Panattoni builds 2.9M-sq.-ft. Amazon Edmonton facility

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial  •  Edmonton

Panattoni Development Co. is building a massive robotic fulfillment centre for Amazon in Parkland County, just outside Edmonton, which will be one of the largest such distribution facilities in Canada when it opens in 2022.

$100M new look, facilities and tenant mix at Crombie’s Avalon Mall

RENX  Commercial  •  Retail  •  Atlantic Canada

A $100-million project four years in the making is complete at Crombie REIT’s Avalon Mall in St. John’s. The project has resulted in a new look, new facilities, more space and a new and expanded retail mix.

Adi launches two-tower Burlington multires development

RENX  Residential  •  Condominiums, Homes  •  Ontario, Toronto / GTA

Adi Development Group has launched sales for its latest development, Realm, in its hometown of Burlington, Ont. The five-acre site in the Alton Village neighbourhood is across the street from Adi’s sold-out Valera master-planned community of condos and townhomes.

Feds announce Eastern ‘high frequency’ rail plans

Commercial  •  CBC

Ottawa is moving forward with a plan to build an all-new high frequency rail line connecting Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City. The proposed lines would reduce travel times between the cities and make trains more reliable, according to plans.

REITs among biggest back-to-office beneficiaries

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

As vaccination levels soar, a growing number of companies are planning returns to cubicle land. Some of the most direct beneficiaries of a return would be the likes of Allied Properties REIT, which leases prime office space in downtown cores.

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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.

Manulife unveils reimagined Manulife Centre

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  REMI Network

Manulife Investment Management has completed the extensive redevelopment of Manulife Centre, a 47-year-old, 51-storey landmark in Toronto’s midtown Bloor-Yorkville neighbourhood. The project includes a reconfiguration of the interior space with an added 35,000 square feet of retail space.

Couche-Tard eyes dollar stores, grocery for growth

Commercial  •  Canadian Grocer  •  Canada Newswire

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (ATD-A-T) remains on the path to doubling its pre-tax profits by 2023 as its business moves toward pre-pandemic levels, CEO Brian Hannasch said. To do so, it’s targeting acquisitions in sectors such as dollar stores and grocery.

Parkland buying gas station business from Crevier Group

Commercial  •  Toronto Star  •  Canada Newswire  •  Globe Newswire

The Crevier Group is selling its Pétroles Crevier fuel division to Parkland Corp. (PKI-T) Financial terms of the deal were not immediately available. The agreement covers 174 service stations including 138 retailer-owners and 36 corporate stations as well as wholesale operations.

Demographics indicate tougher times ahead for grocers

Commercial  •  Retail Insider

According to NielsenIQ‘s Francis Parisien, Canada’s demographic fabric is a factor beginning to worry grocers. Canada’s fertility rate was at 1.51 in 2020, far short of the 2.1 needed to maintain our population.

Ottawa retail leasing seeing rebound: JLL

Commercial  •  Retail Insider

Although Ottawa’s retail leasing activity was down 30 per cent for 2020, the second half of the year showed strong signs of recovery as leasing volumes rebounded quickly, matching year-over-year levels, says a new report by commercial real estate firm JLL.

OAM to present more moderate design for esports venue

Commercial  •  Daily Commercial News

Toronto-based OverActive Media (OAM) has significantly revamped its esports venue project proposed for Toronto’s Exhibition Place and the firm now feels confident it will get an easier ride from Toronto planning staff.

Canadian pension funds raise Asia Pacific stakes

Commercial  •  Asian Investor.

Asia Pacific now accounts for about a quarter of outbound allocations by Canadian investors, up from 10 per cent between 2015 and 2019, according to Real Capital Analytics. Five of the top eight Canadian investors in the region since 2016 have been pension funds.

CPP, Lendlease JV on Milano Innovation District

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

CPP Investments and Lendlease are partnering on a dedicated Italian real estate alternative investment fund pursuing the development of Phase 1 of the West Gate area of the Milano Innovation District.  The development will comprise over 10 million square feet.

CPP, AIMCo commit further $2.4B to infrastructure JV

Commercial  •  IPE Real Assets

CPP Investments and Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) have made a further $2.4 billion commitment to BAI Communications, the pair’s global communications infrastructure investment venture. The new capital supported the recent acquisition of Mobilitie in the U.S.

Brookfield starts sale of $2.8B U.K. Ports Group

Commercial  •  Bloomberg

Brookfield Asset Management Inc. has kicked off the sale of PD Ports, a deal that could value one of the U.K.’s oldest port operators at more than $2.8 billion, expecting to close a sale before the end of the year.

CMHC changes underwriting practices on insurance

Residential, Commercial  •  CP 24  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says it is bringing back last summer’s underwriting practices for mortgage loan insurance because some changes it made were not effective and caused it to lose market share.

Questions emerge about condo safety in Canada

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

It’s a troubling question that has been echoing through the condo towers in Canada’s largest cities for the past two weeks: Could the disaster in suburban Miami happen here? Existing Canadian condo rules have significant gaps.

Toronto home sales hit lowest point in a year

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

Toronto saw the lowest number of homes trade hands in a year in June as the pandemic-fuelled demand that drove the market to record highs starts to fade with immigration still muted, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board.

New-build single-family home prices soar 25% YOY: BILD

Residential  •  Toronto Star

The price of a new construction home in the Toronto area rose nearly 25 per cent year-over-year in May to a benchmark $1.38 million as housing demand continues to soar and low-rise home supplies dwindle, says the Building and Land Development Association.