Canadian hotels have been major victims of COVID-19

RENX  Commercial  •  Hotels and Resorts  •  National

Canada’s hotel sector was hit early and hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, and an April 16 webinar addressed stakeholders seeking solutions to the challenges. How bad are things? Colliers Hotels managing director and co-moderator Robin McLuskie outlined hard facts to 1,000 viewers.

COVID-19 puts urban density to the test

Residential  •  Globe and Mail  •  Urban Toronto

Within quarantined Vancouver, living space has suddenly become the all-inclusive pandemic shelter, office and daycare. And with that new crucial use of space, the housing inequities are strikingly apparent, says Andy Yan, director of Simon Fraser University’s City Program

Costco announces $4 billion debt offering

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire

Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST-Q) today announced the pricing of its offering of $4B aggregate of senior unsecured notes: $1.25B principal amount of 1.375% notes due June 20, 2027; $1.75B principal amount of 1.6% notes due April 20, 2030; $1B principal amount of 1.75% notes due April 20, 2032.

UBS to sell $5B of non-strategic properties

Commercial  •  Pensions & Investments

The UBS Trumbull Property Fund, which has $7.2 billion US in redemption requests from investors, is planning to set aside a $5 billion portfolio of 45 non-strategic assets for sale. The fund would retain 294 long-term strategic assets, currently worth $14 billion.

Downtown Ottawa development site sells for $3.25M

Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal

A prime piece of downtown Ottawa real estate near a spate of new residential developments has changed hands for $3.25 million. A private buyer acquired the property at 400 Rideau St. from previous owner Jeff Zelicovitz. A 3,500-square-foot building occupies the site.

Construction work continues on Parliament Hill

Commercial  •  CBC

Most MPs and senators have been told to stay away from Parliament Hill due to COVID-19 — but the same rules don’t apply to the labourers carrying out rehabilitative work in the parliamentary precinct.

The Saskatchewan Edge › Industrial will evolve as the preferred asset class

Barry Stuart: Managing Partner and Senior Sales Associate , ICR Commercial Real Estate

Top 10 upcoming high-rise, transportation projects

Residential, Commercial  •  Daily Commercial News

The accompanying tables show the top 10 largest upcoming high-rise residential and transportation construction projects in Canada. They are all in the planning stage and are mainly new projects, but may also involve additions and/or alterations.

Pattison charts path to recovery for conglomerate

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

B.C. billionaire Jim Pattison expects his conglomerate’s path to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic will be tougher than any economic adversity he’s faced over the decades. As part of the adjustments, Pattison has made changes at his Save-On-Foods store empire.

Mid-rise rental proposed on Queen Street West

Residential  •  Urban Toronto

Skale Developments‘ mid-March submission to the City of Toronto seeks rezoning to permit an eight-storey residential rental building at 1375 Queen St.W., a long-vacant site. The proposal features a design by Giannone Petricone Associates.

Canadian REITs scramble to retain rent

Residential, Commercial  •  Western Investor

Canadian REITs are scrambling to contain the damage as residential and commercial tenants struggle to pay rent during an economy staggered by COVID-19. Most at risk are residential-weighted REITs dealing with a nationwide ban on evictions and rent increases.

REIT/REOC COVID-19 business updates

Commercial  • 

Inovalis REIT, (INO-UN-T), Canada Newswire 

Slate Office REIT, (SOT-UN-T), Business Wire

Summit Industrial Income REIT, (SMU-UN-T), Canada Newswire, Canada Newswire 

Tricon Capital Group Inc., (TCN-T), Canada Newswire 

Kelowna golf courses reopen with new protocols

Commercial  •  CBC

Several golf courses in the Kelowna area have opened this week with a set of new protocols aimed at keeping physical distance among golfers and staff and stopping the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

OPINION: Many restaurants won’t survive COVID-19

Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal  •  Bloomberg  •  CBC

COVID-19 is about to kill restaurants by the thousands. This pandemic is the ultimate pressure test and restaurants are failing hard. Think about it: When we come out of this, your favourite food spots might not be there any more.

U.S. CRE starts down 13.4% YOY in Q1

Commercial  •  Daily Commercial News

ConstructConnect announced U.S. Q1 nonresidential starts were down 13.4 per cent year-over-year. However, the latest month’s volume of construction starts, excluding residential work, was $30.8 billion, an increase of one-fifth (+21.1%) versus February’s figure of $25.5 billion (originally reported as $23.8 billion).

Europe Q1 investment volumes at record level: CBRE

Commercial  •  IPE Real Assets

Latest data from CBRE has shown that the total real estate investment in Europe during the first quarter of the year increased 52 per cent year-over-year to $130.6 billion Cdn.

Technology enables RE lawyers to continue online

Residential, Commercial  •  Canadian Lawyer Magazine

As a general rule, the technology exists to permit real estate lawyers to continue their practices online, without the need for a physical office or an attendance at the land registry office.

Major lenders begin to cut fixed mortgage rates

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Fixed mortgage rates are creeping lower this week, as the funding markets that banks and other mortgage lenders use to raise money for loans have begun to normalize after weeks of outsized volatility.

COVID-19 hammers New York’s rental market

Residential  •  PR Newswire

New York, Denver and Houston all experienced large net losses for new rental listings with New York holding the biggest decrease at 65.17 per cent, according to TurboTenant’s report “How COVID-19 is Impacting the Rental Market.”

22.3% drop in U.S. housing starts in March

Residential  •  La Presse

U.S. housing starts tumbled 22.3 per cent in March as the pandemic spread across the country and containment measures extended, Commerce Department data published Thursday said.