Distrikt and Alterra buy 3-acre Toronto development site

RENX  Residential  •  Apartments, Condominiums  •  Toronto / GTA

Distrikt Capital and Alterra have acquired a three-acre residential development site extending from 1500 to 1536 St. Clair Ave. W. in midtown Toronto. The site was assembled by acquiring seven parcels of land from three different private, long-term owners.

George Weston’s 139-year-old bakery business for sale

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  Financial Post  •  Canada Newswire

George Weston Ltd. (WN-T) is putting its Weston Foods bakery business up for sale in a move to focus on its retail and real estate operations. The company said a sale represents the best opportunity to unlock its potential.

Infrastructure Bank lacks private investment: PBO

Commercial  •  Toronto Star

Parliamentary budget officer Yves Giroux says the Canada Infrastructure Bank  has not met a key aspect of its mandate: pulling in private dollars for major projects. Instead, the money is coming from other public-sector entities like the Quebec pension plan.

Tricon, CPP to invest $500M building GTA multifamily

RENX  Residential  •  Apartments  •  Toronto / GTA

UPDATED: Tricon Residential and CPP Investments have forged a partnership to create up to 3,000 apartments in build-to-core multifamily developments worth up to $1.4 billion in the Greater Toronto Area. The partners are providing up to $500 million in equity.

Tenblock proposes 3 infill rental towers in Etobicoke

Residential  •  Urban Toronto

Tenblock has proposed adding 27-, 31- and 39-storey residential buildings connected via a six-storey podium south of the current 24-storey apartment building at 5 Capri Rd. in Etobicoke’s Eatonville area. The BDP Quadrangle-designed proposal would add a total of 924 new apartment units.

Recreational house prices to increase 15% in 2021

Residential  •  Toronto Star  •  Toronto Star  •  Global News

Real-estate company Royal LePage says the average price of a house in Canada’s “recreational property regions” will rise 15 per cent in 2021 to $502,730, as the pandemic prompts buyers to explore country living. Ontario and Atlantic Canada are expected to lead at 17%.

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.

$10 billion deep-water Jervis Inlet port proposed

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver

Jervis Ports Inc. is proposing a deep-water port proposal for B.C.’s Jervis Inlet aimed at increasing the West Coast’s container cargo capacity. Jervis says the $10 billion facility near Powell River would reduce Lower Mainland road traffic and wait time problems.

$4.5M mixed-use building set for Mont Ste. Marie

Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal

Blue Panda Realty owner Max Damour is building The Sainte Marie Hills, a $4.5-million development offering ski-in, ski-out units, an après-ski lounge/restaurant and private work/meeting spaces next to downhill ski resort Mont Ste. Marie, an hour north of Ottawa-Gatineau.

Amazon to open video game studio in Montreal

Commercial  •  La Presse

Six weeks after Google left its video game studio in Montreal, Amazon is moving in. Amazon announced on Tuesday Montreal will welcome its fourth studio, which will be dedicated to “the creation of a whole new brand of AAA games.”

Pickering to ask Ont. to revoke wetlands MZO

Residential, Commercial  •  Toronto Star

Pickering council voted unanimously Monday night to ask the province to revoke a minister’s zoning order that fast-tracked development on an environmentally sensitive wetland in Durham that has been the site of controversy since last November.

Ottawa extends CEBA loan program for small biz

Commercial  •  Yahoo Finance  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Canada Newswire

The federal government has extended the deadline for its Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) program, allowing businesses to apply for the interest-free loan until June 30. The program was set to expire March 31.

Hines, Ivanhoé Cambridge top out Texas tower

Commercial  •  CP Executive  •  Hines media release

Joint venture partners Hines and Ivanhoé Cambridge have topped out Texas Tower, a 47-storey, 1.1-million-square-foot class-AA office tower in downtown Houston. Currently the city’s largest office project under construction, it is expected be completed in Q4 2021.

Bankrupt U.S. mall owner reaches $1.6B restructuring deal

Commercial  •  Bisnow  •  Business Wire

CBL Properties, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November, has inked a restructuring agreement with most of its creditors that will eliminate about $1.6B in debt and other obligations for the Tennessee-based mall owner.

JLL predicts less U.S. CRE construction in 2021

Residential, Commercial  •  Connected Real Estate Magazine

Real estate and management services and investment firm JLL and its research division recently released its 2021 Construction Outlook, which appeared promising for residential single-family construction, but not as positive for commercial real estate in the U.S.

Cineworld set to reopen U.S. theatres in April

Commercial  •  Reuters  •  Mondaq

U.S. cinema chain Regal will reopen next month in time for big-budget release Godzilla vs. Kong, owner Cineworld (CNNWF) said, as it set out a deal to show Warner Bros films before they are made available for home streaming from 2022.

All of Square Nine’s Surrey condo units sell in under 72 hours

Residential  •  Daily Hive

All 275 units within Square Nine Developments‘ upcoming 30-storey Belvedere tower in Surrey City Centre were sold in pre-sale in under three days. The homes were released on Friday and by Sunday all units were sold, according to realtor Mayur Arora.

Don’t expect soaring lumber prices to drop any time soon

Residential  •  CBC

Lumber prices in B.C. and the rest of Canada have gone up threefold compared to previous annual averages. “Unfortunately, we do expect the lumber prices to stay quite elevated for quite a period of time,” said CHBA CEO Kevin Lee.

Most Toronto neighbourhoods saw rent increase in 2020

Residential  •  Toronto Star

The vast majority of Toronto neighbourhoods where CMHC reported local data — 83 of 99 areas — actually saw their average rents increase last year, although some of the rent growth was pre-COVID-19. Only 16 neighbourhoods showed a decline in the cost of purpose-built units.

The great Canadian real estate fallacy

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

OPINION: Real estate boosters will tell you houses are different from other things we invest in. People live in them. They will tell you that Canadian homes, in particular, are capable of defying the laws of gravity.