Almega Co. CEO Basem Hanna dreams big … very big

RENX  Residential  •  Office, Apartments, Land, Industrial, Investment  •  Toronto / GTA

Almega Co. has unique origins, a charitable business plan and ambitions to be the world’s top real estate, asset and property management company. “I know that sounds crazy now, but I’m young and ambitious and driven,” said CEO Basem Hanna.

Metrolinx reports major interest in Ontario Line TODs

Residential, Commercial  •  Daily Commercial News

The next great development corridor in Toronto could be along the new Ontario Line, Metrolinx president and CEO Phil Verster told delegates participating in a recent Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships (CCPPP) luncheon webinar.

CAPREIT acquires Halifax apartments for $22.4M

Residential  •  Globe Newswire  •  RENX

CAPREIT (CAR-UN-T) announced today it has purchased a new 88-suite apartment property in the West Bedford neighbourhood of Halifax. It includes 22 one-bedroom and 66 two-bedroom suites with sizes ranging from 997 to 1,740 square feet.

Tribute proposes two-tower residential project

Residential  •  Urban Toronto

Tribute Communities has filed a rezoning application with the City of Toronto to permit two 37-storey residential towers at 1325 The Queensway designed by Graziani + Corazza Architects. The site is currently occupied by two low-slung commercial buildings.

Frank, Belinda Stronach split family businesses

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Financial Post  •  Canada Newswire

Frank and Belinda Stronach ended an often-acrimonious three-year battle for control of billion-dollar family business The Stronach Group on Thursday with father and daughter exchanging kind words and agreeing to split their real estate, horse racing and farming businesses.

Larco, Heritage Ottawa agree on Château Laurier plans

Commercial  •  CTV  •  Ottawa Citizen  •  Ottawa Business Journal

Larco Investments and Heritage Ottawa have drawn up a compromise to the design of an addition to Ottawa’s historic Fairmont Château Laurier. Larco will file the new design plans with the City of Ottawa and the National Capital Commission.

Imperial Equities suspends dividends

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

Imperial Equities Inc. (IEI-X) has suspended its dividends for Q3 and Q4 2020. The Edmonton-based company is anchored by industrial, agricultural and commercial real estate properties in its target markets throughout Western Canada.

Edmonton $1.8B LRT line six months behind schedule

Commercial  •  Edmonton Journal

The $1.8-billion, 13-kilometre southeast leg of Edmonton’s Valley Line LRT is heading toward a delayed opening in summer or fall of 2021, more than six months after it was initially scheduled to be on track.

CPP Investments reports 5.6% return in Q1

Commercial  •  Winnipeg Free Press  •  Canada Newswire

Canada Pension Plan Investments‘ main fund achieved a 5.6 per cent net return for the quarter ended June 30. The Toronto-based fund manager says its base CPP account had $434.4 billion of net assets at the end of Q1, up $22.7 billion since March 31.

Montreal developer Marcel Adams dead at 100

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

Montreal developer Marcel Adams, who survived the Holocaust and fought in Israel’s war of independence, has died at the age of 100. Adams founded privately held Iberville Developments Ltd. in the 1950s, which became one of Canada’s largest shopping mall owners.

Windsor developer remembered for big projects

Residential, Commercial  •  Windsor Star

Well-known property developer William (Bill) Docherty — instrumental in landing Caesars Windsor, what would become one of the city’s biggest private employers — died Thursday at the age of 88. Docherty built hotels, apartment buildings and more.

REIT second-quarter financial results

Residential, Commercial  • 

Automotive Properties REIT, (APR-UN-T), Canada Newswire

Boardwalk REIT, (BEI-UN-T), Canada Newswire

BSR REIT, (HOM-U-T), Canada Newswire

BTB REIT, (BTB-UN-T), Canada Newswire

H&R REIT, (HR-UN-T), Canada Newswire

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

Nexus REIT, (NXR-UN-X), Globe Newswire

Northview Apartment REIT, (NVU-UN-T), Globe Newswire

PROREIT, (PRV-UN-T), Canada Newswire

Cineplex reports $98.9-million Q2 loss

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  Vancouver Sun

Cineplex Inc. (CGX-T) reported a loss of $98.9 million in its latest quarter as its movie theatres were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company says the loss amounted to $1.56 per share for the quarter ended June 30.

Couche-Tard tests contactless payment in U.S.

Commercial  •  La Presse

Quebec retail giant Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD-B-T) will soon implement in one of its U.S. Circle K chain stores an autonomous and contactless payment technology that will allow customers to pay for their goods without having to go through by checkout.

WeWork gets new $1.1B commitment from SoftBank

Commercial  •  Reuters

The owner of money-losing shared office provider WeWork told employees it has slashed its cash burn rate almost in half from the end of last year and obtained a $1.1 billion commitment in new financing from majority owner SoftBank Group Corp.

Hong Kong still Asia’s costliest CRE market

Commercial  •  Mingtiandi

Hong Kong retains its crown as Asia’s most expensive CRE market even after the COVID-19 pandemic saw the city record a 12 per cent decline in prime year-over-year rents over the first six months of 2020, Savills said on Tuesday.

CMHC plea over high-risk mortgages angers lenders

Residential  •  Globe and Mail  •  Financial Post

A sharply worded letter by CMHC CEO Evan Siddall chastising a long list of prominent mortgage lenders for helping heavily indebted borrowers buy homes has left some senior bankers puzzled and others bristling, according to multiple sources.

Montreal estate sells for Quebec record

Residential  •  Globe Newswire  •  La Presse

Sotheby’s International Realty Canada announced the sale of a private estate in Montreal that has set a new benchmark as the highest recorded residential property sale through the MLS system in Quebec’s history. It was listed at $20 million.

Minto Apartment a top REIT pick

Residential  •  Bloomberg  •  RENX

Minto Apartment REIT (MI-UN-T) owns arguably the highest-quality portfolio of Canadian apartment REITs, located in urban markets like Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Calgary, and Edmonton. Minto was spun out in 2018 by Minto Group, which owns approximately 41 per cent of the REIT.

Lormel seeks three-storey height bump for rental

Residential  •  Urban Toronto

As construction of a 24-storey rental tower approaches grade at 2376 Dundas St. W. near Dundas West subway station in Toronto’s West End, developer Lormel Homes is seeking to add three floors to the Richmond Architects-designed building.