Forge & Foster builds portfolio as Hamilton CRE booms

RENX  Commercial  •  Office, Retail  •  Ontario

Forge & Foster is a relatively new firm rapidly making its presence felt in the growing city of Hamilton and other southern and southwestern Ontario communities. It says 2020 was a record year for CRE in the city, with 289 transactions worth $1.2B.

Starlight seeks $290M in grants, loans for Wpg. deal

Residential, Commercial  •  CBC  •  Winnipeg Free Press  •  CTV

A deal that would see Toronto’s Starlight Investments purchase and redevelop the Portage Place mall in downtown Winnipeg is proving elusive, as the company is reportedly asking for $50 million in grants and $240 million in loans.

Surrey OKs CIBT’s 49-storey school-housing campus

Residential, Commercial  •  Western Investor

Vancouver-based CIBT Education Group has received approval for its Global Education Mega Centre, a residential and school complex featuring one of the tallest towers in Surrey. The 49-storey tower will be adjacent to the Surrey City Centre SkyTrain station.

The People Space › People Space: New CMHC CEO, moves at RioCan, Altus…

Don Wilcox: Managing Editor

Tech giant Infosys to expand to Calgary

Commercial  •  Calgary Herald  •  Calgary Herald

IT services firm Infosys (INFY-N) has chosen Calgary for the next phase of its Canadian expansion. The company already has offices in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Ottawa, and is planning to double its Canadian workforce to 4,000 by 2023.

Markham asked Queen’s Park to fast-track development

Residential, Commercial  •  Toronto Star

Ryan Drudge has watched Markham-based developer FLATO Developments receive approval for three development projects in the span of a year on the agricultural and environmentally sensitive land that surrounds his property. The developments were fast-tracked using a minster’s zoning order.

Crescendo Equity sells Niagara apt. building for $2.965M

Residential  •  Canada Newswire

Crescendo Equity has sold a 12-unit apartment building on Drummond Road in the Niagara Falls area for $2.965 million. This translates to $247,000 per unit, compared to a previous benchmark of $176,000 for units in the area.

Windsor increases stake in Trez Capital Senior MIC

Residential  •  Canada Newswire

Windsor Private Capital Limited Partnership announced it has acquired an aggregate of 10,000 class-A shares of Trez Capital Senior Mortgage Investment Corporation (TZS-T) for an aggregate price of $23,100, $2.31 per share. Windsor now owns and controls approximately 10.00% of issued and outstanding shares.

How is retail tenant-landlord dynamic likely to change?

Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal  •  Financial Post  •  Western Investor

Many retailers will recover only after months of late rent payments and other challenges that may have strained the relationship with their landlords. Others will have had to shut down, leaving landlords with vacancies to fill.

Walmart hires Goldman execs for financial startup

Commercial  •  Financial Post  •  Toronto Star

By luring a pair of senior bankers from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to run its fledgling financial technology startup, Walmart Inc. (WMT-N) is gaining even more heft as it seeks to become a one-stop shop for consumers’ financial needs.

George Weston profit weighed down by one-time charges

Commercial  •  Toronto Star  •  Canada Newswire

George Weston‘s (WN-T) fourth-quarter profit fell year-over-year as it was hit by one-time charges. The company, which operates through Loblaw (L-T), Choice Properties (CHP-UN-T)  and Weston Foods, says it earned a profit of $289 million or $1.88 per diluted share in Q4.

REIT fourth-quarter financial results

Commercial  • 

Artis REIT, (AX-UN-T), Canada Newswire
Cominar REIT, (CUF-UN-T), Canada Newswire

Ivanhoé JVs on $500M Indian office property venture

Commercial  •  Financial Post  •  Property Funds World  •  Outlook India

Ivanhoé Cambridge will partner with Jitendra Virwani’s Embassy Group to develop commercial properties in southern India. The two companies have formed a $500-million venture with Ivanhoe accounting for 80% of the share. The partners will initially focus on Bangalore and Chennai.

Las Vegas Sands sells Venetian, Sands Expo for $6.25B

Commercial  •  Toronto Star  •  PR Newswire  •  Globe Newswire

Las Vegas Sands (NLVS-N) is selling the Venetian casino resort and Sands Expo and Convention Center for $6.25 billion. VICI Properties will buy Venetian Resort Las Vegas and the Sands Expo and Apollo Global Management (APO-N) will acquire Venetian.

Apollo to acquire retailer Michaels for $3.3B in cash

Commercial  •  Bloomberg  •  CNBC  •  Business Wire

Crafting and hobby retail chain Michaels Cos. (MIK-Q), has agreed to a sale to Apollo Global Management (APO-N) for approximately US$3.3 billion. Apollo will pay US$22 per share to Michaels shareholders — a 22 per cent premium from Tuesday’s close.

Private equity has $300B for pandemic-hit real estate

Commercial  •  Yahoo Finance

Blackstone Group bosses quietly smiled when Britain’s biggest-selling tabloid unwittingly endorsed their largest European real estate deal since the pandemic. The Sun indicated foreign travel curbs meant they’d be splashing their cash at the much-maligned seaside town of Bognor Regis.

Canadians ‘not ready’ for spike in mortgage rates: Tal

Residential  •  Bloomberg

CIBC Deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal warned that upward pressure on mortgage rates as a result of volatility in the bond market could catch Canadian mortgage-holders flat-footed even though underlying rates remain near historic lows.

Strata dispute pummels Abbotsford resales

Residential  •  Vancouver Sun

A tribunal has upheld an Abbotsford strata’s decision to deny an owner an exemption to its non-rentals clause, leaving the owner unable to sell or rent her unit, likely because of “massively higher” monthly fees because of rising insurance fees.

Mtl.’s February YOY sales fall for first time in six years

Residential  •  CTV  •  Globe Newswire  •  Globe Newswire

February residential sales in metropolitan Montreal fell for the first time since 2015 as transactions plunged outside Quebec’s largest city. The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers says February sales decreased three per cent year-over-year to 5,106 homes.

T.O. neighbourhoods with the largest rent declines

Residential  •  Daily Hive

Unsurprisingly, a new report from Torontorentals.com notes Toronto properties experienced the largest falling rent rates, with prices dropping a staggering 21% year-over-year. A $500-plus decline on the average rental price leaves the new average at $2,000.