Beedie expands industrial developments to GTA

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial  •  Metro Vancouver, Toronto / GTA

Beedie, the largest private owner, developer and manager of industrial property in Western Canada, is pushing into Ontario. The Vancouver-based developer has hired Michael Duff as its GTA director of industrial and has four projects in Southern Ontario.

Feds push for Infrastructure Bank to back Via project

Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal

Federal officials are pushing the Canada Infrastructure Bank to back Via Rail’s high-frequency rail project, according to documents tabled in the House of Commons.

Quebec pledges to fund Gatineau’s light rail plans

Commercial  •  CBC

The Quebec government has pledged to fund 60 per cent of an ambitious $2.1-billion project to bring light rail to Gatineau. Gatineau Mayor Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin announced he’d secured the funding promise from Premier François Legault for the 26-kilometre network.

Montreal’s CRE sector leads Canada, but can it continue?: Altus

RENX  Residential, Commercial  •  Condominiums, Office, Land  •  Greater Montreal

Montreal’s real estate sectors remain strong but it’s unlikely to outperform Canada’s major markets again in 2018, Altus Group experts say. “Although Montreal should have another solid year, it’s difficult to take any top spot for two years in a row. . .”

HBC sells European operations; seeks to go private

Commercial  •  Bloomberg  •  CBC

Hudson’s Bay Co. (HBC-T) is selling its European operations for $1.5 billion as a group of investors led by chairman Richard Baker looks to take the retailer private with a cash bid valued at about $1.74 billion.

The People Space › People Space: Hoffman hired as CIBC Square GM … and more

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Ottawa’s Regional Group acquires warehouse for $29M

Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal  •  RENX

One of Ottawa’s largest property owners has significantly boosted its portfolio with a major acquisition. The Regional Group of Companies announced it has purchased a 258,000-square-foot warehouse in the city’s East End from Edmonton-based Canadian Urban Ltd. for $29.25 million.

CAPREIT to acquire Victoria rental complex for $26.5M

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe Newswire  •  RENX

Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (CAPREIT) (CAR-UN-T) announced it has acquired a brand-new, purpose-built luxury rental complex in Victoria, consisting of a six-storey 65-suite building and seven townhomes. CAPREIT paid $26.5 million for the property.

Ford finally takes wraps off its Ottawa offices

Commercial  •  Ottawa Citizen

Ford Motor Co. (F-N) has finally removed the shroud of secrecy surrounding its Ottawa offices, using the 2020 Ford Explorer to explain all of the development the company is now performing in the nation’s capital.

Downtown Hamilton office vacancy rates ‘healthy’

Commercial  •  CBC

Hamilton’s downtown office vacancy rate declined one per cent last year, while storefront vacancy stayed relatively stable, according to the annual Downtown Office Vacancy and Employment Survey. Meanwhile, the city experienced a 1.2 per cent increase in downtown jobs.

Canadian cities need to turn down the volume

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  CBC

Noise is a defining feature of city life. The din of traffic. The blaring of sirens. The rumble of industry. All an accepted state of being. Even motorcycles and leaf blowers is considered a nuisance rather than something more serious.

Federal public service co-working spaces popping up

Commercial  •  CBC

Thousands of government workers commute from outside the downtown core to office buildings in central Ottawa and Gatineau, snarling traffic during rush hour. To address the problem, the federal government is setting up up co-working spaces in both cities.

Auditor sounds sour note over NAC renovation

Commercial  •  CBC

The National Arts Centre’s dramatic renovation has earned lots of applause, but it also garnered at least one bad review — from the office of Canada’s auditor general, who’s concerned $15 million was allotted to part of the project it was never meant for, without the government’s OK.

Fiera acquires 50% stake in ferry operator Wightlink

Commercial  •  IPE Real Assets

Toronto-based Fiera Infrastructure has acquired a 50 per cent equity interest in Isle of Wight ferry operator Wightlink from Basalt Infrastructure Partners for an undisclosed sum. Basalt acquired Wightlink from Macquarie for about $345 million Cdn in 2015.

Calgary small business owners face steep tax hikes

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  CBC  •  Calgary Herald

More than 8,000 businesses in Calgary are facing double-digit property-tax increases at the end of the month as the city looks to find others to pick up the pieces in the wake of plummeting revenues elsewhere.

CRA’s $1-billion real estate nut: tough to crack

Residential  •  Canadian Accountant

The Canada Revenue Agency recently published a news release, in which it identifies over $1 billion in unpaid taxes in the B.C. and Ontario real estate sectors since 2015. Nevertheless, it remains unclear how much of this amount will remain.

Housing starts drop 13 per cent in May

Residential  •  CBC  •  Canada Newswire

Canadian housing starts fell in May compared with the previous month as groundbreaking tumbled by 18.5 per cent on multiple unit urban homes, data from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) showed on Monday.

RE sales are ripe for foreign disruption

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

A woman is standing in her spacious kitchen, piping pink frosting onto a birthday cake. A moment later, she dramatically throws herself face down into the cake after hearing she could have sold her house without paying a sales commission.

Montreal’s reputation for affordable rentals taking a hit

Residential  •  CTV  •  Montreal Gazette  •  Montreal Gazette

When Erica Fagan and her fiance started looking for a new apartment in their St-Henri neighbourhood, they thought they had reasonable criteria: they wanted a two-bedroom place. However, they found there was almost nothing in her price range of $1,200-a-month.

Is the stress test making Toronto’s housing crisis worse?

Residential  •  Toronto Star

The mortgage lending test has been blamed for a slump in the Toronto region housing market, with builders, lenders and realtors accusing it of needlessly shutting out first-time buyers and handcuffing move-up consumers to their current bank.