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GWLRA, Canada Life buy 1.1M-sq.-ft. GTA facility

4 years ago

When DSV Solutions put its new 1.1-million-square-foot flagship facility in Milton, Ont., on the sale block, GWL Realty Advisors and Canada Life weren’t about to let it slip past.

Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Ltd.’s property investments bode well for growth as it prepares to close a deal with Leisure Acquisition Corp. (LACQ-Q) to create a $1.46 billion publicly traded entity. The firm will merge into GTWY Holdings.

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Transwestern Commercial Services and Devencore’s 2020 Commercial Real Estate Sentiment Survey, summarizing the firms’ outlook for U.S. and Canadian real estate markets, predicts moderate commercial real estate growth in the coming year.

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Concord Adex has applied to the City of Toronto to construct a tower with 388,000 square feet of class-A office space side-by-side with a 513-unit residential tower in the 45-acre Concord Park Place community in North York.

Romspen Commercial Lender

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More than 1,600 have signed a petition against several proposed developments in Calgary. Organizers of the petition fear that if buildings are taller than the existing 20-metre height restrictions, it will turn Ninth Avenue S.E. into “another bland, commercial wind tunnel.”

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City staff will look into denying condo developers permission to block a lane of traffic, sidewalk or bicycle lane during construction, unless they can prove they have no other choice. Toronto’s Infrastructure and Environment Committee voted to make the request.

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Apple is opening an office in downtown Montreal, dramatically increasing its footprint in the city. In March, Apple will open its space in the 26-storey Deloitte Tower, a stone’s throw from the Bell Centre, home to the Montreal Canadiens.

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The 24-storey office tower at 400W. Georgia in downtown Vancouver is quickly gaining height. Construction of Deloitte Summit has progressed to the point where the tower’s steel cubes are starting to take shape.

Harbour Equity

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The 120-year-old Jerusalem Cyclorama in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Que., should be sold in the coming weeks, the Journal de Quebec has learned. The Jerusalem Cyclorama has been on the market since July 2017. The original price asked by the Blouin family was $5 million.

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Project owner CDPQ Infra has announced it has reached a “work optimization agreement” with NouvLR, the consortium building the REM electrified rail transit system in Montreal, to revise certain construction timetables. The budget has been increased to $6.5 billion.

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The 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London resulted in the deaths of 72 residents. Investigations have since concluded it was a preventable tragedy. The 24-storey Grenfell Tower was part of a municipally owned residential apartment complex built in the early 1970s.

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The Ontario government’s legislative and regulatory changes that came into effect on Jan. 1 include reforms to the Occupational Health and Safety Act that clarify requirements for temporary stairs at construction projects, and changes to promote energy-efficiency in road lighting structures.

Energy Profiles Limited

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Incoming OMERS CEO Blake Hutcheson sees growth opportunities in India and Asia. Hutcheson, who will take over on June 1, said the pension plan will not “ignore Canada,” however, and has added government relations staff at its offices in North America.

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American Hotel Income Properties REIT (HOT-UN-T) announced $5.3 million of renovations have recently been completed at two Florida hotels: the 111-guestroom Holiday Inn Express & Suites Fort Myers East – The Forum and the 101-guestroom Holiday Inn Express & Suites Sarasota I-75.

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The London Interbank Offer Rate, the basis for calculating interest rates on everything from mortgages to student loans, is being phased out. Real estate and finance attorney Bilzin Sumberg said the change “is going to be huge” for CRE.

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Pacesetter Homes —  whose parent company is Winnipeg-based Qualico Co. —  is planting its flag in North Texas with plans for a dozen new residential communities. It has already opened its first half-dozen Dallas-Fort Worth subdivisions and is working on more.

Informa - 2020 Events

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Stephen Poloz cautioned a Vancouver audience about the risks of “froth” returning to the housing sector, saying the Bank of Canada is watching for signs the renewed strength in housing in provinces such as B.C. could reignite speculation.

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Metro Vancouver saw record levels of housing starts in 2019, suggesting the market is “finding its footing” after a period of declining sales and falling prices, according to reports by Canada Mortgage and Housing (CMHC) and Royal LePage.

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Ottawa resident Colin Gillespie has had big issues with the “ghost hotel” next to his Gilmour Street home for months, but he didn’t realize until this week’s fatal shooting that the short-term rental was actually illegal.

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Citing a growing number of complaints, Ontario’s Ombudsman has launched an investigation into wait times at the Landlord and Tenant Board, the tribunal responsible for hearing disputes between residential landlords and tenants.

Industry Events