Welcome back. If you’ve been away on vacation or spending some down time at the cottage, you might’ve missed some of the more significant commercial real estate stories during the past eight or 10 weeks.

Artist’s rendering of the Brookfield Property Partners Bay Adelaide Centre in Toronto.

RENX is here to help. We’ve compiled this list (in no particular order) of some of our most important, and most-read, Property Biz Canada stories from mid-June through August to help you get caught up.

CF, IMCO to build 46-storey downtown Toronto office tower

Cadillac Fairview and the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario say they are now ready to proceed to construct a long-anticipated, 46-storey office tower at 160 Front Street West in downtown Toronto.   Read the full story

Brookfield to build Toronto’s Bay Adelaide Centre North tower

Brookfield Property Partners L.P will commence development of the third and final office tower of Bay Adelaide Centre in downtown Toronto. Scotiabank has signed a commitment to lease 420,000 square feet – approximately 51 per cent of the building – for 15 years as the anchor tenant.   Read the full story

Blackstone enters Canadian multi-family sector, JVs with Starlight

Blackstone Property Partners might be the world’s largest private equity real estate investor, but its global portfolio has been lacking assets in a key Canadian sector. That deficiency is one factor which led to a partnership with Starlight Investments to purchase six Canadian multi-family buildings in Toronto and Montreal.   Read the full story

Deloitte to anchor Allied, Westbank’s 400W. Georgia

Deloitte Canada will move its Vancouver office to one of the most innovative and distinctive new developments in the city, the downtown 400W. Georgia tower being financed by Allied Properties REIT and built by Westbank Corp.   Read the full story

First Capital buys dozen properties; building two projects

First Capital Realty Inc. will invest about $300 million to purchase interests in a dozen urban properties and commence two redevelopment projects in major Canadian cities. Among the purchases is a 2.1-acre redevelopment site in a highly coveted downtown Toronto neighbourhood.   Read the full story

Amazon to build fourth GTA fulfillment centre in Caledon

It’s not the HQ2 news the business world is waiting for, but e-commerce giant Amazon will build a fourth fulfillment centre in the Greater Toronto Area, a million-square-foot facility in the Town of Caledon, north of the city.  Read the full story

Walmart to build $175M distribution centre in Surrey

For the second straight day, one of the world’s largest retailers announced construction of a new distribution centre in Canada. Walmart Canada is spending more than $175 million to build a 300,000-square-foot, high-tech, state-of-the-art fresh and frozen grocery facility in Surrey, B.C.  Read the full story

Davloor resigning from RioCan, Gitlin to become COO

There was a significant mid-summer change in the executive suite at RioCan REIT. President and COO Raghunath (Rags) Davloor stepped down to “pursue other opportunities” and was replaced from within as COO by Jonathan Gitlin.  Read the full story

Calgary, Edmonton a tale of two (different) cities: Altus

The Calgary and Edmonton commercial real estate markets experienced great investment levels in 2017, buoyed by a healthy return of Alberta’s economy.  Read the full story

L Catterton joins Carbonleo’s $1.7B Montreal Royalmount project

International private equity investor L Catterton Real Estate is buying into Royalmount, a $1.7-billion mixed-use business and entertainment district by Carbonleo on the Island of Montreal.  Read the full story

Cadillac Fairview CEO ‘all-in’ on downtown Toronto office market

With two major office projects which will deliver more than two million square feet of space to the market, Cadillac Fairview CEO John Sullivan says his company is “all-in” for downtown Toronto.  Read the full story

AIMCo to redevelop Edmonton HSBC Bank Place tower

Faced with stiff competition for tenants from ICE District and other new office developments in downtown Edmonton, the Alberta Investment Management Corporation will redevelop its HSBC Bank Place tower.  Read the full story

Caisse de depot invests $250M in Avison Young

Avison Young CEO Mark E. Rose says a $250-million investment from the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec provides his growing firm funds to accelerate its expansion plans, leaves decision-making entirely with its senior management group and allows it to remain a “disruptive force.”  Read the full story

Dream Office selling Montreal’s 700 de la Gauchetierre

Dream Office REIT put 700 de la Gauchetière, a 28-storey office building in downtown Montreal, on the market in a sale which should fetch the trust more than $300 million, Colliers International predicts.  Read the full story

Canada’s cannabis production boom requires millions of square feet

Nailing down just how much cultivation and production space Canada’s cannabis industry is going to need is like trying to hit a moving target. (A two-part special report examining the CRE impacts of legal cannabis in Canada)  Read the full story

WPT, CPPIB, AIMCo form JV to buy $1B in U.S. industrial

WPT Industrial REIT, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Alberta Investment Management Corporation will jointly acquire up to $1 billion in industrial properties in strategic U.S. markets through a “value-add and development investment strategy.”  Read the full story

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And a bonus, for those who like to read opinion and analysis, some columns really resonated with our readers …   

Toronto condo market: Will it follow Vancouver, N.Y. or Phoenix?

By Ben Myers: About 10 years ago, you’d often see new condo investor marketing pieces with projected carrying costs for a specific unit spelling out the monthly mortgage payment, condo fee, taxes and expected rental rate at completion.  Read the full column

Real estate sidelined by e-commerce won’t stay dormant

By John Clark: Change is inevitable in real estate as it is with any other segment of the economy. Some of those affected will suffer, others will innovate and come out on top.  Read the full column

Canadian commercial real estate: An investor’s best-kept secret?

By Richard Crenian: At a time when it appears politics is just another reality TV show, it seems too many people are willing to resort to hyperbole and make extravagant promises in bids to boost their egos.  Read the full column

Ontario housing: Separating fact from fiction

By Guest Contributor Fred Losani: Much has been written in recent months about the stability of the new homes market in the Greater Toronto Area, with most news media reports confirming a precipitous decline in sale prices, the general bottoming-out of the marketplace and a widespread malaise hanging over the industry.  Read the full column