New initiatives lift Oxford back atop GRESB rankings

New initiatives lift Oxford back atop GRESB rankings

Toronto-based Oxford Properties has returned to the top of the annual Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) ranking in the North American diversified retail and office assets category. The real estate investment firm reached the top spot in the international assessment and ranking program five out of the last six years said Oxford’s head of office, Andrew McAllan. The only year it missed out was 2017.

Property Biz Canada

Alberta’s New Horizon Mall sitting nearly empty

A trip to the New Horizon Mall makes for a lonely, if not slightly post-apocalyptic, experience. The mammoth mall was billed as a modern, international bazaar with an Asian flavour, opening quietly this summer just outside Calgary, south of the CrossIron Mills megamall. But of its 517 retail units, only nine are currently occupied and open for business, despite the mall being open since June.

CBC – Winnipeg Free Press – Property Biz Canada

Vancouver’s Railtown begins its dramatic transformation

Construction has started on the first new building in 50 years in Vancouver’s Railtown district, a tract of Downtown Eastside which will see a surge in development after the city enacted more flexible zoning for the former manufacturing hub. This month, Rendition Developments broke ground on Bench, a six-storey, 35,000-square-foot office and light manufacturing building at 381 Railway Street.

Property Biz Canada

CIBC Square South Tower 96% leased: Ivanhoé Cambridge

The first of two office towers to be built in the massive CIBC Square development in downtown Toronto is now almost fully leased. The 81 Bay Street tower is “plus or minus 96 or 97 per cent leased,” says Jonathan Pearce, executive vice-president, leasing, office and industrial, North America for Ivanhoé Cambridge. CIBC Square is being developed by Ivanhoé Cambridge and Houston-based Hines.

Property Biz Canada

Centreport’s new Winnipeg development nearly sold out

Planners, real estate professionals and officials from various industries have long repeated the line that there is a serious lack of serviced industrial land in Winnipeg. That’s why people were interested to see what would happen when Crystal Properties decided to invest millions of dollars to lay sewer and water and telecommunications lines to service an 89-acre parcel of land and charge south-end prices for northwest industrial land.

Winnipeg Free Press

Development potential key to Partners’ Quebec asset sale: CEO

UPDATED WITH CEO INTERVIEW: Partners REIT (PAR-UN-T) CEO Jane Domenico says a piece of knowledge driven home while selling the trust’s Western Canadian assets led it to a decision to also put the “For Sale” sign on its 11 retail properties in Quebec. Domenico already knew CRE investment in the province has been heating up for the past year or two. She also knew properties with prospects for additional future development, or redevelopment, fetch more.

Property Biz Canada

New infra, new growth: Ottawa developments worth billions

Ottawa can no longer be considered a city merely poised for growth. With a slate of major developments underway, plus several more in the pipeline, the nation’s capital is experiencing a near-unprecedented amount of real estate investment. With two large infrastructure projects, plus a half-dozen or more major commercial, residential and mixed-use developments on the build, there is at least $5 billion worth of construction happening in Ottawa.

Property Biz Canada

Alberta’s largest liquor distribution centre opens in St. Albert

A new $142-million liquor distribution centre in St. Albert is large enough to hold 70,000 pallets of alcohol products. The just-completed mammoth facility was shown off on Wednesday. Wine, beer and other alcohol will be transferred to the new warehouse over the next few months, and distribution from the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission facility will begin early in 2019.

CBC – Global News

WeWork says it’s Manhattan’s largest office tenant

WeWork is now the largest office tenant in Manhattan. The co-working firm said it now has a portfolio totaling 5.3 million square feet, putting it ahead of JPMorgan Chase, according to a blog post from company executive Granit Gjonbalaj. WeWork now has 60 locations in New York City. Out of that total, 50 are in Manhattan. The first WeWork location opened at 154 Grand Street in 2010.

