Avison Young to acquire Montreal-based Devencore

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial, Office, Retail, Homes, Land  •  Quebec, Greater Montreal

Avison Young is acquiring Montreal-based real estate brokerage and advisory group Devencore in a deal that will create the biggest brokerage by employee count in the city. The combined office will result in a 100-person firm in Montreal.

Montreal ind.: Groupe Quint buys, builds to meet demand

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial  •  Greater Montreal

The worsening industrial space shortage in Montreal is causing investors to cast eyes into some long-ignored regions. With its purchase Friday of another mid-sized industrial property in Anjou, Groupe Quint is one of the most active in this pursuit.

Lenders ‘likely’ to take 49% stake in Triple Five malls

Commercial  •  Bisnow

Edmonton-headquartered Triple Five Group could soon be forced to give lenders substantial ownership stakes at Bloomington’s Mall of America and the West Edmonton Mall to cover debt at its newest project, the American Dream mall in East Rutherford, N.J.

Empire to buy 51% of Longo’s grocery chain for $357M

RENX  Commercial  •  Retail  •  Toronto / GTA

UPDATED: Empire Company Ltd., (EMP-A-T) is returning to a tried and true strategy to make a major expansion in the Greater Toronto Area. This time, it is spending $357 million to acquire 51 per cent of Longo’s stores and Grocery Gateway.

H&R REIT planning 69-, 66-storey T.O. towers

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

H&R REIT (HR-UN-T) is planning to redevelop 53 Yonge and 55 Yonge with a 66-storey, mixed-use tower including 482 residential rental suites. It has also proposed a 69-storey mixed-use building at 310 Front West with ground-level retail, 118,004 square feet of office and 550 rental apartments.

COVID a ‘blip’ in T.O.’s long-term development: Menkes

Residential, Commercial  •  Daily Commercial News  •  RENX  •  Daily Commercial News

During the recent Navacord Challenge and Change conference, Menkes Developments Ltd. executive vice-president Jared Menkes acknowledged current weaknesses in some Toronto submarkets but called the pandemic a “blip” in the otherwise robust long-term development horizon for the city.

Sponsored by Trez Capital Lending insights from an uncertain time: rigor, adaptability and speed

With 2020 behind us, Trez Capital looks at the trends that will define the real estate market in 2021.

For Waterfront Toronto, ‘diversity’ key for Quayside

Residential  •  Toronto Star

Waterfront Toronto‘s request for qualifications to develop the 12-acre Quayside as a mixed-use development includes the utilization of a diverse group of a architects to avoid the tried and true and build eye-popping “iconic” structures on the waterfront.

Slate adds amenities to lure employees back to office

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  RENX

In launching the redevelopment of a pair of office towers in Burnaby, Slate Asset Management is promoting added amenities, including a fitness centre and outdoor terraces between the two buildings, as attractions designed to entice employees back to the office.

Van. chief planner departing amid slow pace of progress

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Vancouver Sun  •  CBC

The hot-seat job of chief planner for Vancouver is open again. San Francisco transplant Gil Kelley is leaving after months of debate and controversy about the slow pace of progress on city-planning initiatives and stalled negotiations with developers.

Dream Impact Fund has successful launch

Commercial  •  Business Wire  •  Urban Toronto

Dream Unlimited Corp. (DRM-T) Tuesday announced its private capital business has successfully secured $136 million of commitments for the first close of Dream Impact Fund, one of the world’s first open-ended funds dedicated exclusively to impact investing.

REIT fourth-quarter financial results

Residential, Commercial  • 

BTB REIT, (BTB-UN-T), Canada Newswire
InterRent REIT, (IIP-UN-T), Business Wire

PSP sells off stakes in two U.S. private prison giants

Commercial  •  Toronto Star

The Public Sector Pension Investment Fund (PSP) has moved to sell off its 600,000-plus shares in CoreCivic and the Geo Group, two of the largest providers of private prisons, jails and immigration detention centres in the U.S.

WeWork unloading properties in turnaround plan

Commercial  •  TechCrunch

Since the implementation of its turnaround plan, WeWork says it has exited out of more than 100 pre-open or underperforming locations. (It still has over 800 locations globally). WeWork has also narrowed its net loss to $517 million in Q3 2020 from $1.2 billion year-over-year.

Firm Capital REIT acquires stake in $39.5M Md. multifamily

Residential  •  Globe Newswire

Firm Capital Apartment REIT (FCA-UN-X) has entered into a joint venture agreement with an unrelated third party to acquire a $39.5 million multifamily residential property in the Washington, D.C. Metro Area. Hamilton Manor is a 245-unit property in Hyattsville, Md.

FCPT acquires 50% interest in Calgary MHC for $8.45M

Residential  •  Globe Newswire

Firm Capital Property Trust (FCD-UN-X) acquired a 50 per cent interest in a 181-site manufactured housing community named Mountview Mobile Home Park in Calgary. The acquisition price for 100% of the property is approximately $16.9 million, excluding transaction costs.

Average home price increased $100K in 6 months

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

Average Canadian home prices have surged $100,000 since August — the sharpest surge on record. A new report by the Royal Bank of Canada notes average home prices in Vancouver jumped a record $143,000 in six months, while Toronto homes have risen $139,000.

Cardel launches online experiment in selling new homes

Residential  •  Ottawa Citizen  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Calgary-headquartered Cardel Homes is evaluating an unusual experiment in house buying. The company last week encouraged would-be buyers to make offers online for three of its new home models in Ottawa’s South Kanata. Starting prices range from $765,000 to nearly $834,000.

Mtl. to pay 20% for eligible new homebuyers

Residential  •  MTLblog  •  PR Newswire

The City of Montreal has launched a new subsidy program that pays 20% of a home’s market price for eligible buyers.  The program is part of the Règlement pour une métropole mixte (RMM) bylaw coming into effect on April 1.

Labour union dispute delays Ont. home construction

Residential  •  Financial Post  •  Globe Newswire

A labour union dispute is delaying construction of new homes in Ontario. Home builders alleged bricklayer members of Local 183 of the Labourers International Union of North America were refusing to work with non-union stucco contractors.