London’s rejuvenated, repositioned Citi Plaza sold

RENX  Commercial  •  Office, Retail  •  Ontario

The transformation of Citi Plaza in London, Ont., from an underperforming downtown mall to a successful mixed-use commercial complex has taken another turn with its recent sale. Canadian Commercial Workers Industry Pension Plan sold it to Toronto-based private investors.

Bucci proposes three-tower mixed-use hub

Residential, Commercial  •  Daily Hive

Bucci Developments has submitted to the City of Surrey a rezoning and development permit application calling for three towers reaching heights of up to 40, 44, and 57 storeys, respectively, with uses that entail 1,320 homes and nearly 87,000 square feet of commercial space.

Should feds help businesses pay their rent?

Commercial  •  Financial Post  •  REMI Network  •  RENX

OPINION: CIBC World Markets economist Benjamin Tal has floated the intriguing idea of the federal government helping many businesses pay their rent — which is often among the largest expenses for most small enterprises.

Return to offices comes first: Hudson Yards owner

Commercial  •  CNBC

People need to get back to work — and will likely spend weeks in the office — before they get back in the mall, according to Related Companies CEO Jeff Blau, the owner of Hudson Yards in New York.

Drimmer acquires $4.8M worth of True North units

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

From March 17-20, True North Commercial REIT (TNT-UN-T) founder, president, chief executive officer and chairman Daniel Drimmer acquired a total of 956,300 units at an average price per unit of roughly $5.08. The cost of this investment exceeded $4.8 million.

COVID-19 could permanently hammer Robson retail

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver

It is hard to recognize Vancouver’s longtime high street for fashion. The heart of the Robson Street district is lined with streetfront retailers that have boarded up windows to prevent looting while Robson is nearly void of foot traffic.

CRE Matters › Performing appraisals during the COVID-19 crisis: Points to consider

Oliver Tighe: Executive Managing Director, Commercial Appraisal Group, Ontario

Empty greenhouses could alleviate produce shortages

Commercial  •  Financial Post  •  Financial Post

Peter Quiring, founder and president of Leamington, Ont.-based Nature Fresh Farms, one of the largest greenhouse growers in Canada, has been fielding more calls than usual from various levels of government all eager to discuss food.

Asian grocery giant opens 1st Burnaby store

Commercial  •  Richmond News

Sungiven Foods opened its first Burnaby store on Thursday – right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 13,000-square-foot Burnaby store is part of the company’s first foray into the Metro Vancouver area.

Empire speeds up launch of GTA online grocery service

Commercial  •  Toronto Star  •  Canada Newswire

Empire Company Ltd., (EMP-A-T) is accelerating the launch of its Voila online grocery home delivery service in the Greater Toronto Area and expects to start tests the week of April 26.

Amazon to add 75,000 jobs as online orders surge

Commercial  •  Reuters  •  Reuters  •  Reuters

Amazon.com Inc (AMZN-Q) said Monday it would hire 75,000 more people for jobs ranging from warehouse staff to delivery drivers as the coronavirus epidemic keeps Americans locked in their homes and demand for online orders surges.

REIT/REOC COVID-19 business updates

Commercial  • 

Boardwalk REIT, (BEI-UN-T), Canada Newswire

CT REIT, (CRT-UN-T), Canada Newswire

Firm Capital American Realty Partners Trust, (FCA-UN-X), Globe Newswire 

MCAN Mortgage Corporation, (MKP-T), Canada Newswire

Cineworld bond holders down on Cineplex takeover

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Cineworld Group PLC’s takeover deal for Canada’s Cineplex Inc. (CGX-T) has encountered another potential hurdle months after the two cinema chains agreed to a merger: Cineworld bondholders may be attempting to block the deal, according to Britain’s Telegraph.

PAG raises $2.75B for opportunistic Asia fund

Commercial  •  IPE Real Assets

Asia investment manager PAG has raised $2.75 billion US for its latest opportunistic fund. The capital raised by the SCREP VII fund was from new and existing limited partners including pensions and sovereign wealth funds from North America and Asia.

LaSalle raises $681M for China logistics fund

Commercial  •  IPE Real Assets

LaSalle Investment Management has raised an initial $681 million US for its first dedicated China logistics fund. The LaSalle China Logistics Venture (LCLV) fund and its co-investment vehicle received the capital commitments from a mix of new and existing investors.

U.S. office leasing activity drops 20% in Q1

Commercial  •  CP Executive

A first-quarter report from JLL found office leasing activity dropped more than 20 per cent across the U.S., largely due to the impact of COVID-19. In New York City, leasing activity dropped by nearly 50 per cent from the 10-year quarterly average.

Condo boards balance renovations with public health

Residential  •  Globe and Mail

Ontario has shut down many sectors of its economy in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, but the residential renovation industry has continued – despite concerns about the access given to work crews in multifamily buildings.

Montreal could see biggest price drop in 50 years

Residential  •  Montreal Gazette  •  Toronto Star

Residential property prices in the greater Montreal area could post their biggest drop in at least half a century if business activity takes longer than six months to restart in the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, a new Royal LePage forecast shows.

Ottawa home sales down 60% so far in April

Residential  •  Ottawa Business Journal

Home sales in Ottawa plummeted more than 60 per cent in the first two weeks of April year-over-year, the Ottawa Real Estate Board said Tuesday, the same day Royal LePage predicted prices will remain stagnant for the rest of 2020.

Mortgage relief requests ease up

Residential  •  Bloomberg

Canadian banks are seeing the pace of mortgage-deferral requests easing up a bit, three weeks into a program that gives homeowners a break from making payments amid the coronavirus pandemic.