CAPREIT buys 13 apt. buildings, two MHCs for $235M

RENX  Residential  •  Apartments, Homes, Seniors Housing  •  Ontario, British Columbia

It has been a busy couple of weeks at CAPREIT (CAR-UN-T), which has spent over $235 million to acquire apartment portfolios comprising 13 buildings in Victoria and London (Ont.), as well as two manufactured homes communities with 342 sites near Windsor.

Vertical space study analyzes tenants’ office leasing

RENX  Commercial  •  Office  •  National, Metro Vancouver

A report entitled “Top floor types: The role verticality plays in Downtown Vancouver office tenant leasing decisions” surveyed office leasing preferences of tenants in Vancouver towers. Some findings were predictable, but AY‘s Andrew Petrozzi says there were also several surprises.

Downtown Van. rebound a maze of moving parts

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver

B.C.’s four-step reopening plan foresees offices returning to maximum capacity as early as September 7 if the province meets certain benchmarks for COVID-19 vaccinations, caseloads and hospitalizations. The city’s glass towers may have a distinctly new feel.

Granville Street poised for business rebirth

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver  •  Business In Vancouver

Excitement about future tenants is emerging in what is dubbed Vancouver’s Granville Entertainment District. Italy’s Crossmedia Group plans to lease 18,000 square feet in Bonnis Properties‘ four-storey-plus project set to break ground later this year at 950 Granville St.

Reserve, Westdale propose 38-storey residential tower

Residential  •  Urban Toronto  •  RENX

Reserve Properties and Westdale Properties, who are already bringing five condo towers to Midtown Toronto, have proposed a 38-storey IBI Group-designed tower with a total of 546 condo and rental replacement units at 124 Broadway Ave. W.

Avenue Living buy bodes well for Boardwalk, Mainstreet

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  RENX  •  MarketBeat

Canaccord Genuity analyst Brendon Abrams believes this week’s large Edmonton apartment portfolio transaction by Avenue Living highlights strong investor demand and valuations in the city – and that has positive read-throughs for Boardwalk REIT (BEI-UN-T) and Mainstreet Equity Corp. (MEQ-T).

Design, Policy and Canadian Cities › Vancouver, Ottawa, Edmonton: How 3 cities are tackling the missing middle

Naama Blonder: Architect, Urban Designer, Urban Planner | B.Arch, OAA, RPP, MCIP

Corporate Stays opening 5 new Canadian locations

Residential  •  Canada Newswire

Corporate Stays, Canada’s largest corporate housing provider, is opening five new locations with 100-plus new furnished apartments across Canada. The five are: The Zephyr, Vancouver; The Lauren, Vancouver; East Village, Winnipeg; The Junction, Halifax; and Monarc, Montréal.

London’s downtown office sector shows signs of life

Commercial  •  London Free Press

Although London’s office vacancy remains high, traffic has increased in the last 90 days and office spaces are being shown to prospective tenants again, says Ted Overbaugh, a CBRE senior vice-president and managing director.

Court appoints C&W to review Laurentian’s real estate

Commercial  •  Sudbury.com

Laurentian University, along with the court-appointed monitor, Ernst & Young, hired to see the Sudbury-based school through its insolvency, filed a motion July 5 to appoint the firm of Cushman & Wakefield to review the university’s real estate holdings.

First step taken for Ottawa’s Civic Centre demolition

Commercial  •  CTV  •  Ottawa Citizen

The City of Ottawa’s finance and economic development committee has approved a plan that would investigate tearing down the Civic Centre and the north side stands at TD Place. The structures date back to 1967 and have developed numerous problems.

T.O. businessman vows to fight warehouse expropriation

Commercial  •  Toronto Star

Fred Dominelli, a well-known rags-to-riches Toronto businessman, is determined to fight to hold onto his 74,000-square-foot Dufferin St. office-warehouse despite it sitting on a 3.5-acre property the province wants to expropriate to build an Ontario Line rapid transit station.

Yardi launches workplace management solution

Commercial  •  PR Newswire

Real estate technology leader Yardi has unveiled new product suite Yardi Corom, tailored for commercial tenants. This comprehensive solution will provide a single platform solution for lease management, occupancy tracking and desk hoteling for flexible workplaces.

Global tax overhaul faces rocky road

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  CBC  •  Financial Post

A long road strewn with potential political pitfalls lies ahead for countries seeking to end a race to the bottom on international corporate tax, even though 130 of them have agreed to overhaul the way multinationals are taxed.

Ivanhoé invests in Indian life science labs portfolio

Commercial  •  Property Funds World  •  IPE Real Assets

Ivanhoé Cambridge, a global real estate subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, is investing in an 850,000-square-foot life science R&D office-labs portfolio in Genome Valley, Hyderabad. The portfolio will be acquired alongside Lighthouse Canton.

Mattamy Homes acquires 153 Arizona acres for $33M

Residential  •  Canada Newswire

Mattamy Homes, North America’s largest privately owned homebuilder, announced it has closed on a 153-acre property in the Town of Queen Creek, AZ. Empire Pointe will be purchased for $33 million and is approved for 533 home sites.

Walkable downtown in the works for Mississauga

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  RENX

After decades of spreading sideways, Mississauga wants to grow up. The developers of M City‘s eight new skyscrapers want to use height, increased density, a better mix of commercial and residential space and public transit to refine Mississauga’s legacy.

First-time homebuyers reject federal incentive program

Residential  •  Business In Vancouver

First-time homebuyers have soundly rejected the federal government’s First-Time Home Buyer Incentive program, announced nearly two years ago as a way to help those struggling to afford a down payment. As of Jan. 31, only 9,108 approved applicants had received the FTHBI.

Housing demand putting the squeeze on farmland

Residential  •  CTV

Canadian farmer Peter Lambrick has been watching the suburban sprawl of Toronto creep closer to his corn fields for years. As the pandemic fuels demand for housing, he fears much of the country’s best agricultural land may be lost forever.

Greater Montreal sales fall in June

Residential  •  CTV  •  Globe Newswire  •  Globe Newswire

Soaring prices and a shortage of single-family units caused Montreal-area real estate sales to drop in June. The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers‘ June statistics show a seven per cent year-over-year decrease in sales.