SmartCentres, partners launch 3 new Vaughan towers

RENX  Residential, Commercial  •  Condominiums, Apartments  •  Toronto / GTA

Three additional residential towers with almost 1,600 condos and rentals will soon rise at Vaughan Metropolitan Centre. SmartCentres REIT (SRU-UN-T), Penguin Group of Companies and CentreCourt will build the Transit City Condo towers and apartment building at SmartCentres Place.

Denciti to build West Kelowna Industrial Park

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial  •  Metro Vancouver

A new Vancouver-based property developer has announced a new business park to be constructed in West Kelowna. The CEO of the West Kelowna Industrial Park’s developer, Denciti Development., says it will eventually be the largest industrial park in Kelowna.

New tower looking to make a ‘Wedge’ on Jasper Avenue

Residential, Commercial  •  Edmonton Journal

A proposed 11-storey mixed-use development hopes to pop up on a busy Jasper Avenue — sandwiched between two historic buildings with only a narrow seven-and-a-half metres of width with which to work.

StorageVault to acquire 38 Canadian self-storage facilities

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial  •  National

UPDATED: StorageVault Canada will pay $275 million to acquire 38 self-storage facilities from Wilmington Capital Management, Real Storage Private Trust and partners. The acquisition includes facilities in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario, and an interest in a redevelopment property.

Vancouver CRE tax increases up to 30 per cent

Commercial  •  Vancouver Province

Across the Lower Mainland, business owners are feeling the pinch of increasing property taxes. The average assessment for a commercial property in Greater Vancouver increased 20 per cent to 30 per cent this year.

Rising construction costs challenge small developers

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver

A year ago, people wondered how high prices could soar. Presale condo pricing was pushing the envelope across the region, and Bosa had recently sold office space at 320 Granville Street for slightly more than $2,100 a square foot.

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Ottawa staff endorse RioCan’s 20-storey project

Residential  •  Ottawa Business Journal

Municipal staff are recommending the City of Ottawa’s planning committee approve a proposed zoning change that would allow RioCan REIT’s new east-end apartment project, calling the transit-oriented development “good planning.”

Proposed Halifax stadium price tag drops $50M

Commercial  •  CBC

The backers of a proposed CFL franchise in Halifax say they’re axing some of the “bells and whistles” in their stadium plan in order to reduce costs. The estimated cost is now $120 million to $140 million.

Halifax, you’ve changed: 10 years of Google Street View

Residential, Commercial  •  CBC

Call it Halifax’s own #10YearChallenge.  Google’s ambitious Street View project arrived in Halifax in 2009. Since it first started capturing images of city streets a decade ago, the tech giant has returned to Halifax multiple times to update its catalogue.

Cannabis industry to be worth just $5 billion by 2021

Commercial  •  Financial Post  •  Ottawa Citizen

Canada’s cannabis industry will be worth just $5 billion by 2021 — far less than previously estimated, according to a new report from cannabis research firm Brightfield Group which extrapolated the industry’s value based on recreational pot sales post-legalization.

Liht to JV on potential 486,000-sq.-ft. organic cultivation

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

Liht Cannabis Corp. (LIHT-CN) has entered into a joint venture agreement with 1186626 B.C. Ltd., a private corporation, for a second cannabis cultivation property in Chase, B.C. 1186626 B.C. Ltd. is acquiring a 120-acre parcel of land.

Scottish mall sells for less than a small London flat

Commercial  •  Bloomberg

A shopping mall near Edinburgh was sold at auction for just $403,000 US, underscoring the perilous state of a retail industry that’s being devoured by online commerce. That’s a quarter less than the cost of an average London apartment.

NYC beats out San Fran as world’s best tech city

Commercial  •  National Real Estate Investor

A new study shows New York City is the best place on the planet for technology. NYC ranked first in an index measuring 30 global tech-heavy cities analyzed by Savills Plc, with San Francisco in second place and London third.

U of Manitoba-owned buildings given heritage status

Commercial  •  Winnipeg Free Press

Seven buildings, including three owned by the University of Manitoba, have been added to the City of Winnipeg’s list of protected historical resources. The buildings were granted heritage status at Monday’s meeting of the city’s property and development committee.

New Westminster OKs strong rules against ‘renovictions’

Residential  •  CBC

New Westminster, B.C., is bringing in the strongest protection in the Lower Mainland against so-called renovictions. City council approved a bylaw Monday evening that stops landlords from evicting tenants under the guise of renovations and then increasing the rent.

TREB calls on Ottawa to revisit mortgage stress test

Residential  •  Saskatoon StarPhoenix  •  Bloomberg  •  Financial Post

Canada’s largest real estate board is calling on Ottawa to revisit whether a stricter mortgage stress test introduced last year is still needed, arguing that the policy has negatively impacted the economy and Toronto’s once red-hot housing market.

Mortgage growth at 17-year low puts Cdn. banks on notice

Residential  •  Bloomberg

Mortgage growth has shrunk to a 17-year low in Canada, increasing pressure on the country’s big banks to find business elsewhere. Residential mortgage growth rose 3.1 per cent to $1.55 trillion year-over-year in December, the slowest pace since May 2001.

GTA prices forecast to rise four per cent in 2019

Residential  •  Toronto Star  •  Bloomberg  •  Newinhomes.com

The average Toronto area resale home price rose 1.7 per cent year-over-year in January to $748,328, including single-family homes and condos, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB). The board is forecasting a four per cent price increase for 2019.

New restrictions will dry up infill housing: Developers

Residential  •  CBC  •  Winnipeg Free Press

Infill housing development in Winnipeg will grind to a halt if the city follows through on a proposed restriction on how much of a lot a new home can cover, developers warned city council’s property committee Monday.