Oxford to acquire $2.8B KKR industrial portfolio in U.S.

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial  •  International

Oxford Property Group is continuing its expansion in the industrial asset class with an agreement to purchase a 14.5-million-square-foot U.S. portfolio from another global investment giant, KKR (KKR-N), for nearly $2.8 billion Cdn.

Cost overruns, delays plague development, but tech can help: Procore

RENX  Commercial  •  Technology  •  National, International

Most construction projects are delivered late and significantly over budget compared to the owners’ original plan, according to a new North American survey conducted by IDC for Procore Technologies.

Downtown Winnipeg HBC a tough sell

Commercial  •  Western Investor

There is serious doubt HBC will be able to find a buyer for its downtown Winnipeg edifice. “If someone came up with $80 million, we could make it work,” Shindico Realty‘s Sandy Shindleman said. “But I would advise them not to.”

Nexus to acquire 9 industrial properties, in 4 provinces, for $359M

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial  •  Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Atlantic Canada

Nexus REIT (NXR.UN-T) announced Monday afternoon it has deals to acquire a total of nine distribution centres and other industrial properties in four provinces, for a total price of $359 million, as it continues to transform to a pure-play industrial entity.

Andrew Peller to sell Port Coquitlam property for $9M

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire

Andrew Peller Ltd. (ADW-A-T) announced it has waived conditions and agreed to sell its Port Coquitlam property and related plant assets. The company will receive $9 million for the assets, generating a realized gain on the sale of approximately $7.5 million.

Amenities now focus on active, outdoor living

Residential  •  Vancouver Sun

Like pandemics of the past, such as the 1918 flu that introduced built-in bathtubs that are easier to clean, developers such as Concord Pacific and Westbank are enticing buyers with common areas that foster social distancing and more active living outdoors.

Sponsored by MNP Fill the gaps in your finance department with ‘ease’

Ease by MNP uses cloud accounting platforms, like Xero, to help real estate & construction businesses work more effectively. Learn how in this Q&A blog.

Hazelview plans 20% affordable units at Ottawa dev.

Residential  •  Canada Newswire  •  Ottawa Citizen

Hazelview Investments has committed to 1,020 residential rental units secured and/or built as affordable across a mix of unit-types at Ottawa’s Heron Gate redevelopment, representing 20 per cent of new units within the community.

BrainBox AI initializes global monitoring network

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

Montreal-headquartered BrainBox AI, a pioneer in predictive and self-adaptive commercial building technology, announced it is activating Network Operations Centers, which enable it to provide 24/7 support to its community of global customer by opening monitoring centres in Canada, Ireland and Australia.

Proptech adoption moving at warp speed: ULI

Commercial  •  Construct Connect  •  PR Newswire

Proptech: Changing the Way Real Estate is Done, a new international report from the Urban Land Institute and the law firm Goodwin, says proptech is becoming a key driver of competitiveness in the real estate industry.

Real Estate Wealth Insights › The rise of warehousing: How it can benefit your investment strategy

Cliff Fraser: Chief Business Development Officer, Equiton Capital

Boston offices demolished for distribution centres

Commercial  •  Bisnow

Industrial developers are responding to Greater Boston’s supply crunch with a wrecking ball. Developers, including some of the industry’s biggest players, have started buying underperforming, underutilized office and flex buildings to demolish them to make way for new warehouses.

Creating ’15-minute neighbourhoods’ a challenge

Residential, Commercial  •  Ottawa Citizen

City of Ottawa-produced maps that show how close people live to important amenities like grocery stores and parks illustrate the challenges in trying to create “15-minute neighbourhoods” out of many established communities.

SmartCentres unveils LED public art installation

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire  •  RENX

SmartCentres REIT (:SRU-UN-T) has unveiled the PXL Gallery, a 10,000-square-foot low resolution LED permanent art installation in SmartVMC, its flagship 100-acre master-planned city centre in Vaughan. The installation features rotating exhibits of curated moving artwork created by acclaimed digital artists.

Flagship acquires Illinois MHC for US$16.3M

Residential  •  Canada Newswire

Flagship Communities REIT (MHC-U-T)  will enter its seventh U.S. state with the acquisition of a manufactured housing community in Springfield, Ill.  for a purchase price of approximately US$16.3 million. The acquisition is currently 94 per cent leased.

ViacomCBS sells Manhattan office skyscraper for $760M

Commercial  •  Bloomberg  •  CNN

ViacomCBS Inc. has reached a deal to sell Black Rock, the Manhattan skyscraper that houses CBS for $760 million, one of the biggest New York office sales since the pandemic began. The tower was purchased by Norfolk, Va.-based Harbor Group International.

Sienna Living launches new retirement platform ‘Aspira’

Residential  •  REMI Network

Sienna Living recently announced plans to launch a new retirement platform called “Aspira” in late 2021 or early 2022. “Under the Aspira brand, our goal is to provide residents with a wider range of choices,” said Sienna President/CEO Nitin Jain.

Airbnb restrictions aim to curb Halloween partying

Residential  •  Globe and Mail  •  Toronto Star

Airbnb (ABNB-Q) will ban people without a history of good reviews from renting Canada homes for just one night this Halloween weekend. The policy is meant to prevent people from using Airbnbs to throw unauthorized and large parties.

Canadian housing starts trended lower in July

Residential  •  Toronto Star  •  Canada Newswire  •  Financial Post

The trend in housing starts was 286,620 units in July 2021, down from 293,085 units in June 2021, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. This trend measure is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts.

Home prices rising per square foot: Survey

Residential  •  Western Investor

Century-21 Canada’s fifth annual Price per Square Foot Survey shows real estate continues to be a strong investment. Vancouver downtown condos average a nation-high $1,308 per square foot, a near 10 per cent increase from 2020.