Vancouver’s Beach Towers apts. sell for record $305M

RENX  Residential  •  Apartments  •  Metro Vancouver

The Beach Towers apartment complex overlooking Vancouver’s English Bay has sold for a record single-asset, multifamily price of $305 million according to Goodman Commercial Inc., which facilitated the transaction. The four, 24-storey towers are on a 2.66-acre waterfront property.

Shopify leapfrogs Brookfield; now Canada’s No. 3 stock

Commercial  •  Bloomberg  •  Financial Post  •  Toronto Star

Shopify Inc. (SHOP-T) soared as much as 10 per cent to a record on Friday after the Ottawa-based e-commerce retailer’s chief technology officer Jean-Michel Lemieux tweeted Shopify was handling “Black Friday level traffic every day!”

Couche-Tard shelves $5.6B Caltex buyout

Commercial  •  Reuters  •  Financial Post  •  Canada Newswire

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.’s (ATD-B-T) buyout of gas station operator Caltex Australia Ltd. has become the latest victim of the coronavirus outbreak, as fuel demand plunges and as companies look inward to get through the crisis.

QuadReal, Mill Creek form $590M U.S. multifamily JV

RENX  Residential  •  Apartments  •  International

Vancouver-based QuadReal Property Group has announced a partnership with Mill Creek Residential to develop and operate up to $590 million (all figures Cdn) worth of multifamily communities in targeted U.S. markets.

Residential/office complex proposed for Vaughan

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

A recent proposal from developers Aspen Ridge Homes and Metrus Properties would bring three towers with residential and office uses to 7800 Jane St. in downtown Vaughan. The Quadrangle-designed project proposes 50 and 60-storey residential towers and a 17-storey office building.

Demand for goods upends transportation networks

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

dnata’s quiet warehouses at Toronto Pearson International Airport are a microcosm of upheaval in global transportation networks, induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Law firm Baker McKenzie recently estimated global trade fell four per cent during Q1 2020.

Amazon deploys thermal cameras at warehouses

Commercial  •  Reuters  •  Gizmodo  •  Financial Post

Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN-Q) has started to use thermal cameras at its warehouses to speed up screening for feverish workers who could be infected with the coronavirus. They require less time and contact than forehead thermometers, earlier adopted by Amazon.

T&T to offer customers temperature checks

Commercial  •  Global News  •  Daily Hive  •  Vancouver Province

T&T Supermarket says it will offer temperature checks for customers entering its stores Monday in a bid to protect shoppers and employees from COVID-19. “As we all know, fever is the most common symptom for COVID-19,” the chain said.

Walmart to hire 50,000 more workers

Commercial  •  Reuters

Walmart Inc. (WMT-N) said on Friday it would hire 50,000 more workers at its stores, clubs and distribution centres to meet a surge in demand for groceries and household essentials from consumers stockpiling during the coronavirus outbreak.

Neiman Marcus prepares to file for bankruptcy

Commercial  •  Reuters

Neiman Marcus Group is preparing to seek bankruptcy protection as soon as this week, becoming the first major U.S. department store operator to succumb to the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak, sources said.

75 per cent wage subsidy could save MEC

Commercial  •  CityNews

Mountain Equipment Co-op, Canada’s largest cooperative with more than 3.5 million members, says the federal wage subsidy could be the key to keeping the struggling company afloat as its financial situation continues to deteriorate.

REIT/REOC COVID-19 business updates

Commercial  • 

BSR REIT, (HOM-U-T), Canada Newswire

Crombie REIT, (CRR-UN-T), Canada Newswire

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

Imperial Equities Inc., (IEI-X), Canada Newswire

Melcor REIT, (MR-UN-T), Globe Newswire

NorthWest Healthcare Properties REIT, (NWH-UN-T), Canada Newswire

Uncertain times ahead for Winnipeg office market

Commercial  •  Winnipeg Free Press  •  Reuters

There is plenty of uncertainty in Winnipeg’s office sector. Over the coming months, new realities will emerge for tenants, realtors and landlords alike, who will have to devise creative solutions to adapt as leases expire and corporate needs shift.

Prairie bar, restaurant owners plead for more support

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  Toronto Star  •  Reuters

Prairie restaurant and bar owners are pleading with governments for more support, arguing  loans and wage subsidies don’t go far enough. And when they are allowed to reopen, they worry continued restrictions will cut into revenues for the foreseeable future.

Future of Caesars Windsor remains murky

Commercial  •  Windsor Star

With over 2,300 local jobs hanging in the wind, the fate of Caesars Windsor — as with casinos around the world — has industry leaders scrambling to figure out what the next chapter looks like in the new era of social distancing.

Fight over CRE rent gets ugly in U.S.

Commercial  •  Bloomberg

The fight over commercial rent payments is getting ugly. With stores shuttered across the U.S., struggling retailers are skipping rent and asking for concessions, while landlords are demanding payment and having their own tricky conversations with lenders.

Pandemic gives urban planners new insights

Residential, Commercial  •  Winnipeg Free Press

To reduce the chances of community spread of coronavirus, many municipalities began to adopt social distancing. Planners, too, are adding their voices to the discussion, advocating for wider sidewalks and the closure of streets to ensure appropriate distancing.

Short-term rental bookings plummet

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Short-term rental services Airbnb and Vrbo are seeing business evaporate in Canada as travel has all but stopped and several provinces have restricted the use of their services due to the pandemic.

Rental relief could come for T.O. tenants: Urbanation

Residential  •  Toronto Star  •  CBC

Tenants who are sheltering in place during the coronavirus outbreak will likely face a softer rental market when the lockdown lifts, says Shaun Hildebrand, the head of development-tracking market research firm Urbanation.

COVID clauses await wary homebuyers

Residential  •  Reuters  •  Toronto Star  •  HalifaxToday

In Canada’s typically busy home-selling season, wary buyers are donning masks and gloves to view properties, while realtors offer virtual tours and coronavirus clauses as the real estate industry copes with the outbreak.