‘Huge opportunities’: AI venture pays for Oxford, Investa

RENX  Commercial  •  Technology, Investment  •  International

An international partnership between Oxford Properties Group, Australia’s Investa Property Group and Israeli artificial intelligence firm SparkBeyond is already helping the two real estate giants get a competitive edge in acquisitions, property management and sourcing new investors.

CPP’s Machin urges governments to privatize assets

Commercial  •  Calgary Herald

CPP Investments CEO Mark Machin believes “a wall of money” is headed towards real assets including infrastructure “because of structurally low interest rates,” and urged governments to consider privatizing assets to help reduce record deficits due to COVID-19.

Caisse unveils $10B REM Montreal extension

Residential, Commercial  •  MTLblog  •  Canada Newswire  •  CBC

Today, the Réseau Express Métropolitain (REM) and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ Infra) announced a much-anticipated extension of the REM network on Montreal Island. The  investment of approximately $10 billion will include 32 kilometres of rail and 23 stations.

Value: Weighed and Measured › As we head into 2021, a piece is still missing from the housing puzzle

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

Intracorp, Forseed, CM plan 55-storey tower

Residential  •  urbanYVR

Intracorp and development partners Forseed Group and CM Partners plan a 55-storey strata condominium tower and a 15-storey rental apartment tower at 1045 Haro St. in downtown Vancouver which would include 450 condominium units, 66 rental apartment units and 42,000 square feet of retail.

SmartCentres, Greenwin plan 35-storey rental tower

Residential  •  Urban Toronto

A joint proposal between SmartLiving by SmartCentres REIT and rental operator Greenwin would see a 35-storey purpose-built rental tower and a new public park at 185 Balliol St., a short walk east of Davisville subway station in Midtown’s Davisville Village area.

Sponsored by MNP Relief for commercial tenants and property owners: Breaking down the CERS

The federal government recently announced the revised version of Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA), now known as the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) (see our blog). While the names seem similar, the programs are significantly different.

Toronto’s Hollywood North expanding in all directions

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

It’s lights, cameras and action – everywhere. There’s now so much demand for film industry production space studios are expanding, and new ones are being built in all corners of the Greater Toronto Area by the likes of Pinewood Toronto Studios.

Hamilton growth would further expand urban boundary

Residential, Commercial  •  Global News

A plan to accommodate Hamilton’s required growth over the next three decades will require further residential intensification, as well as an urban boundary expansion. Provincial targets call for the city’s population to soar to 820,000, an increase of 238,000 residents, by 2051.

Farm Boy opens new flagship store in Ottawa

Commercial  •  Canadian Grocer

Farm Boy has opened a new 41,000-square-foot store in Ottawa — the grocer’s biggest location to date. The store is located in the city’s Train Yards shopping district, across the parking lot from Farm Boy’s former home.

Greybrook, Marlin brand asset manager Greyspring Apts.

Residential  •  Globe Newswire

Greybrook Realty Partners and Marlin Spring announced the new branding of their jointly owned investment and asset management firm, Greyspring Apartments. With a portfolio of more than 2,000 units and $375 million AUM, Greyspring Apartments is focused on multifamily assets throughout Canada.

Podcasts from the real estate world

Residential, Commercial  • 

Gary Berman, Tricon Residential: Growth during adversity, CRE Podcast
Teresa Neto, Granite REIT: Advice for women newly entering CRE market, REALtalk: Episode 16
Frank Magliocco, PwC: emerging trends in real estate 2021, CRE Podcast

‘World’s biggest development project’ unravelling for China

Residential, Commercial  •  Financial Post

It has not taken long for the wheels to come off the Belt and Road Initiative. In  2017, China’s Xi Jinping stood before nearly 30 heads of state and delegates from over 130 countries and proclaimed “a project of the century.”

U.S. allocations and confidence rise despite COVID-19: Survey

Commercial  •  IPE Real Assets  •  MarketWatch  •  Bisnow

U.S. real estate allocations and institutional investor confidence in the asset class rose for the third straight year in 2020 despite COVID-19, according to the eighth annual Institutional Real Estate Allocations Monitor survey by Hodes Weill & Associates and Cornell University.

Distressed CRE sales could be worse than last crisis

Commercial  •  Bloomberg

An estimated $126 billion in CRE will be forced to sell at distressed prices through 2022, more than the first two years post-global financial crisis, says CoStar Group. Distressed hotel, retail, office and other properties could reach $321B in sales by 2025.

Top U.S. convention centre and military projects

Commercial  •  Daily Commercial News

The accompanying tables show the top 10 largest upcoming Convention Center and Military construction projects in the U.S. They are all in the planning stage and are mainly new projects, but may also involve additions and/or alterations.

The hollowing out of Vancouver’s West Side

Residential, Commercial  •  Vancouver Sun: Part II  •  Vancouver Sun: Part I

Andrew Wilkinson, former leader of B.C.’s Liberal Party, believes housing prices on Vancouver’s West Side will stay out of reach for local families as “long as the city is an attractive place to live; people will want to live here.”

Workforce demands T.O. meet housing targets

Residential  •  Toronto Star

OPINION: A year has passed since Toronto city council approved its plan to build 40,000 new rental homes over the next decade in response to projected population growth. However, the city won’t be able to reach this milestone alone.

Housing starts jumped 14.4% in November: CMHC

Residential  •  Toronto Star  •  Canada Newswire

Builders broke ground on more homes in November as multifamily construction rose in Vancouver and Montreal, CMHC said on Tuesday. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts rose 14.4 per cent to 246,033 in November, up from 215,134 in October, CMHC said.

Man. town provides incentive for residential developers

Residential, Commercial  •  Winnipeg Free Press

Stonewall, Man., Mayor Clive Hinds is hoping Heart of Our Town (HOT), a new incentive for residential property developers, will bring new life to his town’s Main Street, the commercial and municipal soul of the community.