Trulife Developments an ambitious newcomer in GTA

RENX  Residential  •  Condominiums  •  Toronto / GTA

Trulife Developments might have just one completed project to its credit, but it will soon launch sales for a joint venture condominium and has ambitious plans for other developments at various stages in its pipeline.

Tough times? GWL’s Finkbeiner has seen it all before

RENX  Commercial  •  Investment, Human Resources  •  National, International

Paul Finkbeiner has experienced some pretty tough business climates during his 30-plus-year career, so the global head of real estate for Great-West Lifeco is unruffled by the current situation facing commercial real estate investors and managers.

Starlight offered $20M incentive for mall renovation

Commercial  •  CBC  •  Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg city council has narrowly approved a $20-million package of incentives to assist a $400-million renovation of Portage Place by Toronto-area developer Starlight Investments. Starlight made a conditional $69.9-million offer for the downtown Winnipeg shopping centre.

1.3M-sq.-ft Ottawa hotel, apt. complex planned

Residential, Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal

Ottawa’s Denis Archambault and Quebec City-based Pierre and Francois Moffet plan to build a 1.3-million-square-foot complex of apartment units and hotel suites near Ottawa’s Cyrville LRT station. The project would include a hotel and residential towers of 25, 27 and 36 storeys, respectively.

Conference Board selling Ottawa head office

Commercial  •  CTV

The Conference Board of Canada is set to sell its head office building at 255 Smyth Rd. in Ottawa, as it transitions to a remote-based organization. The board had already planned to sell, but physical distancing measures sped up the timing.

The end of Toronto’s first strip mall

Commercial  •  Maclean’s

When it opened in 1952, the strip of shops set back from the intersection of Bayview and Eglinton in Toronto’s Leaside neighbourhood inaugurated a whole new era. Sunnybrook Plaza’s place in history is enshrined as Toronto’s first strip mall.

Ivanhoé’s Palladitcheff undergoes baptism by fire

Commercial  •  IPE Real Assets  •  La Presse

Less than a year ago, Nathalie Palladitcheff joined global real estate investor Ivanhoé Cambridge, succeeding Daniel Fournier as CEO of a company with a $64-billion portfolio. She could have had no premonitions about what would unfold in 2020.

Landmark sets up Western base in Calgary

Commercial  •  Calgary Herald  •  RENX

Landmark Advisory Services, a Montreal-based real estate advisory firm specialized in commercial tenant representation, has chosen Calgary for its Western headquarters. Richard Glubish, its director of corporate accounts, Western Canada, has 29 years of experience in commercial real estate.

Ann Taylor, Loft and Justice stores to close

Commercial  •  Global News  •  Financial Post  •  Toronto Star

Ascena Retail Group (ASNA-Q), the parent company of Ann Taylor, Loft and Justice, says it will close all of its clothing stores in Canada. According to their websites, there are four Ann Taylor, nine Loft and 37 Justice stores in Canada.

Tristan boutiques begin restructuring

Commercial  •  La Presse

Montreal-based clothing retailer Tristan has chosen to take shelter from its creditors. The company hopes the process will enable it to renegotiate its leases for its 44 locations in Quebec, Ontario and Alberta.

COVID-19 takes big bite out of A&W results

Commercial  •  Castanet  •  Canada Newswire  •  Globe Newswire

A&W Revenue Royalties Income Fund (AW-UN-T) saw same-store sales plunge more than 30 per cent in its most recent quarter as the fast-food chain kept many of its locations shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

REIT business updates

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX

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

PROREIT, (PRV-UN-T), Canada Newswire 

Top 10 largest construction project starts in Canada

Residential, Commercial  •  Daily Commercial News

The accompanying table records the 10 largest construction project starts in Canada in June. Also included is the latest trend graph on starts. This looks at 12-month moving totals of the civil and non-residential building categories in Canada.

What will the next decade of Ontario Place look like?

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

PODCAST: The Star’s Robert Benzie and David Rider talk about the future of Ontario Place, the false starts and new hope for the waterfront, and the battle between the province and the city over a Toronto institution.

Canada Life sells London office asset for $46M

Commercial  •  IPE Real Assets

Canada Life Investments announced its LF Canlife UK Property ACS fund has sold Farringdon’s Superunion building for $46 million Cdn to Hampshire County Council. The London property has 32,025 square feet of office space.

Flipkart buys Walmart’s India wholesale business

Commercial  •  Reuters  •  TechCrunch

Fl India’s Flipkart said on Thursday it had acquired parent Walmart Inc.’s (WMT-N) local cash-and-carry business, as the e-commerce firm strengthens its wholesale offerings to better compete with Amazon.com Inc (AMZN-Q).

Downtown T.O. Airbnbs for sale up 108%

Residential  •  CTV  •  Financial Post

A new Zoocasa report suggests there’s a rare window of opportunity to snag a condo in downtown Toronto. Zoocasa says listings of ex-Airbnbs suits were 108 per cent higher year-over-year for 10 buildings in the downtown entertainment district and waterfront.

Former N.S. Tim Hortons repurposed as rentals

Residential  •  CBC

A former Tim Hortons location in Chéticamp, N.S., that was vacant for years is being transformed into an apartment complex. Gerard Lefort of Hammonds Plains Lifestyle purchased the property. Work on the building included  adding a second level.

North Atlantic Star proposes mid-rise condo

Residential  •  Urban Toronto

A proposal from developer North Atlantic Star calls for a 12-storey, Options Architects-designed building to rise from the current site of a low-rise retail plaza and surface parking lot at 3150 Eglinton Ave. E. in Scarborough.

U.S. homes’ asking prices a record $328,500

Residential  •  PR Newswire

Listing prices of U.S. homes for sale were up 13 per cent to an all-time high of $328,500 during the four-week period ending July 12, according to a new report from Redfin. Closed sale prices were also up six per cent.