Granite buys prime Ontario ind. land, 5 U.S. properties

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial  •  Ontario, International

Granite REIT (GRT-UN-T) has acquired a 92.2-acre parcel of prime industrial development land in Brantford, Ont., entered agreements to buy five income-producing U.S. properties comprising about 2.5 million square feet and plans to build a 690,000-square-foot distribution centre in Houston.

Vancouver’s geography, politics create a CRE mecca

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver

If an urban planner were to design an environment for CRE success, Metro Vancouver would fit the bill perfectly thanks to a population of two million big-spenders hemmed in by mountains, oceans, the U.S. border and decades of progressive politics.

Parkit acquires Ottawa industrial property for $13.25M

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire  •  RENX

Parkit Enterprise Inc. (PKT-X) has agreed to acquire a class-A industrial property in Ottawa for an aggregate purchase price of $13,250,000. The property is approximately 75,000 square feet of multi-tenanted light industrial space on approximately four acres. Closing is expected in October.

Winnipeg’s South Osborne undergoes a renaissance

Commercial  •  Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg’s South Osborne area is experiencing a wide range of new/newish businesses, particularly in the way of food and drink. South Osborne BIZ chair Scott Tackaberry sees the area’s evolution as “a slow burn that’s been happening for 20 years.”

Most N. Americans don’t trust building air, water quality

Residential, Commercial  •  Sustainable Biz Canada

Manitoba to spend $812M on health-care facilities

Commercial  •  CBC

Premier Brian Pallister announced some details Monday about how the Manitoba government plans to spend $812 million to build, expand and renovate health-care facilities across the province. The money, previously announced, will be divided among 38 projects.

N.W.T. gov’t absent, yet enabling, as Northview grew

Residential  •  CBC: Part III  •  CBC: Part II  •  CBC: Part I

The Landlord’s Game, Part III: “Congratulations on your intention to purchase Northview Real Estate Investment Trust,” MLA Rylund Johnson said to the CEOs of Starlight Investments and KingSett Capital. “. . . you will own a small city in the subarctic called Yellowknife.”

CAPREIT top stock to own for decades

Residential  •  Motley Fool  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Toronto-based CAPREIT (CAR-UN-T) has done an excellent job of growing the portfolio and achieving portfolio diversification. In 2020, CAPREIT acquired 3,262 residential suites and manufactured housing community sites well-located in the company’s target markets for $820.2 million.

Holborn quits fight to keep 2008 sales documents hidden

Residential  •  Vancouver Sun  •  RENX

Holborn Properties, the developer behind Vancouver’s controversial Little Mountain housing project, has abruptly thrown in the towel on efforts to keep hidden the documents surrounding its 2008 purchase of the property from the B.C. government.

Van. property owners launch suit over subway project

Residential  •  Western Investor

Former owners of properties being redeveloped to build Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant subway station are suing a Crown corporation of the B.C. government in an attempt to win further compensation for land they gave up so the project could proceed.

BMO delays office return a month to November

Commercial  •  Toronto Star

Bank of Montreal pushed back plans to bring back employees in its investment and corporate banking division by at least a month as COVID-19’s highly contagious Delta variant upends return-to-office schedules across the finance industry.

Couche-Tard to acquire 35 U.S. convenience stores

Commercial  •  Petrol Plaza  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (ATD-A-T) will acquire 35 fuel and convenience retail sites currently operated under the Porter’s brand and located predominately in Oregon and Western Washington. Closing of the transaction for an undisclosed amount is expected in September.

U.S. office asking rates rise amid falling vacancies

Commercial  •  CP Executive

Despite ongoing turbulence, U.S. office transaction activity holds strong, with sales volume year-to-date in July amounting to nearly $37 billion. Recent record transactions — such as LinkedIn’s $323 million purchase of its headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif.. — reflect the ongoing importance of physical offices.

PRP plans $2B in industrial, data centre acquisitions

Commercial  •  Bisnow

D.C.-based  investment firm  PRP is transforming its portfolio by selling a series of office buildings in Dallas, Arlington, Va., Austin, Texas, and Gaithersburg, Md., while announcing plans to acquire $2 billion in logistics and data centre properties.

Foot Locker stock surges; retailer crushes forecasts

Commercial  •  Toronto Star

Foot Locker (FL-N) shares surged the most in more than 16 months Friday after the sports apparel retailer posted much better-than-expected second quarter earnings, adding to evidence of a brick-and-mortar retail revival in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. existing home sales climb for second straight month

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Winnipeg Free Press

U.S. existing home sales increased for the second consecutive month in July as inventories improved moderately, while prices eased from the prior month’s record level, the National Association of Realtors said Monday.

Trudeau’s proposals won’t keep home prices from rising: Experts

Residential  •  Toronto Star  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Regina Leader-Post

The Liberals’ plan to curb soaring home prices, which includes billions of dollars in new funding and tighter restrictions on foreign buyers, will not be enough to restore affordability in the Canadian real estate market, economists and housing experts say.

Keesmaat offers lessons on affordable apartments

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

In Toronto, a new housing development – with the involvement of former chief planner and mayoral candidate Jennifer Keesmaat – would provide 119 permanently affordable apartments in the heart of downtown. The lead developers are Markee Developments, in which Keesmaat is a partner.

Windsor two-bedroom apartment prices jump nearly 25%

Residential  •  CTV

Renters in the Windsor area have seen some sharp price increases over the past year. In its rent report of Canadian cities, Zumper found Windsor experienced the largest yearly rental increase for a two-bedroom unit – nearly 25 per cent.

Hub acquires National Home Warranty assets

Residential  •  Canada Newswire

Hub International Limited, a leading global insurance brokerage and financial services firm, has signed a purchase agreement to acquire the assets of National Home Warranty Group Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Aviva Canada Inc. Terms were not disclosed.