Recent Articles
Calgary TELUS Sky tower leasing in tough market
Calgary TELUS Sky tower leasing in tough market
Calgary’s TELUS Sky skyscraper, which is nearing completion, might be the last major office building constructed in the heart of the city for perhaps a decade. The 60-storey, 750,000-square-foot building is a partnership between Westbank, TELUS and Allied Properties REIT.
Ski resort owners pitch car-free zones for Banff
Liricon Capital Ltd., owners of the Mount Norquay ski resort, have proposed an ambitious vision for Banff that they say would combine rail, shuttle service and aerial transit to reduce traffic congestion in the national park.
Andrew Freitas takes reins at WiredScore Canada
Andrew Freitas calls himself WiredScore‘s “one-man show” in Canada, where the digital connectivity certification agency plans to continue its expansion. Two years ago, WiredScore entered Canada where it will soon reach the 50-million-square-foot plateau for certified building space.
Blackstone to acquire Dream Global for $6.2B
Dream Global REIT (DRM-T, DRM-PR-A-T) says it has an agreement to be acquired by affiliates of U.S.-based real estate giant Blackstone (BX-N) in an all-cash transaction valued at $6.2 billion Cdn. The deal values Dream Global at $16.79 per share.
Ottawa’s $2.1B LRT open for business
• Ottawa Citizen • CBC
It was busy on some trains Monday as Ottawa’s light-rail transit system rolled into its first rush hour. Thousands of commuters took weekend rides on the 12.5-kilometre route, but Monday morning was the first real test for the $2.1-billion system.
Calgary to consider northern leg of $4.9B LRT
City planners will review the feasibility of building the Green Line LRT from 16th Avenue N. to Calgary’s northernmost communities during the first stage of construction, if they aren’t able to find an immediate solution to crossing the Bow River.
Winnipeg’s Garden City mall getting makeover
Garden City Shopping Centre is nearly ready to fill the void left by Sears. Mall owner RioCan REIT (REI-UN-T) and former co-owner Bayfield Realty Advisors bought Sears’ portion of the shopping centre for $8 million in October 2017 after Sears Canada folded.
Crude prices jump most on record
Oil posted its biggest ever intraday jump, briefly surging above US$71 a barrel after a strike on a Saudi Arabian oil facility removed about five per cent of global supplies and raised the specter of more destabilization in the region.
Co-working rise providing needed CRE space
The rapid rise of flexible GTA office spaces, which provide a broadening range of workspace options with little commitment or up-front cost, means independent workers and entire companies can seamlessly ramp their space needs up or down as needed.
Conversion of Edmonton tower delayed
Work converting the former Enbridge Tower into a downtown Edmonton hotel has been delayed, but not been abandoned. The 23-storey office building has been empty since 2016. It was purchased by Edmonton-based Lighthouse Hospitality Inc. last year.
Edmonton-area urban village approved
Alberta’s Strathcona County is moving forward with a major, controversial urban development aimed at one day accommodating nearly 80,000 people. In a 6-3 vote, council approved the Bremner project envisioned for some 20 square kilometres of land northeast of Edmonton.
Plastic bag plant coming to Edmonton business park
A Quebec-based plastic bag manufacturing firm will construct a 50,000-square-foot plant near Edmonton’s airport, which is expected to bring multiple jobs along with it. Polykar plans to construct a facility in the Discovery Business Park.
W. P. Carey acquires two Ontario facilities for $15M
New York-based REIT W. P. Carey Inc. (WPC-N) announced three recent industrial investments totaling approximately $111 million US, including a $15-million sale-leaseback of two industrial facilities in Ontario net leased to Trillium Health Care Products Inc. and totaling 285,000 square feet.
ERES acquires $92.6M Netherlands multifamily
European Residential REIT (ERE-UN-X) has entered into an agreement to acquire a multiresidential portfolio comprising 315 residential suites in 16 properties located in eight regions across the Netherlands. The properties are 100-per-cent owned and the purchase price was $92.6 million Cdn.
$10M to expand Montreal’s Parc Jean-Drapeau
The Amphitheater at Parc Jean-Drapeau, which hosts the CH Group‘s outdoor festivals and shows, has grown from 45,000 seats to 65,000 this summer at a cost of $10 million.
Profitable Montreal properties not easy to find
According to the CMHC, 57 per cent of the condos in newly built towers with more than 300 units were owned by investors. Yet CMHC found three-quarters of those units would be cash-flow negative if buyers made a minimum down payment.
West Kelowna wants out of speculation tax
• CBC
B.C.’s finance minister may be touting the success of the speculation tax, but at a meeting with affected municipalities on Thursday, the mayor of West Kelowna made it clear the city still wants out.
B.C. developers turn to creative incentives
• Globe and Mail (Sub. required)
A developer is taking his marketing approach to an unprecedented level with the offering of a $55,000 Tesla electric car to the buyers of his townhouses. Sean Hodgins, president of New Westminster-based Century Group, came up with the idea to help sell the remaining 10 townhouses at his Viridian project in South Surrey.
Canada’s suburban dream a debt-filled nightmare
• Globe and Mail (Sub. required)
Navin Seepaul is a 29-year-old single dad who makes $30,000 a year as a barber. He owns a $1-million house in Brampton. Each month, the payments on his roughly $700,000 mortgage are $4,300. On top of that, he has $24,000 in credit card debt.
Hospital network commits land to affordable housing
The University Health Network (UHN) in downtown Toronto has committed a plot of land worth nearly $10 million to a unique affordable-housing project designed to ease overcrowding at the network’s two acute-care hospitals.
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