Genesis plans 185-acre development north of Calgary

RENX  Commercial  •  Hotels and Resorts, Seniors Housing, Office, Retail  •  Calgary

Genesis Land Development Corp. plans to build a massive mixed-use site in Rocky View County, north of Calgary, which would include retail space, hotels, seniors housing and a campus-style office area. The 185-acre Omni project is still in its infancy.

Sidewalk Toronto faces calls to cancel project

Commercial  •  Vancouver Courier  •  Bloomberg  •  Globe and Mail

Plans for a high-tech Toronto community led by an Alphabet Inc.-backed entity should be scrapped, say politicians and prominent Canadian business and technology leaders. The project has been mired in controversy since Sidewalk won a contract in 2017.

Waterloo’s ‘upscale’ Conestoga Mall hits sales milestone

RENX  Commercial  •  Retail  •  Ontario

Conestoga Mall in Waterloo is the first Canadian shopping centre outside a major city to surpass $1,000 per square foot in sales. “We were very happy to see it on the (Canadian Shopping Centre Study) list,” said Ivanhoé‘s Roman Drohomerecki.

St. Paul’s Hospital $1.9B replacement gets go-ahead

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver  •  Business In Vancouver  •  RENX

The $1.9-billion replacement project for Vancouver’s 124-year-old St. Paul’s Hospital should be open within seven years, Premier John Horgan said Friday. The new hospital is to be situated on a 18.4-acre site bought for $45.5 million through a public-private partnership.

Sifton’s West 5 sets a high bar for energy-efficiency

Residential  •  Sustainable Biz Canada

Sifton Properties has been responsible for a number of construction firsts in its base of London, Ont., since it built its first house in 1923. With West 5, it’s going to new heights.

Merrick Architecture proposes 35-storey Vancouver tower

Residential, Commercial  •  Vancouver Courier

A 35-storey mixed-use residential tower is being considered for downtown Vancouver. A rezoning application by Merrick Architecture has been filed for the project, which would feature 159 market residential units as well as 10,000 square feet of cultural amenity space.

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Montreal market is about to eclipse Vancouver’s

Residential  •  Bloomberg

Vancouver is on pace to lose its status as Canada’s second-largest housing market to Montreal. While still Canada’s most expensive city for housing, a recent collapse in sales has led the value of real estate transactions substantially lower.

Why your bank branch is looking more like a café

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

When you go to your bank in 2025, it’s going to look different than the branch you visit today. The new bank branch is looking less like an intimidating, echo-laden cathedral of cash and more like your favourite coffee lounge.

Payless files for bankruptcy, winding down 2,500 stores

Commercial  •  Bloomberg

Payless Inc. and its North American subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy protection, with the discount shoe retailer saying it plans to close its 2,500 stores in North America by the end of May.

Netflix creating dedicated production hub in Toronto

Commercial  •  CBC

Netflix is setting up a dedicated production hub in Toronto, which film and TV creators hope will provide new opportunities for local talent. The California-based streaming giant is leasing two studio spaces along the downtown industrial waterfront area.

CPPIB JVs with La Française on investment vehicle

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  IPE Real Assets

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and La Française today announced the signing of a strategic partnership for the launch of a real estate investment and development vehicle: Société Foncière et Immobilière du Grand Paris.

CPPIB CEO Machin warns of lower returns

Commercial  •  Reuters  •  Globe and Mail (Subscription required)  •  Financial Post

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) CEO Mark Machin said on Thursday he anticipates significantly lower returns on assets over the “next several years” as the global economy slows.

Google reaped millions in tax breaks

Commercial  •  Washington Post

Last May, officials in Midlothian, Texas, a city near Dallas, approved more than $10 million in tax breaks for a huge, mysterious new development across from a shuttered Toys R Us warehouse.

What led to Amazon’s breakup with NYC?

Commercial  •  Global News  •  REIT.com  •  Canadian Grocer

In early November, word began to leak that Amazon was serious about choosing New York to build a giant new campus. The city offered billions in tax incentives and lit the Empire State Building in Amazon orange.

Foreign buyers drive record investments in India CRE

Commercial  •  Bloomberg

Investments in commercial properties in India hit a record high last year on increased appetite of global investors to own real estate in the world’s fastest growing economy.

$6.5M lawsuit filed over Cardel Homes-marketed project

Residential  •  CBC

Leaky roofs, windows and walls and defective balconies — all symptoms of the shoddy construction of four condominium buildings in northwest Calgary, according to a civil lawsuit filed in Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench.

Where single buyers can afford a home in Canada

Residential  •  Newinhomes.com

According to recent calculations by Zoocasa, out of 20 markets studied, half can still be considered affordable for a single buyer earning a median income. Not surprisingly, Vancouver was ranked as the least affordable market for solo buyers.

A five-year forecast for house prices in 33 Canadian cities

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

The heady days are clearly a thing of the past. A new Moody’s Analytics forecast for Canadian house prices suggests “slower, steadier” increases in 2019 and marginal to moderate growth in many centres over five years.