NADG acquires Les Jardins Dorval shopping centre

Commercial  •  Montreal Gazette

Les Jardins Dorval shopping centre has been sold to the North America Development Group. Glenn Munro, speaking for NADG Montreal, said the purchase of the million-square-foot property was finalized last week, but would not comment further at this time.

Mandelbaum’s new firm plans Toronto, N.J. projects

RENX  Residential  •  Condominiums  •  International, Toronto / GTA

Toronto-based developer Zev Mandelbaum’s newest venture, Altree Developments, has released details of three new multi-residential and mixed-use development projects in Toronto and New Jersey: 2 Forest Hill Road, 30 & 44 Zorra Street in Toronto, and West Side Arts in Jersey City, N.J.

Anbang in preliminary talks over Bentall Centre sale

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Anbang Insurance Group’s broker has held preliminary talks with more than a dozen institutional investors about the sale of the Bentall Centre in downtown Vancouver, according to sources. CBRE is running the sale of the four office towers.

Transformation in works for CF Fairview Pointe-Claire

Commercial  •  Montreal Gazette

Plans are in the works to transform CF Fairview Pointe-Claire and its adjacent, privately-owned land into a living hub of sorts, with thousands of residential units, new entertainment, food and beverage possibilities, offices, hotels and an upgraded shopping mall.

Ottawans get close look at Westgate redevelopment plans

Commercial  •  Ottawa Citizen

Kitchissippi and River ward residents got their first look at detailed plans for the first phase of the redevelopment of Westgate shopping centre Tuesday night, with opinions mixed. RioCan development vice-president Stuart Craig was among those peppered with questions.

Echelon sees seniors housing assets as top investment

RENX  Residential  •  Seniors Housing, Investment  •  National

Investors should continue to favour seniors housing assets during these days macroeconomic and political uncertainty, Echelon Wealth Partners believes. Citing rising interest rates, housing market concerns, rising household debt and other factors, Echelon said multifamily housing remains well-positioned.

The People Space › People Space: Senior appointments at la Caisse, RBI

Don Wilcox: Managing Editor

Toronto developer seeking creditor protection

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

Forme Development Group, a Toronto-area real estate development company that in recent months has cancelled two condominium projects, has filed for court protection from its creditors after failing to make payments on about $220-million in debt obligations.

B.C. lost millions on undervalued CRE: Ex-assessor

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Recently retired BC Assessment assessor Derek Holloway says that for too long, large commercial properties, often slated for residential density, were being undervalued and money was left on the table. Residential owners then took on the extra tax burden.

Value of Vancouver’s Regent Hotel plunges $9M

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

The assessed value of the shuttered Regent Hotel on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside has plummeted by more than 70 per cent, mirroring a similar drop experienced a year ago by the Balmoral Hotel, the other building owned by the Sahota family.

Cape Breton acquires former coal company land

Residential, Commercial  •  CBC

Cape Breton Regional Municipality is picking up more than 100 federal properties that used to belong to coal companies, and it’s weighing the cost of taking over dozens more.

Calgary-based company to build $2B bitumen facility

Commercial  •  Global News  •  CTV  •  CBC

The Alberta government is providing a $440-million loan guarantee to help a Calgary-based company build a bitumen upgrader east of Edmonton. Value Creation Inc. says it’s ready to break ground on the $2-billion upgrader.

Dollarama launches online store for bulk purchases

Commercial  •  CBC  •  CTV  •  PR Newswire

Dollarama (DOL-T) now lets customers buy some of its products in bulk online and have them delivered for a fee. The Montreal-based discount retailer said Tuesday it has rolled out the program on a permanent basis across the country.

Sleep Country unveils 265th Canadian location

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc. (ZZZ-T), Canada’s leading sleep retailer, has opened its first new location of 2019 in Stoney Creek, Ont. The store is the latest addition to the Winona Crossing shopping centre at the QEW and Fifty Road.

Instacart builds out Canadian roster

Commercial  •  Financial Post

Instacart, the grocery delivery service born in Silicon Valley, is continuing its expansion into Canada by adding Toronto-area luxury grocer Pusateri’s to its roster of partner stores.

The three weeks that saved Sears

Commercial  •  Reuters  •  Winnipeg Free Press

The future of Sears Holdings Corp (SHLDQ) and thousands of its employees across the U.S. hung in the balance in the freezing pre-dawn hours last Wednesday, as Wall Street lawyers and bankers sparred in a 50-storey Manhattan office tower.

Ottawa 1BR rent up five per cent month-over-month

Residential  •  Globe Newswire

The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Ottawa increased five per cent to $1,608 in December over November, according to the January report by Rentals.ca and Bullpen Research & Consulting.

Feds hope to make homes more affordable for millennials

Residential  •  Global News  •  Canada Newswire  •  Globe and Mail

The Trudeau government is looking for ways to make home-buying more affordable for millennials, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said Tuesday as he held pre-budget public events in the Toronto suburbs.

Is too much wealth tied up in housing market?

Residential  •  Global News

Canadians looking with increasing concern at a wobbly housing market received plenty to feed their anxieties this week. On Tuesday, the Canadian Real Estate Association released nationwide data on housing sales and prices for December — the numbers were ugly.

Microsoft to spend $500M on Seattle affordable housing

Residential  •  Business Insider  •  New York Times  •  Newinhomes.com

Microsoft announced in a media release on Wednesday it is pledging $500 million to help develop affordable housing in the Seattle area. From 2011-2018, the median home price in Puget Sound, a hotbed for Silicon Valley satellite offices, rose 96 per cent.