Minto buys Montreal apts., to start Ottawa building

RENX  Residential  •  Apartments  •  Greater Montreal, Ottawa

Minto Apartment REIT (MI-UN-T) will acquire a 20-storey Montreal apartment building for $80 million and is moving ahead with construction of a nine-storey development which will contain 229 apartment units in Ottawa.

H&R, Tribal build new industrial in Mississauga

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial, Land  •  Toronto / GTA

A two-building infill industrial development on a 15.45-acre site owned by H&R REIT and Tribal Partners in the Meadowvale area of Mississauga is expected to attract a lot of interest. The Meadowvale Commerce Park is being marketed by Cushman & Wakefield.

Suburbs bounced back quicker than downtown areas

Residential, Commercial  •  Financial Post

The suburbs made a remarkable comeback during COVID-19, as residential prices, rents and sales escalated faster than those in the urban core, while CRE data depict a similar picture of strength and resilience in the areas outside the downtown areas.

WeWork shares jump more than 13% in debut

Commercial  •  CNBC  •  Bloomberg  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. req.)

Shares of WeWork (WE) closed up 13.49 per cent on Thursday after the company went public through a special purpose acquisition company more than two years after its failed IPO. The office-leasing company scrapped plans for an IPO in 2019.

MasterBUILT Hotels sets sights on 75 locations

Commercial  •  Calgary Herald

Calgary-based MasterBUILT Hotels, a decade old, has committed to opening 75 hotels by 2036, and with the explosive growth of the brand and its reputation for developing partnerships and direct corporate investment, they are well on their way to fulfilling that mandate.

The Industrial Real Estate Show › Podcast: Investing in industrial real estate

Chad Griffiths: Partner, NAI Commercial

PortLiving CEO’s new firm can finish stalled Van. condos

Residential  •  Vancouver Sun  •  RENX

The B.C. Court of Appeal has ruled a new company formed by PortLiving CEO Tobi Reyes can proceed with Terrace House, a stalled downtown Vancouver luxury condo project that had been highly touted for its Coal Harbour location.

A year later, Oxford awaiting approval for three towers

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto  •  RENX

More than a year later, Oxford Properties Group‘s proposed mixed-use development at 25 Borough Dr. in Scarborough is still under review. The BDP Quadrangle-designed proposal includes towers of 32, 41 and 50 storeys, respectively, with 1,342 purpose-built rental units and ground-floor retail.

Filmmaker on a mission to save Montreal’s Chinatown

Residential, Commercial  •  Montreal Gazette

Jimmy Chan has spent the last three years and $100,000 to make the heartfelt documentary Saving Chinatown: The Rise of the Dragons. The doc reflects Chan’s resolve and that of Chinatown’s residents/merchants to keep the Montreal community alive and vibrant.

Retailers take to the skies to battle supply chain woes

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Major Canadian retailers are ramping up their use of air freight to bypass clogged shipping routes this holiday season, a move adding substantially more to their transportation costs, but also bolstering their inventory heading into a crucial time for sales.

Edmonton retailers rise above pandemic doldrums: JLL

Commercial  •  Edmonton Journal  •  Retail Insider  •  Canada Newswire

More retail businesses are opening in brick-and-mortar locations in Edmonton, but growth is favouring shops with smaller floor spaces. Overall retail leasing activity in the city increased by 21 per cent in the first half of 2021 year-over-year, says Jones Lang LaSalle.

Cautious optimism for brick-and-mortar retail: Colliers

Commercial  •  Retail Insider

With a gradual reopening of communities and economies across the country and a return of foot traffic to physical brick-and-mortar retail locations, the outlook on a near-term recovery for the industry seems optimistic, according to Colliers executive Roelof van Dijk.

Amazon opens new robotics facility in Mass.

Commercial  •  Business Wire

Amazon (AMZN-Q) announced the opening of a first-of-its-kind robotics manufacturing facility in Westborough, Mass. The facility will expand Amazon Robotics manufacturing capability in the U.S. and Amazon’s growth in the region — and has created over 200 manufacturing jobs.

Walmart takes on Kroger with fulfillment centres

Commercial  •  Chain Store Age  •  Toronto Star

Walmart is building its largest grocery distribution centre to date in Spartanburg County, S.C. Set to open in 2024, the new 720,000-plus-square-foot  facility will rely on a combination of human associates, automation technology, robotics, and machine learning to process grocery perishables.

U.S. supply chain crisis could extend into 2023

Commercial  •  CP Executive

Industrial and logistics experts say the supply chain snafus didn’t begin overnight and due to lagging pandemic-related problems around the globe and labour shortages and other issues in the U.S., could last well into 2022 and possibly early 2023.

China Evergrande averts default with payment

Residential, Commercial  •  Global News

China Evergrande Group appeared to have averted default with a last-minute bond coupon payment, a source said on Friday, buying it another week to deal with a debt crisis looming over the world’s second-biggest economy.

Van. mayor again proposes six homes on single lots

Residential  •  Vancouver Sun  •  Toronto Star

Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart called Wednesday for the city to allow up to six homes on single-family lots, a year after a similar proposal was rejected by city council. The program would be designed to limit speculation, Stewart said.

The harsh reality of increased density in Toronto

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

An application by Haven Developments to convert two single-family homes in Toronto’s Deer Park neighbourhood into a 12-unit condo building highlights all the legal and political forces waging war over building even a single new apartment in Canada’s largest city.

What is the cost of fractional real estate investing?

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

Fractional real estate investing on platforms such as BuyProperly and Addy allows young adults to own a small slice of equity in residential or commercial properties. However, it also results in homes being treated as commodities and investments.

Montreal-area prices up 17% Y-O-Y

Residential  •  MTLblog  •  Globe Newswire

Young Montrealers’ dreams of homeownership might be slipping further and further beyond reach. Montreal-area third-quarter home prices jumped 17 per cent year-over-year, according to the latest report from the Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers (QPAREB).