Next-gen. buildings create S. Ontario smart industrial hub

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial, Technology  •  Ontario, Toronto / GTA

A smart industrial hub extending beyond the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) into much of Southern Ontario isn’t just changing the way business is being done, but also the buildings in which that business is being conducted.

Abbotsford’s mayor says recovery could cost $1B

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Globe and Mail

Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun has warned senior levels of government the cost of rebuilding from this week’s catastrophic flood could reach $1 billion. Much of Abbotsford, a major agricultural hub, is underwater and is bracing for heavy rain next week.

Planning commission approves permit for Calgary arena

Commercial  •  Calgary Herald

The Calgary planning commission unanimously approved the development permit for the $600-million arena project Thursday night, but there’s also a list of more than 70 conditions that must be met before work on the Saddledome replacement can officially go ahead.

3 teams shortlisted for St. Paul’s Hospital research centre

Commercial  •  Daily Hive

Greystar Canada Real Estate, Oxford Properties and NorthWest Healthcare Properties REIT have been invited to proceed in the request-for-proposal bidding competition on the second phase of the $2.2 billion St. Paul’s Hospital campus in Vancouver’s False Creek Flats.

Calgary airport rebounding at ‘surprising’ rate

Commercial  •  Calgary Herald

Passenger traffic at the Calgary International Airport has come roaring back after the COVID-19 pandemic saw nearly all flights halted in 2020. During the height of the pandemic,  68,075 passengers travelled through YYC in April 2020. In August, YYC welcomed over 950,000 people.

YVR to become world’s 1st net-zero carbon airport

Commercial  •  Sustainable Biz Canada

The Vancouver International Airport (YVR) has released a six-point plan to become the world’s first net-zero carbon airport by the year 2030. That’s a significantly faster timeline than its original plan to achieve net-zero in its operations by 2050.

Real World of Real Estate › Podcast: Gerald Tostowaryk and the Calgary Municipal Land Corp.

Gerald Tostowaryk:

Coke Canada Bottling opening $1.5M Kingston facility

Commercial  •  Ottawa Citizen

Coke Canada Bottling will be opening a new $1.5-million distribution facility in Kingston’s east end next spring. The 10,000 square-foot facility at 800 Innovation Dr. in the St. Lawrence Business Park will offer more space and a new design.

Manitoba could be ‘Silicon Valley of plant protein’

Commercial  •  CBC

“Manitoba can be the Silicon Valley of plant protein,” Dominique Baumann, managing director for Roquette in Canada, said in a video played at the open house Wednesday to play up its massive $600-million pea-processing plant, just outside Portage la Prairie.

Alberta restaurants and bars face rising insurance rates

Commercial  •  CBC  •  Toronto Star

Mike Clark has been running Mikey’s on 12th Avenue, a bar and music venue in Calgary, since 2007. He has never made a substantial insurance claim, but he still saw his annual liquor liability insurance spike from $7,800 to over $26,400 this year.

Lanesborough to transfer control to debentureholders

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

Lanesborough REIT (LRT-UN-X) announced a proposed transaction to settle its $24,810,800 of outstanding 5.00% Series G redeemable subordinated secured debentures due June 30, 2022, and accrued or unpaid interest owing, in exchange for trust units. The REIT is heavily invested in Fort McMurray.

Real estate podcasts

Residential, Commercial  • 

Peter Altobelli, Yardi: Canadian Apartment Investment Conference 2021 highlights, CRE Podcast
Bruce Winder, RETAIL Before, During & After COVID-19 author: The future of Canadian retail, The Retail Insider Podcast Network
Carter Li, SWTCH Energy and Deepak Darda, IBI Group: EV and the blockchain, The Construction Record, Episode 145

Slate Office makes firm $254.8M offer for Irish REIT

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire  •  RENX

Slate Office REIT (SOT-UN-T) today announced a firm offer to acquire Irish trust Yew Grove REIT Plc and the closing of its previously announced public offering of 11,225,000 subscription receipts of the REIT at a price of $4.90 each.

HNA Group affiliate defaults on 245 Park Ave. loan

Commercial  •  Bisnow  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

An affiliate of troubled Chinese investor HNA Group has defaulted on its mortgage at the former office building of Major League Baseball. PWM Property Management failed to make its November payment on a $500-million CMBS loan at 245 Park Ave.

@properties to buy Christie’s International Real Estate

Commercial  •  PR Newswire

Christie’s is selling its Christie’s International Real Estate business to real estate brokerage and technology firm @properties. Christie’s approximately 900 affiliate real estate offices will transfer to @properties along with Christie’s International Real Estate corporate team members and company-owned brokerage operations.

More U.S. office, industrial deals closing on time

Commercial  •  Wealth Management

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, uncertainty gripped the CRE market, causing some transactions to be cancelled and others to be delayed. However, U.S. brokers say new office and industrial deals – investment sales and leases – are closing on time.

More housing supply won’t solve unaffordability

Residential  •  Vancouver Province  •  The Observer  •  CTV

OPINION: The case for supply, supply, supply, not surprisingly, is pushed relentlessly by the real-estate industry and its allies. However, here are five reasons their mantra often rings hollow:

The trouble with vacant home taxes

Residential  •  Financial Post

It’s not certain the City of Toronto’s proposed tax on vacant homes will make a meaningful difference in increasing the city’s housing supply. Not much is known about the prevalence of vacant homes, not even how many dwellings stand vacant.

Pandemic adds to housing challenges in the North: CMHC

Residential  •  Canada Newswire

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant impacts on housing markets in Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut over the last year due to the closure of lumber mills and other factors, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) 2021 Northern Housing Report.

Amid soaring prices, retired Canadians staying in their homes

Residential  •  Globe and Mail

Mary Deanne Shears is sitting tight. The 77-year-old Toronto-based former journalist had planned to downsize, but ran into the financial impact of moving. “I couldn’t sell my house and find a condo downtown,” she says. “Everything is so expensive.”