The Real Deal – Forbes

Condo project cancellation prompts calls for action

The cancellation of another large Toronto-area condominium development – this one planned for the City of Vaughan’s Metropolitan Centre – has buyers crying foul and adds further fuel to a continuing government review of regulations and sales practices in the hot presale sector. On Tuesday, Patricia DeBartolo of Bradford, Ont., received a letter from Icona Develoments Inc. returning her 20 per cent deposit on a $522,000 three-bedroom apartment.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required) – Toronto Star

Sask. business owners reflect on Second Avenue’s 100 block

Running from 22nd Street to the bus mall and the old Hudson’s Bay building on 23rd Street, the 100 block of Second Avenue North is one of Saskatoon’s diverse stretches of asphalt and pavement. According to the Downtown Business Improvement District, it has the greatest concentration of retail businesses of any block in Saskatoon. At the same time, the block has seen a spate of closures in recent years.

Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Menkes breaks ground on Waterfront Innovation Centre

Menkes Developments, in partnership with Alcion Ventures, Thursday broke ground on the Waterfront Innovation Centre – a new landmark office building on the Toronto waterfront. The groundbreaking marks the first construction milestone of a 400,000-square-foot complex designed by world-renowned architects Sweeny & Co, which will be comprised of two buildings, with three distinct but interconnected components: The Exchange, The Hive, and The Nexus.

Canada Newswire – Property Biz Canada

Ontario open to idea of a Toronto waterfront casino

Ontario’s Finance Minister says the government is open to having a casino in downtown Toronto, but any decision will be made in consultation with the city as part of a larger waterfront redevelopment. Vic Fedeli’s comments are the first public signal Premier Doug Ford’s government is considering a gambling complex as part of a plan to revitalize Ontario Place, the provincially owned waterfront theme park mothballed several years ago.

Globe and Mail – Globe and Mail

Toronto Trump hotel class-action approved

An Ontario court has certified a class-action lawsuit by the buyers in a Toronto hotel that once bore the name of U.S. President Donald Trump. The buyers want to sue Talon International, the company that built the property, to recoup the deposits they paid on five-star hotel condominium suites. The Trump Tower included 261 hotel condominiums and another 118 residential units.

Toronto Star

Brookfield Properties is still big on London

Brookfield Properties (BPY-UN-T), one of the world’s largest real estate managers, has been one of the biggest investors in the London office market over the past decade — and it is not done yet. The Canadian firm holds the title for the largest-ever U.K. corporate deal — the $4.44 billion Cdn acquisition of Canary Wharf Group alongside the Qatar Investment Authority in 2015.

Bisnow

Featured Column

What’s an ideal amount to invest in commercial real estate?

For the purpose of this conversation, let’s assume you are sitting on cash or liquid asset(s) and have decided to invest a portion of your available capital into commercial real estate. What factors need to be considered to make a prudent investment decision?

Read more

Real Estate Companies

Judge orders Winnipeg to hold hearings for Parker lands

A judge has handed a legal victory to the Parker Lands developers, ordering the City of Winnipeg to grant a hearing on its proposed development. Developer Gem Equities and its owner Andrew Marquess complained about delays, arguing the city changed the process for considering their rezoning application. Gem Equities wants to build 1,740 housing units on a triangle of Fort Garry land.

CBC – CBC – Winnipeg Free Press

Real Estate Investment Trusts

Three REITs to buy and forget for the next decade

Northview Apartment REIT (NVU-UN-T) caters primarily to the residential segment — more specifically, multi-family residential units. InterRent REIT‘s (IIP-UN-T) current distribution yield may seem infinitely smaller at 2.35%, but there’s more to an investment than its yield. RioCan REIT (REI-UN-T) has recently branched into a new venture that will see it construct mixed-use developments that have both commercial and residential elements in the same development.

Motley Fool

REITs can be a surprisingly safe bet

Bond yields are rising again, ending a three-month lull and putting yield-sensitive investments such as REITs back in the spotlight. How will REITs perform if bond yields explore new highs? The backdrop is chilling for investors who have stuffed their portfolios with dividend-generating stocks. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond surged from 2.4 per cent at the start of the year to a seven-year high of 3.1 in May.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Legal Corner

Ottawa RE firm takes Malaysian campaigners to court

An Ottawa-headquartered real estate firm has asked a Swiss court to shut down a campaign linking it to alleged corruption in Malaysia. The gag order requested by Sakto Corporation on Aug. 20 in civil court in Basel, Switzerland is of sweeping proportions, demanding that the Basel-based non-government organization Bruno Manser Fund (BMF) remove more than 250 publications and about 1,100 “infringing statements” from the public domain. 

