GTA development land getting more scarce, more costly

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

Development land is getting harder and harder to find in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and investors are willing to pay a premium for it, especially if the property has already gone through the approvals process.

Avenue Living combines funds, plans rental growth

RENX  Residential  •  Apartments, Homes  •  National, International

Avenue Living Asset Management Ltd. has restructured its residential funds and plans to aggressively grow its rental footprint, targeting the workforce housing market in what it calls the “the North America Heartland.”

What’s to become of the Toronto Coach Terminal?

Residential, Commercial  •  Toronto Star

The Toronto Coach Terminal opened to great fanfare on Dec. 19, 1931. However, the hub near the corner of Bay and Dundas Streets closed its doors last summer, and its potential redevelopment is now in the hands of the municipality.

Sunstone sells Vernon mall for $30M

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

Sunstone Opportunity (2006) Realty Trust and Sunstone Opportunity (2006) Debenture Fund announced they have sold The Shops at Polson Park in Vernon, B.C., for $30,500,000. The property was acquired in May 2007 for $23,247,402.

PEC acquires business park, 700 acres for $14.7M

Commercial  •  Toronto Star

PEC Community Partners Inc. – a partnership of community builders – has finalized the purchase of Loch-Sloy Business Park and Picton Airport lands. The 700-acre property just over two hours east of Toronto was purchased for for $14.7 million.

Parkit acquires two industrial assets for $17M

Commercial  •  Yahoo Finance  •  RENX

Parkit Enterprise Inc. (PKT-X) has agreed to acquire two class-A industrial assets from two vendor groups for an aggregate purchase price of $17 million. The acquisitions total 141,031 square feet and are located in Boisbriand, Que., and London, Ont.

A primer on CMHC’s new MLI Select mortgage insurance

Nadeem Keshavjee: Founder, President, GreenBirch Capital

Tech firms slowly moving into downtown Calgary

Commercial  •  Toronto Star  •  Globe and Mail

Calgary’s core has changed since the onset of COVID-19. On 4th Ave SW, the 1980s-era Sun Life Plaza building is now The Ampersand — revamped and modernized by Aspen Properties in an effort to attract startups and companies of the future.

Inflation expected to stay ‘uncomfortably high’ in 2022

Residential, Commercial  •  Toronto Star

While prices aren’t likely to rise at the same breakneck pace they’ve been going in the second half of 2021, life, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, will still be getting more expensive, warns BMO chief economist Douglas Porter.

Nova Net Lease REIT files final prospectus for IPO

Commercial  •  PR Newswire

Nova Net Lease REIT (NNL-U-CN) has obtained a receipt for a final long-form prospectus for its initial public offering. The trust units will be issued at a price of US$1.25 for minimum gross proceeds of $3,500,000 and maximum gross proceeds of $6,000,000.

H&R, Primaris complete retail spinoff

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX

Primaris REIT and H&R REIT (HR-UN-T) jointly announced the internal reorganization of H&R, pursuant to which H&R’s enclosed shopping mall business and certain other assets were spun-out to Primaris, was completed on Dec. 31.

Court approves Reitmans’ $95M Plan of Arrangement

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

Montreal-based clothing retailer Reitmans (Canada) Ltd. (RET-X) announced it has obtained a sanction order from the Québec Superior Court for its Plan of Arrangement that will see creditors receive a distributed $95-million settlement.

Ares acquires U.S. industrial portfolio for $1.7B

Commercial  •  Business Wire  •  Bisnow

Ares Management Corporation (ARES-N) announced that funds managed by the Ares Real Estate Group have closed on the acquisitions of two portfolios, consisting of 75 industrial properties totalling 11.9 million square feet, for $1.7 billion.

Brazilian homebuilder sells projects to Brookfield

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

Brazilian homebuilder MRV announced it has signed a deal with Brookfield Asset Management for the sale of projects developed by its Luggo subsidiary. Approximately 5,100 units will be sold under the agreement, with a potential sales value estimated at US$222.5 million.

Hughes moves ahead with $850M Manhattan project

Residential  •  PR Newswire

The Howard Hughes Corporation (HHC-N) announced the final approval by the City of New York of its planned $850-million 250 Water Street development project at the Seaport in Lower Manhattan, a key component of HHC’s long-term vision for the historic neighbourhood.

Evergrande to seek six-month bond-payment delay

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

China Evergrande Group will seek a six-month delay in the redemption and coupon payments of a $157 million US bond in a meeting with bond holders this weekend, underscoring the pressure on the debt-laden property developer.

Mississauga a ‘cautionary tale’ of S. Ontario sprawl

Residential  •  Globe and Mail  •  Toronto Star

With developments planned on the very last piece of untouched land available in Mississauga, the city’s decades-long era of sprawl is over. The city was once so synonymous with suburbia Mayor Hazel McCallion was known as the Queen of Sprawl.

Would L.A.’s small-lots rules work in Toronto?

Residential  •  Toronto Star

A housing development in Los Angeles’ Echo Park was created from a city ordinance that allows properties to be divided up to increase density. The Blackbirds is a project designed by L.A. firm Bestor Architecture for developer LocalConstruct.

B.C. suburban homes jump by more than 40%

Residential  •  CBC  •  Vancouver Sun  •  Globe and Mail

New data shows that assessed values of homes in the province are up across the board, with some smaller communities and suburbs such as Chilliwack seeing the largest increases of 40 per cent or more year-over-year, according to B.C. Assessment.

Calgary sees record home sales in 2021

Residential  •  CTV  •  Toronto Star  •  Calgary Herald

The Calgary Real Estate Board says 2021 marked a record year for home sales in the city. Calgary closed out the year with sales reaching 27,686 units, nearly 72 per cent higher year-over-year and more than 44 per cent higher than Calgary’s 10-year average.