Hodgson steps into CEO’s job at Slate Office REIT

RENX  Commercial  •  Office  •  National

Slate Office REIT’s (SOT-UN-T) portfolio has been built for just such an occasion as we’re experiencing today, says new CEO Steve Hodgson. He’s satisfied with its liquidity and the portfolio has performed well through early stages of the pandemic.

Developer plans 2.7M-sq.-ft. Ottawa industrial building

Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal

Developer Python LP is planning to construct the largest industrial building in Ottawa at a Barrhaven business park – a 2.7-million-square-foot, five-storey facility that would be nearly three times larger than the massive Amazon distribution centre on Boundary Road.

Feds directing funding in downtown Montreal, T.O.

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  Canada Newswire  •  Montreal Gazette

The federal government is breaking with tradition and using regional development agencies to help the downtown cores of Canada’s biggest cities to recover from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Homewise expands online home mortgage shopping

RENX  Residential  •  Technology, Homes  •  National

In a time when a pandemic makes face-to-face meetings rare, Homewise offers an online solution to homebuyers shopping for mortgages. Chief executive officer Jesse Abrams co-founded the North York, Ont.-based company with Carlos Medeiros in late 2018.

Place Bonaventure shutters its exhibition hall

Commercial  •  La Presse  •  La Presse

The Place Bonaventure exhibition hall in downtown Montreal is closing for good after 53 years of events. The huge room will be converted in the coming months into commercial premises and offices.

Vancouverites oppose Revera’s multiple-tower plans

Residential  •  Globe and Mail  •  RENX

A growing group in Vancouver’s West End say plans by developer Wall Financial and seniors-home operator Revera Living, which showed towers of up to 18 and 20 storeys in the latest version, are completely out of place for the area.

The Legal Corner › COVID-19 and the CECRA Program application process explained

Darrell Gold: Partner, Robins Appleby LLP

Ontario bans evictions for some small businesses

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  BayToday  •  CBC

Ontario announced a ban on commercial evictions Monday for some businesses from June through August after months of pressure from entrepreneurs who’ve been unable to pay rent because of pandemic shutdowns.

Alberta to bring in CRE eviction ban, grants

Commercial  •  CBC

Alberta is planning to introduce legislation this  week that will prevent commercial landlords who refuse to take advantage of a federal rent program from evicting business tenants who were forced to curtail operations due to COVID-19.

44 per cent of small firms now fully open

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  Winnipeg Free Press

Fourty-four per cent of Canada’s small businesses are fully open, up from 38 per cent two weeks ago, finds a new survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. However, some sectors, particularly restaurants and hospitality, continue to be largely closed.

Ex-Sask. premier seeks to lobby for Avenue Living

Commercial  •  iPolitics.ca  •  RENX

Former Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall has registered to lobby on behalf of Calgary-based Avenue Living Asset Management, new disclosures from the federal Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying show. Wall was named as a trustee to the company last spring.

Melcor REIT ends automatic share purchase plan

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire  •  RENX

Melcor REIT (MR-UN-T) announced it is terminating the previously announced automatic share purchase plan put in place in connection with the normal course issuer bid in order to conserve cash and preserve financial strength.

New protocols could cost hotel industry $9B annually

Commercial  •  PR Newswire

Hotel Asset Value Enhancement’s Post Script, hotelAVE’s operational efficiency division, estimates new cleaning protocols could potentially cost the hotel industry as much as $9 billion annually, based on factors such as the increased frequency of cleaning guest rooms and public spaces.

Walmart enters second-hand clothing market

Commercial  •  Toronto Star

Americans are so hot for used clothing they’ll even buy it during a pandemic, or so Walmart hopes. The retail giant last week announced it is getting into second-hand clothing through an e-commerce partnership with global fashion resale platform thredUp.

U.S. CRE insurance rates rise 6% Y-O-Y

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire

U.S. commercial insurance prices increased six per cent year-over-year for the second consecutive quarter during Q1, according to leading global advisory, broking and solutions company Willis Towers Watson’s (WLTW-Q) Commercial Lines Insurance Pricing Survey.

Execs discuss lack of diversity in Houston CRE

Commercial  •  Bisnow  •  Avison Young media release

When Ed Nwokedi first started in the real estate industry, he set up a meeting with a white client. “I walked with my hand out to shake the guy’s hand — he walked right by my handshake and ignored it.”

Home builders submit 20-point recovery plan

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe Newswire  •  Toronto Star

The Canadian and Ontario Home Builders’ Associations (CHBA and OHBA) and the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) have submitted a 20-point plan to the Ontario Jobs and Recovery Committee to help kick-start the Canadian economy post COVID-19.

Vancouver’s most luxurious rental homes in limbo

Residential  •  Western Investor

Perhaps the three most luxurious rental homes in Vancouver completed this month but remain in limbo due, developer Deecorp Properties says, to a unique lease arrangement and a pandemic that has kept the targeted tenants at bay.

COVID-19 compounds B.C. condo insurance crisis

Residential  •  Vancouver Sun

Metro Vancouver condo buildings are being forced to spend an average of 65 per cent more on insurance premiums in 2020, new data suggests, providing the first statistical glimpse into the extent of the financial crisis hitting owners in multi-unit buildings.

CMHC cuts home buying power as economy reels

Residential  •  Financial Post

Observers say CMHC’s tightening of its rules to get mortgage insurance will dampen an already struggling economy. “In my view, these changes are unnecessary to protect the prudence of Canada’s home lending practices,” said Dominion Lending Centres’ Sherry Cooper.