Eviction bans leave CRE owners holding bag: REALPAC

RENX  Commercial  •  Office, Apartments, Industrial, Retail  •  National

REALPAC is asking provincial governments to work collaboratively with both affected commercial tenants and property owners to create rent support programs, instead of banning evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sun Life looking to invest $5.8 billion

Commercial  •  Bloomberg  •  RENX

Sun Life Financial Inc. (SLF-T) is looking for deals in sectors facing heightened uncertainty. The Toronto-based company has about $5.8 billion to spend and is seeking bank partnerships in Hong Kong, investments in riskier private credit and tuck-in real estate purchases.

Montreal TOD envisions 800K-plus-sq.-ft. of CRE

Residential, Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

The boroughs of Saint-Laurent and Ahuntsic-Cartierville have tabled the final report in the planning of the Bois-Franc transit-oriented development area. The development concept identifies 426,250 square feet of potential office space, 406,000 square feet of commercial area and 7,700 new housing units.

Granite to acquire 8 U.S. distribution centres for $332M

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial  •  International

Granite Real Estate Investment Trust (GRT-UN-T) has agreed to acquire eight income-producing U.S. industrial properties comprising approximately four million square feet for $332 million. The properties are in major metro areas straddling the states of Ohio, Indianapolis, Tennessee and Mississippi.

Menkes proposes 46-storey residential tower

Residential  •  Urban Toronto

Filmores Hotel at Dundas and George Streets is the latest colourful Toronto landmark targeted for redevelopment. A plan to intensify the site with a 46-storey residential tower was submitted by Menkes Developments. The proposal retains the facade of the building.

Old buildings plague Ontario LTC system: Architect

Residential  •  Daily Commercial News

Ed Applebaum, a senior Ontario architect with decades of experience designing long-term-care (LTC) homes, has raised the alarm that Ontario’s stock of housing in the sector has too many old residences that do not allow for the best care possible.

Sponsored by Yardi Technology driving business response to COVID

As Canadians continue to follow the precautions recommended by Health Canada and provincial governments, it’s unclear how the real estate industry will operate post-COVID-19. Will a new normal emerge?

TransLink looks to enter development sector

Commercial  •  Daily Hive

TransLink is considering becoming a developer to help fund new infrastructure, repay existing debt for past infrastructure investments, and fund operating costs of public transit operations, reads a newly released study by Coriolis Consulting, commissioned by TransLink.

Manitoba groups urge temporary CRE eviction ban

Commercial  •  Winnipeg Free Press

As other provinces implement temporary bans on some commercial evictions, local business groups are urging Manitoba to do the same. “We need the province’s help now,” said Shaun Jeffrey, the executive director of the Manitoba Restaurants & Foodservices Association.

Ottawa’s rent assistance program leaves landlords divided

Commercial  •  Financial Post  •  RENX

Landlords are divided over whether to participate in the federal government’s commercial rent assistance program, partly because of how complicated the application process is, as well as a reluctance to reduce rent by 25 per cent as the program mandates.

Ivanhoé, Lightspeed bring cloud to shopping centres

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX

Leading cloud-based point-of-sale solution provider Lightspeed POS Inc. (LSPD-T) announced a partnership with Ivanhoé Cambridge (IC) to bring free and fully integrated cloud services to small and medium-sized tenants and restaurateurs with locations in Ivanhoé Cambridge Canadian shopping centres.

REIT/REOC COVID-19 business updates

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire

Dream Office REIT, (D-UN-T), Globe Newswire

Invesque Inc., (IVQ-U-T), Canada Newswire

Parkland Corp., (PKI-T), Globe Newswire

Dalfen Industrial acquires 75K-sq.-ft. Colorado facility

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX

Dalfen Industrial has acquired Aurora Center I at Gateway, a 75,000-square-foot facility in Aurora, Colo. Located between downtown Denver and Denver International Airport, near I-70 and intermodal facilities, this property is a perfect last-mile location for e-commerce companies.

Hudson Yards takes high-tech reopening precautions

Commercial  •  CNBC  •  ABC  •  Canada Newswire

As New York City reopens for business, so too will offices in the city’s largest new development, Hudson Yards. It will not be business as usual. Tenants will be scanned in several ways, using some of the latest identity technology.

CRE’s cautious road to recovery

Commercial  •  CP Executive

At NAREIT’s REITWeek Virtual Investor Conference, a tale of two asset types emerged: those centred in essential sectors of the economy and those servicing non-essential sectors. The good news is all the panelists noted multiple signs of recovery.

Macy’s says return to normal business at least a year away

Commercial  •  Reuters

Macy’s Inc. (M-N) warned on Tuesday its business was not likely to return to normal until late next year, even as it saw better-than-expected sales from stores reopening after COVID-19 lockdowns were lifted across the United States.

Genworth won’t follow CMHC in tightening mortgage eligibility

Residential  •  CTV  •  Canada Newswire

Oakville-based Genworth MI Canada Inc. (MIC-T) says it’s holding steady on its credit score qualifications, despite a move by one of its main competitors – Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation – to toughen mortgage lending standards.

Five-year fixed mortgage rate falls to 1.99% for first time

Residential  •  Financial Post

HSBC has dropped its five-year fixed mortgage rate to 1.99 per cent, the lowest ever, though the rate is for default-insured mortgages only, according to mortgage comparison site RateSpy.com. The uninsured five-year fixed rate is roughly 2.29 per cent.

Mtl. housing crisis ‘catastrophic’: Tenants’ associations

Residential  •  Montreal Gazette

Montreal’s housing crisis is deepening in the weeks leading up to moving day, according to tenants’ rights representatives. “It’s catastrophic at the moment,” said Sandy Wodarka, a community organizer for Organisation d’éducation et d’information logement de Côte-des-Neiges (OEIL).

Toronto didn’t issue any short-term rental fines

Residential  •  CBC

The City of Toronto didn’t issue any fines against short-term rental operators for violating Ontario’s emergency order during the province’s two-month ban on most bookings, despite receiving nearly 180 complaints. The ban applied to all rentals for 28 days or less.