ONE Properties busy developing in Calgary, Edmonton

RENX  Residential  •  Apartments  •  Calgary

Edmonton-based ONE Properties, a key partner in the downtown ICE District, is also bullish on the Calgary market with several projects on the go in the southern Alberta city. It’s currently constructing the Curtis Block development in the Beltline.

Canada’s apartment market: We can’t build fast enough

RENX  Residential  •  Apartments  •  National

“The apartment market continues to be very buoyant, with strong returns, solid demand and record low vacancy rates”: That is how Marcus & Millichap’s Aik Aliferis introduced a panel on the asset class at the Toronto Real Estate Forum.

Industrial, office sectors stole the show in 2019

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

The bright lights of the 2019 Canadian commercial real estate market have been the industrial and downtown office categories and the Toronto and Vancouver markets. “The office leasing category has been really strong, other than Calgary . . .,” says Colliers Canada’s Scott Addison.

B.C. hotel activity remains strong

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver

Hotel activity in Canada may have flattened over the past year, but a key takeaway from the Western Canadian Lodging Conference last week was that B.C. can thank an active conference and tourist trade for another good year.

Utah hotel developer still keen on Nanaimo

Commercial  •  Victoria Times Colonist

Provo, Utah’s PEG Companies – the developer of a planned downtown Nanaimo hotel – said in a statement it would like to break ground this year, but it has not made a commitment of when it will happen.

The Legal Corner › Careful drafting of the use clause – Ice Cream v. Frozen Yogurt – A ‘sweet’ result for consumers

Darrell Gold: Partner, Robins Appleby LLP

PCI acquires Vancouver laneway for $3.8M

Commercial  •  Daily Hive  •  Western Investor

A short strip of Vancouver laneway will be sold to PCI Developments for the needed land to achieve a mixed-use redevelopment that includes the street entrance for the future South Granville Station of the underground Millennium Line Broadway Extension.

Downtown Regina site sells for $2.3M

Commercial  •  Regina Leader-Post  •  CTV

Regina-based Royalty Developments. has signed a conditional deal to buy the former Capital Pointe site for almost $2.3 million. The offer was accepted by the selling agent as part of a claim of mortgage action filed by a creditor.

Halifax to be second home for T.O. tech star Wattpad

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

Two years after vying to host Amazon Inc.’s alternate headquarters, Halifax has attracted one of Toronto’s top tech stars – Wattpad – to establish its second corporate beachhead in the East Coast city.

Montreal lures U.S. video-game company 2K

Commercial  •  Montreal Gazette  •  La Presse

Montreal’s video-game playground just got a little more crowded. U.S. developer and publisher 2K said Monday it’s opening a new development studio in the city, its first ever in Canada. 2K is still evaluating various locations in Montreal.

Paramount Financial sues GTA developer

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

The court-appointed receiver for Paramount Financial Equity Corporation, which sold investments in pooled mortgage funds until its collapse in 2017, is suing GTA developer Enzo Mizzi, alleging  he improperly diverted $18.8-million from Paramount-funded projects for his “personal benefit.”

New concept for T.O. restaurant steeped in tradition

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  Globe and Mail

There are few restaurant concepts as steeped in tradition as a steak house. And there are few restaurant experiences as consistent as a visit to a Ruth’s Chris Steak House.

HBC committee ‘disappointed’ with ISS recommendation

Commercial  •  Reuters  •  Financial Post  •  Bloomberg

Hudson’s Bay Co.’s (HBC-T) special committee said on Monday it was disappointed with proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services’ recommendation to vote against the takeover bid by a consortium led by the retailer’s chairman, Richard Baker.

Brookfield acquires London office asset for $294M

Commercial  •  IPE Real Assets

Brookfield Asset Management (BAM-A-T) has acquired the Nexus Place office asset in London for $294 million Cdn. The asset provides 159,840 square feet of office space with ancillary retail space.

Diamond Schmitt to transform NYC’s David Geffen

Commercial  •  Toronto Star

In the 57 years since David Geffen Hall’s glamorous 1962 opening, repeated costly attempts have been made to improve its problematic acoustics. The latest and most ambitious of them all – at $550 million – will be headed by the Toronto architectural firm Diamond Schmitt.

REOC financial results

Commercial  • 

Lakeview Hotel Investment Corp., (LHR-X), Canada Newswire

Mainstreet Equity Corp., (MEQ-T), Canada Newswire

Siddall criticizes ‘glorification’ of home ownership

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Canada Newswire

Evan Siddall, the chief executive of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., said Canadians need to stop glamorizing home ownership and urged cities with pricey real estate markets to aggressively build more rental apartments to alleviate soaring housing costs.

Cancelled condo investors take developer to court

Residential  •  Western Investor

A group of pre-sale buyers of a strata construction project in Richmond’s city centre are suing developer Anderson Square Holdings after their contracts were terminated, claiming they’ve lost out on other investment opportunities.

How will demographic changes affect Montreal market?

Residential  •  Montreal Gazette

According to CMHC economist Francis Cortellino, the Montreal real estate market has been overheating since the end of 2018, and is likely to stay hot for another decade, maybe more.

Edmonton real estate ripe for investment: Opinion

Residential  •  Edmonton Journal

I personally believe that this time is a great buying opportunity for investors. It’s also a great opportunity for a first-time buyer or a move-up buyer as the more pricey homes have fallen substantially more than the average home.