Redstone buys Edmonton’s Canadian Western Bank Place

RENX  Commercial  •  Office  •  Edmonton

The off-market sale of Edmonton’s Canadian Western Bank Place in November was the largest office transaction in the Alberta capital in 2020, according to Colliers International. The 30-storey, 408,983 square foot tower was sold by BentallGeenOak to the Redstone Group.

Workers will be lured back to the office: BAM CEO

Commercial  •  Financial Post  •  RENX

Investors are underestimating the speed and extent to which people will return to work in offices and head back to shopping malls as the pandemic subsides, according to Bruce Flatt, chief executive officer of Brookfield Asset Management (BAM-A-T).

Ontario issues 25 tickets in big-box store blitz

Commercial  •  Toronto Star  •  Ottawa Citizen

Ontario Labour Minister Monte McNaughton says 25 tickets were issued during a weekend inspection blitz of big-box stores. The province ticketed stores for failing to enforce physical distancing and masking rules, and also for failing to have installed some plexi-glass barriers.

Concord Pacific can complete Clover on Yonge

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  RENX

Most of the 492 pre-construction purchasers in the Clover on Yonge condominiums have agreed to a reorganization plan allowing Vancouver-based Concord Pacific to finish the 44-storey building, which had been placed in receivership by its previous developers.

Novi proposes two new residential mid-rises

Residential  •  Urban Toronto

Novi Properties has submitted a Zoning By-law Amendment application to the City of Toronto to develop a property in Willowdale. The proposal at 10 Ruddington Drive would construct two new residential mid-rises, adding over new 300 housing units to the site.

SerCo seeks to convert Ottawa office building to rentals

Residential, Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal

SerCo Realty Group wants to convert a seven-storey downtown Ottawa office building into rental housing. SerCo plans to add an extra floor to 331 Cooper St., with the redesigned building featuring 45 units in a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments.

Real Estate Wealth Insights › How every stage of a real estate development adds value

Cliff Fraser: Chief Business Development Officer, Equiton Capital

Mirvish+Gehry Toronto plan morphs again

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

Great Gulf, Dream Unlimited and Westdale Properties’ Mirvish+Gehry Toronto two-tower mixed-use proposal has been adapted once again. After the city rejected 1,079- and 990-foot heights for the West Tower and East Tower, respectively, the latest proposal includes heights of 990 and 874 feet.

Expropriation stymies K-W Kress hotel redevelopment

Residential, Commercial  •  KitchenerToday

Faisal Susiwala’s redevelopment plans for 250 King Street West may be shelved following the Region of Waterloo’s decision to expropriate land for road widening at the Cambridge property. Susiwala had envisioned a tower with 186 adult living apartments and street-level commercial.

Mixed-used condo project approved in Hudson

Residential, Commercial  •  Montreal Gazette

The town of Hudson, Que., which has a population of about 5,300, recently approved a new mixed-use building with two commercial spaces and eight upscale condo units designed to appeal to downsizers and empty nesters at 85 Cameron St.

Colonnade BridgePort exec reflects on 40 years of retail

Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal

Richard Getz, the recently retired vice-president of retail for Colonnade BridgePort, credits developers such as Irving Greenberg, Robert Campeau and John Ruddy with shaping Ottawa’s retail sector: “They were visionaries who put their fortunes at risk more often than once.”

New Canadian gov’t standards a boon for biofuels

Residential, Commercial  •  Sustainable Biz Canada

Megaproject development tops $250 billion

Commercial  •  Renew Canada

For the first time in Canadian history, the 100 largest public sector infrastructure projects under development have topped the $250-billion mark, according to ReNew Canada’s latest Top100 Projects report.

T.O. councillors vote to review parking minimums

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  The Tyee

Toronto will look at eliminating rules that specify how much parking must be included with new residential and commercial buildings, joining a growing group of Canadian cities that say minimum requirements have a negative effect.

Sidewalk Labs taught us much about digital governance

Commercial  •  Toronto Star  •  Toronto Star  •  Toronto Star

In January 2019, the Toronto Region Board of Trade floated a trial balloon in an attempt to defuse the controversy that had swirled around Sidewalk Labs’ closely watched waterfront plans for almost a year-and-a-half. (Part of Toronto Star’s Smart Cities series).

CPP partners on Brazilian multifamily development

Residential  •  Canada Newswire  •  IPE Real Assets

CPP Investments, Cyrela Brazil Realty and Greystar Real Estate Partners announced a partnership with developer SKR to develop, own and operate a purpose-built high-rise rental multifamily project in São Paulo’s Pinheiros/Rebouças district. It is expected to be delivered in 2023.

Desperate T.O. landlords offering free rent

Residential  •  blogTO  •  ReMax blog

Renting an apartment in Toronto is coming with more perks. A building on Castle Frank is offering one month rent free. A Spadina Road listing one-ups that by offering free rent until March, plus one year of free internet.

Canadians piling on mortgage debt in hot housing market

Residential  •  Financial Post

Statistics Canada said Tuesday household mortgage debt increased 7.4 per cent year-over-year in November, pushing the total up to nearly $1.66 trillion as borrowers try to keep up with a housing market that took off in the latter half of 2020.

New authority taking over from Tarion on Feb. 1

Residential  •  Daily Commercial News

There will soon be a new system to regulate the people and companies who build and sell new homes in Ontario. The Home Construction Regulatory Authority (HCRA) will take over those licensing functions from Tarion Warranty Corporation as of Feb. 1.

Working from home doesn’t mean working from anywhere

Residential, Commercial  •  Financial Post  •  CBC  •  Toronto Star

While employers may be permitting remote work during the current pandemic, an employee’s decision to change their permanent residence can have significant effects on their employer and even lead to discipline or discharge in some circumstances.