NorthWest buys $454M hospital portfolio, plans JV

RENX  Commercial  •  Investment, Infrastructure  •  International

The purchase of a $454-million hospital portfolio in London, England positions NorthWest Healthcare Properties REIT (NWH-UN-T)  to take another significant step, CEO Paul Dalla Lana says. The four-hospital portfolio makes its London properties more attractive to a joint venture partner.

DevMcGill unveils three-building residential project

Residential  •  Canada Newswire

DevMcGill today announced the Le Newman residential project which will feature three buildings located on a 215,000-square-foot lot. The Montreal project will accommodate 950 residential units (DevMcGill condos, a Mostra available for rental and a Jazz residence for active retirees).

Vancouver AY employees trickle back to offices

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

The downtown Vancouver offices of Avison Young reopened in early June after a total lockdown. However, three months later, fewer than half of the 125 employees typically come in on any given day, while the rest still work remotely.

InterRent to acquire Hamilton, London apt. portfolio

RENX  Residential  •  Apartments  •  Ontario

InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust (IIP-UN-T) is acquiring a five-property apartment portfolio in Hamilton and London, Ont., for $170.7 million. The REIT says the agreement is unconditional and scheduled to close in September.

Alberta gov’t backs Calgary-Edmonton hyperloop

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  Toronto Star  •  Calgary Herald

A hyperloop that could transport passengers in levitating tubes at the speed of a jet between Calgary and Edmonton is being backed by the Alberta government. Toronto-based startup TransPod has signed a memorandum of understanding to study its potential.

Sponsored by Snaile Carrier companies and COVID-19: How do social distancing guidelines affect office deliveries, and what’s the solution?

As thoughts turn towards a return to work in a post-COVID-19 lockdown world, one of the key concerns is elevators. Elevators are confined spaces in which social distancing is difficult. This means their capacity must be limited . . .

Nexus buys Calgary industrial property for $13.75M

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire  •  RENX

Nexus REIT (NXR-UN-X) has waived conditions to acquire a single-tenant industrial property located in Rocky View County for $13.75 million. The property has a gross leasable area of 95,180 square feet on 10 acres of land and is fully occupied.

Automotive Properties acquires Laval property

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

Automotive Properties REIT (APR-UN-T) announced it has completed the acquisition of an automotive property at 3755 Autoroute des Laurentides (A-15) in Laval. The purchase price for the property, certain capital improvements and related expenses are expected to total approximately $13.5 million.

Sidewalk Labs never did its homework: Podcast

Residential, Commercial  •  Daily Commercial News

Sidewalk Labs failed to do its homework and never understood Toronto’s complicated planning process, says a panelist participating in the latest podcast – Sidewalk Labs – What’s Next? – produced by the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario (RCCAO).

Ontario Teachers’ net assets total $204.7B

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board today announced its net assets totaled $204.7 billion as of June 30. The total-fund net loss was 0.4 per cent for the first six months of 2020. Ontario Teachers’ invests in 35 global currencies and in more than 50 countries

What went wrong with CRE rent-relief program?

Commercial  •  Financial Post

In March, the day he closed all four of his Toronto restaurants and temporarily laid off 97 employees, Ascari Hospitality Group co-owner John Sinopoli began writing his first-ever letter to the government.

Construction needs to be self-sufficient post-COVID

Residential, Commercial  •  Daily Commercial News

Multiplex Canada’s Terry Olynyk, Reliance Construction Group’s Bryan Kaplan and Bockstael Construction’s John Bockstael all pointed to lessons learned from the initial rush to lockdown and the way forward for both their firms and the industry in a recent webinar.

Ivanhoé buys Melbourne site for $218M development

Commercial  •  IPE Real Assets

Ivanhoé Cambridge has acquired another logistics property through its Australian asset manager, Logos. The asset, in Broadmeadows, Melbourne, will be developed into a $218 million Cdn facility. Ivanhoé Cambridge has an Australian portfolio valued at more than $950 million.

Brookfield, Blackstone skip paying loans while raising billions

Commercial  •  Yahoo Finance

Brookfield Property Partners, Starwood Capital Group, Colony Capital and Blackstone Group are walking away from debt on bad property deals, even as they raise billions of dollars for new opportunities borne of the pandemic.

U.S. industrial faces short-term decline: NAIOP report

Commercial  •  CP Executive

Given the U.S. economy’s deterioration and the likelihood that the recession will continue through the end of this year, industrial space absorption will decline sharply in the third quarter, according to NAIOP’s Third Quarter Industrial Space Demand Forecast.

Property tycoon loses 31% on Hong Kong office sale

Commercial  •  Mingtiandi  •  Reuters

Leung Moon-lam, a founder of a Hong Kong-listed mainland developer, appears to have taken a 31 per cent haircut on an office investment in the New Territories as the city’s commercial real estate market continues to slip this year.

We must act now to avoid an eviction crisis: Opinion

Residential  •  Globe and Mail  •  CBC

Landlord and tenant boards are starting residential eviction hearings again. Legislation and financial assistance will help, but governments have to be careful to not choose winners and losers. Any legislation needs to balance the needs of tenants, landlords and taxpayers.

Northern B.C. real estate in high demand

Residential  •  CBC

There are not enough houses in Smithers, B.C., for eager buyers right now, according to the regional real estate board, and the hot northern housing market shows no signs of cooling down, despite, or perhaps because of, the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sask. Airbnb rentals seeing surge in popularity

Residential  •  CBC

When COVID-19 first hit Saskatchewan, guests cancelled wedding celebrations and large gatherings they had booked at Kevin and Jaime Jordens’s beachfront rental property. However, as restrictions lifted, the Jordens noticed families were keen to scoop up the open spots.

90% of U.S. of apartment households have paid rent

Residential  •  National Multifamily Housing Council  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC)’s Rent Payment Tracker found 90 per cent of apartment households made a full or partial rent payment by Aug. 20 in its survey of 11.4 million units of professionally managed apartment units across the country.