Ironclad launches Winnipeg apt. build despite pandemic

RENX  Residential  •  Apartments  •  Winnipeg

The pandemic has presented enormous challenges for commercial real estate in Canada. Yet one Winnipeg developer remains undaunted. Ironclad Developments Inc. is now building a 153-unit, mixed-use, multifamily low-rise in a fast-growing new community called Bravado at Bridgwater.

Reopening will require behaviour changes: Sonshine

Commercial  •  Financial Post  •  RENX

VIDEO: Ed Sonshine, CEO of RioCan REIT (REI-UN-T), talks with the Financial Post’s Larysa Harapyn about the changing landscape of retail amidst COVID-19.

Nygard properties for sale after court OKs liquidation

Commercial  •  CBC  •  Winnipeg Free Press

Manitoba’s Court of Queen’s Bench has approved the liquidation sale of assets and inventory belonging to a group of companies owned by Winnipeg fashion mogul Peter Nygard. The Nygard chain operated 169 retail stores in North America and had 1,450 employees worldwide.

Goodfood to open 42,000-sq.-ft. GTA fulfillment centre

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire

Goodfood Market Corp. (FOOD-T) announced today it has signed a lease for its first  fulfillment centre in the Greater Toronto Area. Fulfilment of orders at the 42,000-square-foot facility will begin before the end of May.

Northview fund files $430M IPO preliminary prospectus

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  Globe Newswire

Northview Canadian High Yield Residential Fund has obtained a receipt for a preliminary prospectus for an initial public offering of trust units to a maximum of $430 million.

Greater Victoria commuter rail line would cost $600M

Commercial  •  Daily Hive  •  CBC  •  Victoria Times Colonist

The cost of upgrading the Island Rail Corridor between Victoria and Langford for a commuter rail public transit service is estimated at $595 million, according to a new technical feasibility report released by the provincial government.

REM construction to resume on May 11

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

Following the Québec government’s most recent directives, the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) construction sites will resume activities as of May 11. All the measures to ensure workers’ health and safety will be implemented and rigorously enforced.

Infrastructure $$ should have major role in recovery

Commercial  •  Financial Post

OPINION: Infrastructure should play a major role in the next phase of the rescue, since big-project spending stands a much greater chance of generating economic activity. There are downsides. Infrastructure programs are notoriously slow to get going.

Sales drop 20%-plus at majority of Canadian companies

Commercial  •  Toronto Star  •  CBC

Almost one-third of businesses could stay open if physical distancing rules remain in place for six months, but nearly as many suggest they won’t survive that long, according to survey results from Statistics Canada.

Manitoba getting back to business on Monday

Commercial  •  CBC  •  Winnipeg Free Press  •  Winnipeg Free Press

Starting Monday, outdoor patios, museums, libraries, hair salons, dental clinics and most retail businesses are among the places that can reopen in Manitoba, along with playgrounds, golf courses, tennis courts and campgrounds.

The Saskatchewan Edge › Reopening a province: May the Fourth be with you

Kelly Macsymic: Business Manager, Stuart Commercial Inc., Sales Associate, ICR Commercial Real Estate

Massive exoskeletons support Toronto history

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

There isn’t much left of the former Ka Chi Korean Restaurant in downtown Toronto. The roof of the building, once part of a streetscape, has been removed. Two walls have been torn down and the interior has been completely gutted.

Manulife acquires 49% of Mahindra AMC

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Limited has completed the proceedings for divestment of 49 per cent stake in its wholly owned subsidiary, Mahindra Asset Management Company Private Ltd., to Toronto-headquartered Manulife Investment Management for $35 million US.

Social distancing may become CRE design factor

Commercial  •  ROI-NJ

Where once there were eco-friendly LEED certificates hanging on the walls of a good office building . . . there may soon be certificates promoting proper social distancing measures.

Roots to shutter seven U.S. stores

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  Daily Hive

Roots Corp. is scaling back its bricks-and-mortar presence in the United States, permanently closing seven stores there and filing bankruptcy for its U.S. subsidiary. Toronto-based Roots had been expanding its store footprint in the U.S. in the past three years.

Over 50% of U.S. mall stores to close by 2021

Commercial  •  CNBC

More than 50 per cent of the department stores anchoring America’s malls are going to close permanently by the end of next year, a new report from Green Street Advisors predicts. There are about 1,000 malls still open in the U.S.

Nearly half of tenants fear they can’t pay May rent

Residential  •  Toronto Star

Almost half of Canadian renters may not be able to make May 1 rent, according to a new ACORN survey that comes as the federal and provincial governments look to each other to fund residential rent relief.

Pandemic could usher in online era of home sales

Residential  •  Business In Vancouver

Significant logistical limits to buying a home are currently in place, but with an expected easing of pandemic-related health advisories over time, a new online buying and selling landscape will emerge as the new norm, says Dinnell Real Estate Group.

COVID-19 crisis set to hammer Vancouver prices

Residential  •  Vancouver Sun

OPINION: The official, optimistic message from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver at first sounds plausible. However, Coronavirus shutdowns are hammering the factors that most fuel housing prices in Canada: Wages, household debt and migration-based population growth.

U.S. mortgage rates reach all-time low

Residential  •  Globe Newswire

Freddie Mac (FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey, showing that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.23 per cent, the lowest rate in survey history which dates back to 1971.