2.13 billion Cdn. It features stakes in four Sydney CBD buildings and one in Collins Street, Melbourne.

Walmart to test self-driving delivery service

Commercial  •  Toronto Star

Walmart (WMT-N) will partner with Ford (F) and Argo AI to launch its first self-driving delivery service at scale, starting in Miami, Austin and Washington. The service will deliver Walmart orders in Ford cars using Argo’s self-driving technology.

Brookfield seeks up to $15B for private equity fund

Commercial  •  Yahoo Finance  •  CP Executive

Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management (BAM-A-T) is seeking to raise $12 billion to $15 billion for its third flagship private equity fund after making a string of acquisitions, according to sources. The  firm is expected to start fundraising later this month.

Van.’s False Creek South residents need answers

Residential  •  Globe and Mail

OPINION: Vancouver’s False Creek South neighbourhood residents remain in a state of uncertainty over the area’s future. A confidential “redevelopment asset plan” was recently generated by city consultants, reputedly with design options for up to four times current densities.

Rents are starting to climb again in Canada

Residential  •  Financial Post

Rents gained for the fourth month in a row in August, up 5.2% from the recent market low in April, says Rentals.ca. Fourteen cities in Canada saw rent increases, according to Zumper, which analyzed hundreds of thousands of listings in 23 cities.

Annual pace of housing starts slowed in August: CMHC

Residential  •  Toronto Star  •  Canada Newswire

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says the annual pace of housing starts in August slowed compared with July as the rate of new home construction continued to slow from their highs earlier this year.

Canadians consider splitting a mortgage with friends

Residential  •  Financial Post

According to a RE/MAX survey, one in three Canadians are looking into alternative ways to finance their dreams of home ownership, such as multi-person housing, which could have a group pool their finances to get approved for a mortgage.