Lowe’s, Highfield build 1.23M-sq.-ft. Calgary warehouse

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial  •  Calgary

Highfield Investment Group of Calgary will build a new $120-million, 1.23-million square foot distribution centre for home improvement retailer Lowe’s Canada  (LOW-N) in Rocky View County. Lowe’s says the project is part of efforts to optimize its Canadian distribution network.

First Gulf proposes redesigned office, rental towers

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

A decade after First Gulf purchased the King East Centre and began its multi-phase expansion, a revised plan has been submitted for the next steps at the complex. Two more towers would complete the reworking of the site.

Concord Pacific expected to acquire Clover Condos

Residential  •  Toronto Star

An Ontario Superior Court gave Concord Pacific until midday Wednesday to pay the debt to the main mortgage holder on The Clover on Yonge, one of three luxury condominium projects by Cresford Developments that went into receivership in late March.

Empire continues FreshCo expansion into W. Canada

RENX  Commercial  •  Retail  •  Edmonton, Winnipeg

The owner of Sobeys, Safeway Canada and FreshCo has announced the latest expansion of the discount FreshCo banner in Western Canada. Empire Company (EMP-A-T) will build one new store and convert a Sobeys in Edmonton; and convert four Winnipeg Safeways.

Amount of vacant Van. office space growing quickly

Commercial  •  Vancouver Sun  •  BC Business

The office space available for sublet in downtown Vancouver has grown from about 130,000 square feet at the end of the Q1 to around 370,000. “Boy, have the (numbers) changed,” broker Ross Moore said. “I am literally in a state of shock.”

Design revealed for $500M BMO Centre expansion

Commercial  •  Calgary Herald  •  CBC

The Calgary Stampede and development partner Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) have unveiled the design for the expansion of the BMO Convention Centre. The expansion, valued at $500 million, is intended to grow and modernize the facility built in 1982.

The Saskatchewan Edge › When fair is fair in commercial real estate leasing

Kelly Macsymic: Business Manager, Stuart Commercial Inc., Sales Associate, ICR Commercial Real Estate

Starbucks plans to close up to 200 Canadian locations

Commercial  •  CBC  •  Toronto Star

Starbucks (SBUX-Q) is pulling back on its presence in Canada with plans to close up to 200 coffee shops. The Seattle-based chain says it intends to restructure its company-operated business in Canada under a two-year plan.

Aritzia weathers storm with e-commerce sales

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Many retailers have already sought creditor protection and are fighting for survival due to COVID-19. However, for Vancouver-headquartered clothing chain Aritzia Inc., weeks of store closings have only interrupted what has otherwise been a months-long growth surge.

Dollarama sales top forecast as consumers stocked up

Commercial  •  Reuters  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Canada Newswire

Although most Dollarama Inc. (DOL-T) stores have been deemed essential services and remained open during the pandemic, its first-quarter sales were roughly flat as its comparable store sales grew 0.7 per cent. The results exceeded Dollarama’s own expectations.

Costco Canada won’t resume food sampling

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver

Costco (COST-Q) shoppers have experienced a range of changes in the past several months. One part of the Costco shopping experience has been missing and is going to stay that way in Canada for the time being: food samples.

Windsor committee approves four-storey airport hotel

Commercial  •  Windsor Star

Maa Ashapuri Enterprises’ proposed four-storey, 87-room hotel located directly across from Windsor’s airport received the necessary property zoning bylaw change Monday from the development and heritage standing committee. The hotel would be operated by Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott.

Bow tower has a twin in London

Commercial  •  Calgary Herald

It’s a curved skyscraper with a unique diamond-patterned exterior that stands over a bend in a river. No, we’re not talking about the Bow tower. This tower stands in London’s Canary Wharf, albeit with a Canadian name: Newfoundland.

Simon terminates $3.6B agreement to buy Taubman

Commercial  •  Yahoo Finance  •  Winnipeg Free Press  •  CP Executive

Simon Property Group, Inc. (SPG-N) is terminating its $3.6-billion bid to buy Taubman Centers Inc. (TCO-N), arguing its rival mall owner has breached the merger agreement by not taking steps to mitigate the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

Brookfield, Simon might buy J.C. Penney out of bankruptcy

Commercial  •  Reuters  •  Bisnow

J.C. Penney (JCPNQ) is in touch with some of its landlords, including Brookfield Asset Management (BAM-A-T) and Simon Property Group (SPG-N), about possible transactions, sources said. Under one scenario, Sycamore Partners, Brookfield and Simon would combine on a bid.

Brookfield launches new European property fund

Commercial  •  Bisnow

Brookfield Asset Management (BAM-A-T) has launched Brookfield European Real Estate Partnership, a new fund to buy European property. It marks the first time Brookfield has raised capital solely focused on the region.

Post-COVID, developers adapt marketing to end users

Residential  •  Toronto Star

Developer Camrost Felcorp wants to sell the remaining units in its Residences of Upper East Village project in Leaside to end users — buyers who will actually live in the condos and town homes rather than renting them for income.

Pandemic has buyers scouring Ontario’s cottage country

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

As Ontario moves ahead with cautious plans to reopen, Paul Crammond of Chestnut Park Real Estate Ltd. in Muskoka says he is hearing from city dwellers who want to ride out the summer of 2020 surrounded by shimmering blue water.

Housing starts down outside of Quebec: CMHC

Residential  •  CBC  •  Canada Newswire  •  Calgary’s Business

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts, excluding Quebec, in May fell 20.4 per cent compared with April. Excluding Quebec, the annual pace of housing starts fell to 132,576 in May compared with 166,477 in April.

Ottawa prices rising even as employment numbers fall

Residential  •  Ottawa Citizen

Average prices for Ottawa resale homes in May jumped 11.2 per cent year-over-year to $548,000. Why haven’t COVID-19 job losses had a bigger effect? The Ottawa region is buttressed by several sectors offering rock-solid employment prospects: public administration, health, education and high-tech.