QuadReal, Menkes launch two new towers in Vaughan

RENX  Residential

Sales launched in September and are going well for the Festival condominium by QuadReal and Menkes, the second component of their ambitious plan for the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre (VMC).

Pandemic forces big cities to revisit livability: BGO

RENX  Commercial  •  Office, Homes, Human Resources

“Leading world cities have been major victims of COVID-19, both from the virus itself and its accompanying economic disruptions,” BentallGreenOak head of Canadian research Phil Stone said while discussing the company’s new Future of Cities report.

Quebec preparing to launch ‘innovation zones’

Commercial  •  La Presse

Quebec will soon give the green light to the creation of “innovation zones,” which will be somewhat of 5.0 industrial parks, in order to stimulate applied research projects between large companies and those which are starting up.

Timbercreek Equities rebranded as Hazelview Investments

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX

Timbercreek announced the rebranding of Timbercreek Equities Corp. as Hazelview Investments. As part of the previously announced reorganization of the Timbercreek group, Timbercreek Equities Corp. has assumed ownership of the direct real estate and public securities investment management business.

Record-low fixed mortgage rates in danger of rising

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

For months, we’ve watched lenders slash five-year fixed mortgage rates to levels never seen before. However, we may have come to an inflection point. Optimism has seized the day and interest rates in the bond market rocketed higher on Monday.

CMLS releases new Commercial Mortgage Commentary

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire

CMLS Financial’s November Commercial Mortgage Commentary examines the heightened competition amongst lenders, changes to the federal government’s fiscal stimulus policies, how high yield lenders are coping with an uncertain market and more.

Sponsored by Yardi The digitization of Canadian commercial real estate

Portfolio strategy in commercial real estate has become paramount to endurance as markets react in a ‘wait and see’ manner with the pandemic. While certain sectors of the industry that were previously flourishing have become increasingly vulnerable. . .

Ottawa’s Willis College eyes Prairie expansion

Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal

Willis College, one of Ottawa’s largest private career colleges, is embarking on an aggressive plan to expand to other provinces under a new leader who says he has “a track record of putting schools on steroids and building them.”

Vancouver still No. 1 among N.A. tech markets

Commercial  •  New York Business Journal

Vancouver remained at No. 1 on CBRE’s latest ranking of 30 North American cities that looks at the high-tech industry’s impact on employment and office space. U.S. office leasing by the high-tech industry in Q2 2020 was down 46% from the 2019 quarterly average.

T.O. restaurant chain seeks creditor protection

Commercial  •  Toronto Star

A popular chain of Toronto-area eateries is among the latest victims of the pandemic. Hospitality sector standouts King Street Food Company, which operates brands such as Buca, Jacobs & Co. Steakhouse and Jamie’s Italian, have filed for insolvency.

Reitmans opens new West Edmonton Mall store

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

Reitmans announced it has opened a new 5,200-square-foot store at the West Edmonton Mall. Reitmans, which has nearly 250 women’s apparel and accessories brand stores across Canada, filed for creditor protection on May 19.

REIT third-quarter financial results

Residential, Commercial  • 

American Hotel Income Properties REIT, (HOT-UN-T), Canada Newswire
BTB REIT, (BTB-UN-T), Canada Newswire
CAPREIT, (CAR-UN-T), Globe Newswire
InterRent REIT, (IIP-UN-T), Business Wire
Summit Industrial Income REIT, (SMU-UN-T), Canada Newswire

OMERS, ATN, Stilmark target Australia telco infra

Commercial  •  IPE Real Assets

OMERS Infrastructure, Australian firm Stilmark and ATN International have teamed up to jointly pursue opportunities in Australian telecommunications infrastructure. The trio have formed the Symphony Consortium, a partnership believed to be planning to buy a portfolio of towers from Optus.

Dalfen Industrial wins CP Executive award

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  CP Executive

Montreal-headquartered Dalfen Industrial has been awarded the Distinguished Achievement Award from Commercial Property Executive in the “Best Investment Transaction: Single Property” category. The award ceremony took place virtually on Nov. 3, highlighting the top companies in CRE.

Amazon charged with abusing EU competition rules

Commercial  •  BBC  •  MarketWatch

NYC CRE sets sights on stimulus, gateway funding

Commercial  •  Bisnow  •  Commercial Observer

New York City was awash with impromptu street parties Saturday after news of Joe Biden’s presidential victory, and many in real estate issued a sigh of relief for one main reason: Much-needed federal funding could soon be on its way.

Iconic B.C. structure to be seismically upgraded

Commercial  •  Vancouver Sun

The Museum of Anthropology (MOA) at the University of B.C., one of the province’s most iconic structures but particularly vulnerable to a potential earthquake, is being rebuilt with a “base isolation system,” the latest in seismic technology.

B.C.’s land ownership registry won’t help: C.D. Howe

Residential  •  Globe and Mail

British Columbia’s hidden land ownership registry is scheduled to go live at the end of this month, but it is already too flawed to deter laundering dirty money through the real estate sector, according to the C.D. Howe Institute.

B.C. residential rental freeze extension ‘no big deal’

Residential  •  Western Investor  •  Globe and Mail

The B.C. government is extending the freeze on rent increases until July 10, 2021. Rental market insiders believe the freeze is “no big deal” because allowable rent increases are already insignificant when compared to rising costs.

Dorval’s Résidence Herron CHSLD to close

Residential  •  Montreal Gazette  •  Winnipeg Free Press

Family members of seniors still living at Résidence Herron were advised by email on Monday the private long-term facility in Dorval, where the deaths of dozens of residents in the spring are under investigation, will be closed.