National Observer

Retail

Walmart launches sustainable grocery delivery in Vancouver

Walmart Canada Thursday officially announced the launch of sustainable grocery delivery for Metro Vancouver consumers in collaboration with Sustainable Produce Urban Delivery Inc. (SPUD)’s food delivery platform, Food-X Urban Delivery Inc. (Food-X). Metro Vancouver residents can now shop on walmart.ca/groceryor via the Walmart app and have their grocery orders delivered to their door by Food-X. 

Canada Newswire – Globe Newswire

Cannabis industry news

Beleave announces 867,000 sq. ft. of new B.C. growing capacity

Beleave Inc. (BE-CN) Thursday announced it has entered into a partnership with Kannavis Biotech Corp. to invest, build and operate 867,000 square feet of indoor growing space in B.C. in preparation for the anticipated demand for cannabis in the Canadian and International marketplace. The ambitious new project, jointly designed by Beleave and Kannavis, will encompass a total of 10 indoor growing facilities divided between the Chilliwack and Abbotsford regions.

Canada Newswire – Globe Newswire

Couche-Tard wants to hop on pot wagon

Will North Americans soon be able to buy some pot when filling up? Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (ATD-A-T), the owner of the Circle K chain, is already considering that possibility at some point down the road. One of North America’s biggest convenience-store owners, the Laval, Quebec-based company says it’s looking into the cannabis market, where it feels its expertise selling age-restricted products such as beer and tobacco can help.

Bloomberg – Toronto Star – Globe and Mail

New Development

SaskPower backs off development plans at GTH: Critics

A plan to develop nearly 500,000 square feet of property for an operations centre and move 1,100 of SaskPower’s employees to the Global Transportation Hub seems to have been walked back, according to Saskatchewan’s NDP and the Canadian Taxpayer’s Federation. SaskPower purchased 145 acres of land at the GTH in 2013 for $25 million. But according to the utility’s CEO and president Mike Marsh plans to build on the site were shelved as a cost-cutting measure.

CBC

Medicago begins construction of vaccine production facility

Medicago, a Canadian biotech company and global leader in the development and production of plant-based vaccines, Wednesday broke ground on its commercial vaccine production facility in the presence of Masayuki Mitsuka, president & CEO of Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation. The $245-million manufacturing complex, located in the Estimauville Innovation Area of Quebec City, will include the company’s headquarters, research and development and production facilities.

Canada Newswire

Renovation and Restoration

Calgary’s Arts Commons pitches $400M expansion plan

The board of directors of Arts Commons has scaled back plans for a major expansion and overhaul of the downtown Calgary performance centre, but it’s not clear if the city will agree to help finance the now $400-million proposal. Arts Commons wants to revitalize the facility in a two-stage expansion that would tie in with the city’s plan to update the adjacent Olympic Plaza.

CBC

Gateway to expand Hanover Casino

Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Limited announced it will invest an estimated $18 million into renovations at Hanover Casino at 275 Fifth Street and create up to 70 new jobs in the Municipality of Hanover, Ont. The expanded casino will be rebranded as Playtime Casino Hanover and will feature 300 slots and eight live table games and will be a showcase for Gateway’s signature restaurant brands MATCH Eatery & Public House and The Buffet.

Canada Newswire

Infrastructure

Key GTA transit projects in limbo

Almost four months after the Progressive Conservatives swept to power, a handful of key Toronto-area transit initiatives remain in limbo, with the new provincial government refusing to commit to billions of dollars worth of projects championed by the ousted Liberals. Transportation Minister John Yakabuski declined to answer directly when asked whether the Conservatives will follow through on pledges their predecessors made.

Toronto Star

Human Resources

JLL hires expert to shape future workplaces

Jones Lang LaSalle recently hired John Wooster to lead a workplace strategy practice for its central region. Wooster joins the global brokerage services firm from employee benefits company Trustmark Cos., where he oversaw workplace consulting and change management, and he’ll lean on that experience in his new role. 

CoStar Group

Other