CAPREIT buys SW Ontario apts., expects more deals

RENX  Residential  •  Apartments  •  Ontario

The $50M purchase of two Southwestern Ontario apartment properties is likely the first of a series in coming months for Canadian Apartment Properties REIT (CAR-UN-T), CEO Mark Kenney says. He predicts “very, very high deal flow in Q3 and Q4.”

Bid/ask price gulf slows Canadian CRE investment: JLL

RENX  Residential, Commercial  •  Hotels and Resorts, Office, Industrial, Homes, Investment, Retail  •  National

Investment volumes in Canada in the first half of 2020 reached $16 billion, down by about 20 per cent from 2019 as buyers and sellers generally remain far apart on asset pricing, according to JLL‘s latest commercial real estate report.

Developers aim to reclaim Van.’s Downtown Eastside

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver  •  RENX

In March, when Toronto-based Allied Properties REIT (AP-UN-T) bought a 115-year-old office building at 375 Water St. for an estimated $225 million – nearly $100 million above its assessed value – it marked the largest sale in a real estate rush into Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

Quebec struggles to retain corporate HQs

Commercial  •  La Presse

Challenges must be overcome to limit the decrease in the number of head offices present in Quebec, including the high taxation to which senior executives are subject, underlines a document from the Quebec Ministry of Finance.

KingSett proposes 61-storey rental, office addition

Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

KingSett Capital is seeking to build a 61-storey rental tower behind the concave glass curtain of the Ontario Power Building — a landmark at the southwest corner of University and College — which itself would be topped by a four-storey office addition.

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Van. shopping centre owners redevelop to stay relevant

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver

2020 has been a rough year for B.C. shopping centres. Challenges remain for even the most productive sites, prompting executives to push ahead with longtime plans for reinventing their real estate and introducing new concepts as well as redevelopment.

Aoyuan’s Grove Burnaby Phase 1 revealed

Residential, Commercial  •  urbanYVR  •  RENX

Aoyuan International‘s Grove Burnaby Phase 1 headed to a public hearing Tuesday. The first phase consists of two residential condominium towers of 34 and 41 storeys, above two-storey commercial podiums. In total, the market condominium towers will contain 868 strata units.

Leon’s opening new stores in Kelowna, Calgary

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

Leon’s (LNF-T) announced the opening of new showrooms in Kelowna and in Calgary. The 20,000-square-foot Kelowna showroom opened in the Orchard Park shopping centre on Aug. 13. The Calgary showroom will span 50,000 square feet when it opens in September.

Vermilion proposes four-storey apt. building

Residential  •  Urban Toronto

Vermilion Developments has revised plans to build a 19-unit stacked townhouse development on Finch just east of Bathurst in North York, now proposing a 29-unit apartment building in its place. Updated applications detail the amended design by Z Square Group.

First Capital announces $200M offering of debentures

Residential, Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX

First Capital REIT (FCR-UN-T), a leading developer, owner and manager of mixed-use real estate in Canada’s most densely populated cities, announced it has agreed to issue $200 million aggregate principal amount of Series A senior unsecured debentures.

Executive VP invests over $500K in H&R

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

H&R REIT (HR-UN-T) trustee and executive vice-president – asset management and strategic initiatives Alex Avery purchased 50,000 units at a price per unit of $10.298 for an account in which he has control or direction over. The cost of this investment exceeded $514,000.

Blackstone sells 1.2-million-sq.-ft. warehouse portfolio

Commercial  •  CP Executive

Sealy & Co has made its largest deal of the year acquiring an eight-building, 1.2 million-square-foot industrial portfolio in Greenville, S.C., from Blackstone for an undisclosed price. The properties are all fully leased warehouse and distribution buildings.

Sovereign funds rethink once-reliable real estate

Commercial  •  Reuters

With prime office blocks lying empty around the world, hotels half-vacant and retailers struggling to stay afloat, sovereign wealth funds are retreating from many of the real estate investments that have long been a mainstay of their strategies.

Retail hasn’t hit bottom yet: Sam Zell

Commercial  •  CNBC

U.S. real estate mogul Sam Zell — formerly one of the biggest investors in retail — thinks there is still more turmoil to come for an industry that has already seen dozens of retail bankruptcies and thousands of store closures this year.

MOB sector boosted by demand and capital: M&M

Commercial  •  CP Executive  •  Daily Commercial News

The medical office sector was firing on all cylinders before the arrival of COVID-19, and it appears to be well-positioned for a robust rebound post-pandemic, according to Beyond the Health Crisis: National Medical Office Outlook by Marcus & Millichap.

GTA new home market sees strongest July since 2007

Residential  •  Globe Newswire

The GTA new home market saw the strongest July for new home sales since 2007, the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) announced. 3,544 new homes were sold in July, up 36 per cent year-over-year and 40 per cent above the 10-year average.

Toronto to begin enforcing short-term rental bylaw

Residential  •  CP 24  •  Toronto Storeys

The City of Toronto said that after “further delays” related to the COVID-19 pandemic it is now ready to launch its registration portal for short-term rental operators, which will be the first step in enforcing the bylaw.

Home renovation spending on the decline

Residential  •  Globe and Mail

Toronto-based Altus Group reported in July that home renovation spending across the country is on the decline this year. In the Altus study, total renovation spending includes both capital and current expenditures – alterations, improvements, conversions and repairs.

RESCON backs One Ontario initiative to streamline permitting

Residential  •  Globe Newswire

The Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON) applauds a new One Ontario initiative to develop guidelines for a digital platform that could be used by all municipalities across the province for the development approval and permitting processes.