Fiera Real Estate divests industrial-based fund

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial  •  National

Fiera Real Estate has completed divesting its closed-ended GPM Real Property (11) Limited Partnership fund for $249 million after asset sales which began in 2019. The fund was the 11th of 12 such funds focused on small to mid-sized industrial assets.

Yesterday, today, tomorrow: COVID-19 office market snapshot

RENX  Commercial  •  Office  •  National

Desks at Canadian office buildings sit largely empty these days, awaiting the easing of government work restrictions to slow the COVID-19 virus. It has forced thousands of employees to work at home, and dramatically impacted the country’s 530-million-square-foot office market.

CIBT one of Americas’ Fastest Growing Companies

Residential  •  Globe Newswire

CIBT Education Group Inc. (MBA-T) was ranked No. 372 among the Americas’ Top 500 Fastest-Growing Companies 2020 by the Financial Times. CIBT has been focused on the global education market since 1994.

Port of Van. urges feds to OK $3.5B container terminal

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

The Port of Vancouver is urging the federal cabinet to approve plans for a $3.5-billion container terminal, portraying the project as important for British Columbia’s economy to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reitmans Canada desperate to secure financing

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  Toronto Star  •  Canada Newswire

The uncertainty caused by COVID-19 has pushed retailer Reitmans Canada Ltd. (RET-T) to the brink, with the company warning on Friday that unless it is able to secure financing to meet its financial obligations, the business could fail.

Canadian VP quits Amazon over whistleblower firings

Commercial  •  Financial Post  •  CBC  •  Business Insider

A senior Amazon.com engineer has resigned in solidarity with fired corporate and warehouse workers who protested working conditions at the company. Tim Bray was a vice-president and veteran engineer with the company’s cloud-computing division.

Sponsored by First National Financial LP Pulling together to meet Toronto’s affordable housing crisis

Ridgeford Charitable Foundation has provided affordable housing in Toronto’s east end for almost four decades.  During this period, the city’s population has expanded exponentially but the supply of affordable housing has not. Ridgeford decided to do something about it.

OMERS invests in technology startup Tehama

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

The Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System has made its first new venture-capital investment in Canada in nearly two years, investing $10 million US in Ottawa remote-working technology startup Tehama Inc. which has experienced a surge in demand during the pandemic.

More federal buildings in need of major repairs

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

Federal buildings across the country are not aging well. In Gatineau, tenants of the Terrasses de la Chaudière office complex have complained of bats and substandard water quality over the past two decades.

U of C breaks ground on $90M Mathison Hall building

Commercial  •  Calgary’s Business

The University of Calgary has broken ground on the new $90-million Mathison Hall building and renovations to Scurfield Hall for its Haskayne School of Business. The Haskayne Capital Expansion project will take two years and includes the new four-storey building.

Artis’ strategic transaction on hold

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX

Artis REIT (AX-UN-T) announced its special committee of independent members of the board has determined that, in light of market conditions and global uncertainty, it is not in the best interests to pursue a strategic transaction at this time.

REIT first-quarter financial results

Commercial  • 

CT REIT, (CRT-UN-T), Canada Newswire

InterRent REIT, (IIP-UN-T), Accesswire

RioCan REIT, (REI-UN-T), Globe Newswire

McDonald’s introduces COVID-19 restaurant

Commercial  •  CBC

In a trial at a Netherlands restaurant, McDonald’s has been looking for ways to maintain physical distancing. Hand sanitizers at the entrance, designated waiting spots and Big Macs delivered on meal carts to separate customers could become a feature.

SL Green sells NYC retail condo for $168M

Commercial  •  Business Wire

SL Green Realty Corp. (SLG-N), Manhattan’s largest office landlord, has entered into a contract to sell its recently repositioned 609 Fifth Avenue retail condominium for $168.0 million to an affiliate of the Reuben Brothers. The transaction is scheduled to close in Q2.

New Yorkers face back-to-work commuting nightmare

Commercial  •  Reuters

Only one in five commuters in mass transit-dependent New York City will be able to reach their office under the six-foot social distancing protocol due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to commercial real estate broker Savills Plc.

U.S. CRE industry seeks more stimulus, changes

Residential, Commercial  •  Bisnow

The top priority for National Multifamily Housing Council, vice-president for government affairs Kevin Donnelly said, is an emergency assistance fund for renters. A letter urges congressional leaders to establish a fund to help apartment tenants pay rent.

Metro Van. April sales reach 38-year low

Residential  •  CBC  •  Vancouver Sun  •  BC Business

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says home sales dropped by 39.4 per cent year-over-year in April and hit a 38-year low. The sales total of 1,109 was 62.7 per cent below the 10-year average for April.

GTA home sales down 67% year-over-year

Residential  •  Globe Newswire  •  Financial Post  •  Toronto Star

Greater Toronto Area realtors reported 2,975 residential transactions through the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board’s MLS System in April, a 67 per cent year-over-year drop. Weekday sales remained within a relatively steady range during the month, averaging 130 per day.

Waterloo sales down 63.6% year-over-year

Residential  •  CTV

Waterloo Region saw its lowest single-month home sales since December 2008 as the COVID-19 pandemic took its toll on real estate. Home sales dropped by 63.6 per cent in April year-over-year, with only 227 residential homes sold through the Multiple Listing System.

YOY sales plummet 55% in Edmonton area

Residential  •  CBC

There were 3,759 residential units sold in the first four months of 2020, a 55 per cent drop from the same period in 2019 in the region, which includes four surrounding counties, according to a Monday news release from the Realtors Association of Edmonton.