Plans in motion to develop Hamilton Studio District

RENX  Commercial  •  Office, Industrial, Homes  •  Ontario

Hamilton has the third-largest film business cluster in Canada, and Aeon Studio Group and Momentum Developments plan to build on that in a big way by developing the Hamilton Studio District. They’re negotiating to purchase the city-owned Barton-Tiffany lands.

Pharrell Williams gets behind Toronto’s Untitled condo

RENX  Residential  •  Condominiums  •  Toronto / GTA

Collaborations between developers on condominiums aren’t uncommon, but Toronto’s Untitled will be unique due to the involvement of Pharrell Williams. “It’s Untitled because we wanted to leave space for you,” the Grammy winner said in video broadcast at Yonge-Dundas Square.

B.C. government gobbles up Victoria office space

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver

Greater Victoria is facing the tightest office market in a decade as the provincial government becomes a major factor in the market. The province has leased more than 200,000 square feet in the past year and is looking for more.

Vancouver has little say on F.N. development

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

Major developments in Vancouver normally generate 10s of millions of dollars’ worth of amenities, including affordable housing. However, the city will have almost no leverage to get any of that from a massive new project planned by the Squamish Nation.

Richmond, Delta industrial demand remains strong

Commercial  •  Avison Young media release

Industrial real estate sales in both Richmond and Delta set new dollar volume records in 2018 as owner-occupiers and investors alike continued to fuel strong demand, particularly strata units, a trend which has also largely carried through the first nine months of 2019.

Skipthedishes moving into True North Square

Commercial  •  Winnipeg Free Press  •  RENX

Winnipeg’s newest large company is moving into its newest downtown office tower. Skipthedishes, the Winnipeg-based food delivery/technology company, has signed a lease for four-and-a-half floors of True North Square‘s office tower for occupancy Dec. 1, 2020.

Storey Living facing legal fights on two fronts

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Storey Living Inc. CEO Dimitrios (Jim) Neilas, a developer who raised 10s of millions from dozens of individual investors bundled into syndicated mortgages to fund Toronto-area condominium buildings, is facing an investor revolt on one project and insolvency on another.

Humber College’s net-zero Barrett CTI a green leader

Commercial  •  Sustainable Biz Canada

Windows open on their own at the Barrett Centre for Technology Innovation . . . and it’s no mistake. Natural ventilation is one sustainability feature in the 93,000-square-foot smart building. The net-zero energy building opened in April at Humber College’s Toronto north campus.

Calgary adding 14 new communities

Residential  •  CBC

Calgary is unable to hold off on allowing 14 new suburban communities to be built despite the city’s new financial reality, a council committee heard on Tuesday. However, the committee will bring forward a recommendation to tighten rules on new development.

Province nixes Quebec City’s housing development

Residential  •  CBC

Quebec City cannot go ahead with a plan to allow Groupe Dallaire‘s sprawling residential development on its last available parcel of agricultural land, in Charlesbourg. Municipal affairs minister Andrée Laforest announced Tuesday she is rejecting the necessary zoning changes.

REIT third-quarter financial results

Commercial  • 

Dream Industrial REIT, (DIR-UN-T), Globe Newswire

Granite REIT, (GRT-UN-T), Canada Newswire

Killam Apartment REIT, (KMP-UN-T), Canada Newswire

Plaza Retail REIT, (PLZ-UN-T), Canada Newswire

RioCan REIT, (REI-UN-T), Globe Newswire

REOC third-quarter financial results

Commercial  • 

Bridgemarq Real Estate Services, (BRE-T), Canada Newswire

Brookfield Property Partners, (BPY-UN-T), Globe Newswire

Firm Capital Mortgage Investment Corp., (FC-T), Globe Newswire

First Capital Realty Inc., (FCR-T), Canada Newswire

Temple Hotels Inc., (TPH-T), Canada Newswire

Evacuation order lifted at site of Halifax crane collapse

Commercial  •  CBC

The Nova Scotia government is lifting the localized state of emergency in downtown Halifax imposed following a crane collapse in September and people evacuated from homes and businesses in the area are now allowed to return.

Pot companies shed real estate

Commercial  •  Bloomberg

Capital-hungry pot companies are increasingly selling off real estate as other sources of financing dry up. With cannabis stocks down nearly 60 per cent since since their highs in March, producers have been left with few alternatives, particularly in the U.S.

Morguard N.A. Residential acquires 50% of Chicago complex

Residential  •  Canada Newswire

Morguard North American Residential REIT (MRG-UN-T) announced it will acquire a 51% ownership interest in a luxury residential complex, the Marquee at Block 37, in Chicago. Morguard Corporation will increase its ownership from 49% to 50% in a 50/50 JV basis with the REIT.

Ascendas REIT to buy U.S., Singapore assets for $1.2B

Commercial  •  CP Executive

Ascendas, Singapore’s largest listed business space and industrial REIT, will soon enhance its holdings by approximately four million square feet. Ascendas is acquiring 28 properties at business parks in the U.S. and two Singapore properties for approximately $1.2 billion US.

B.C. received nearly $34M in Airbnb taxes in past year

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

British Columbia has received almost $34 million in taxes from Airbnb in the past year, more than double the revenue projected when the unique taxation program designed to fund affordable housing was launched in 2018.

Vancouver residential tax to rise 43.5% in 5 years

Residential  •  Vancouver Province

Metro Vancouver homeowners can expect the amount of their property tax that goes to the regional district to increase by 43.5 per cent in the next five years. The 2020 budget and five-year financial plan have been approved by Metro Vancouver’s board.

Montreal sales up 14 per cent YOY

Residential  •  Globe Newswire

The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers’ (QPAREB) statistics for the Montreal Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) indicate 4,211 residential sales were concluded in October, a 14 per cent year-over-year increase.

Toronto making progress on developers’ debts

Residential, Commercial  •  Toronto Star

City of Toronto lawyers are making progress trying to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars owed by developers for community benefits after a city councillor and the Star reached out to the debtors.