Cominar ‘in transformation’, plans major developments

RENX  Commercial  •  Office, Industrial, Homes, Retail  •  Greater Montreal, Quebec City

Cominar REIT (CUF-UN-T) plans to add as many as 1,800 residential units to its largest property, Gare Centrale (Central Station) in downtown Montreal. Central Station is one of 10 Cominar properties in Quebec which offer intensification opportunities for up to 10,000 residential units.

ULI/PwC survey: Emerging Trends in Real Estate

RENX  Commercial  •  Hotels and Resorts, Seniors Housing, Office, Industrial, Homes, Retail  •  National, International

If your CRE holdings “solve a problem,” they’ll continue to experience strong demand according to the Urban Land Institute and PwC’s 41st Emerging Trends in Real Estate report. The survey drew responses from over 2,250 North American industry leaders.

Moody Centre developers ‘blindsided’ by mayor

Residential, Commercial  •  Tri-City News

A consortium of developers and property owners says it has been “blindsided” by Port Moody Mayor Rob Vagramov’s motion that would stymie its preliminary plans to transform 23 acres of light industrial and commercial property into a dense, mixed-use urban neighbourhood.

Summit to buy $588M Alberta industrial portfolio

RENX  Commercial  •  Land, Industrial  •  Alberta, Calgary, Edmonton

Summit Industrial Income REIT (SMU-UN-T) plans to purchase an “institutional-quality” portfolio of 37 light industrial properties in Alberta, comprising more than 3.3 million square feet, for $588 million. Of the total, 22 properties are in Edmonton, 14 in Calgary and one in Grande Prairie.

Two new Winnipeg rental developments in works

Residential  •  Winnipeg Free Press

Twenty years after it was conceived, the completion of a Waterfront Drive development in Winnipeg could be at hand. Calgary’s RNDSQR (Round Square) recently acquired two properties and intend to build more than 300 rental apartments split between the two sites.

Sidewalk Labs planners eye more real estate

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  RENX

Google affiliate Sidewalk Labs’ “smart city” proposal for Toronto’s waterfront could hinge on its supplementary request for control of a 20-acre plot that would surround the tech giant’s relocated Canadian headquarters.

Sponsored by First National Financial LP The Wedgbury report: trends in Canadian commercial real estate finance

Jeremy Wedgbury, Senior Vice President, Commercial Mortgages at First National Financial, and a financing industry veteran, leads a team serving many of Canada’s largest real estate developers and owners. As such, he’s uniquely positioned to comment on commercial property trends.

Crombie closes $193.3M portfolio partial disposition

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX

Crombie REIT (CRR-UN-T) announced it has completed the sale of an 89 per cent non-managing interest in a 15-property portfolio to an affiliate of Oak Street Real Estate Capital, LLC for $193.3 million.

First Capital board approves REIT conversion

Residential, Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX

First Capital Realty (FCR-T), one of Canada’s leading developers, owners and operators of mixed-used urban real estate in Canada’s most densely populated centres, announced its Board of Directors has unanimously approved the reorganization of the company into First Capital REIT.

London aims to convert parking lot

Commercial  •  CBC  •  Winnipeg Free Press

Staff in London’s planning department will issue a request for proposals with the goal of partnering with a private developer to turn a half-acre  surface parking lot into a development that will include a municipal parking garage.

Sleep Country Canada winning mattress wars

Commercial  •  Toronto Star

Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc. (ZZZ-T) is one of the best-known mattress chains in the country — but recent changes in the market have been enough to cause it a few sleepless nights.

Sobeys’ parent signs Olympic sponsorship deal

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  Canadian Grocer  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

When Michael Medline was appointed CEO of Empire Co. (EMP-A-T) in 2017, he already had an Olympic sponsorship on his mind. During his time at Canadian Tire Co., he had seen the impact the marketing partnership had made on the brand.

Procurement policies risk ‘hollowing out’ sector: CCA

Commercial  •  Daily Commercial News  •  Daily Commercial News

Anticipated growth of mega-projects could polarize the construction industry into large general contractors and small subcontractors, with little room in the market for mid-size firms, warns a new report on trends impacting the sector released by the Canadian Construction Association.

Blackstone sells $3B logistics portfolio

Commercial  •  CP Executive  •  Business Wire

Nuveen Real Estate has added to this year’s string of logistics mega-deals by acquiring a 29-million-square-foot portfolio of U.S. industrial properties from Blackstone. The portfolio, valued at $3 billion, consists of more than 100 bulk logistics, light industrial and urban infill properties.

Brookfield in talks to sell Florida resort

Commercial  •  Financial Post

An Brookfield Asset Management (BAM-A-T) affiliate is in talks to sell the Diplomat Beach Resort, a 1,000-room hotel in Hollywood, Fla., to real estate developer Jeff Soffer, according to sources.

AY acquires Phoenix-based Strategic Retail Group

Commercial  •  PR Newswire

Mark E. Rose, chair and CEO, announced Avison Young has acquired Phoenix-based Strategic Retail Group (SRG). The purchase establishes Avison Young’s retail brokerage practice in Arizona and complements the firm’s existing retail property management services in the state.

Residential high-rises eyed for Delta commercial area

Residential  •  Western Investor

A largely commercial and industrial area of Delta, B.C., could soon transform with mixed-use residential high-rises. A public information meeting will take place at the Sungod Recreation Centre for residents to see what’s being considered for the so-called Townline neighbourhood.

Daniels Corporation provides 10 homes to Habitat for Humanity

Residential  •  Globe Newswire  •  Toronto Star  •  RENX

To mark World Habitat Day, The Daniels Corporation announced it is providing 10 homes to Habitat for Humanity to help create more immediate opportunities to deliver affordable housing in Toronto and the GTA.

Strategic’s Edmonton office tower reopens as apartments

Residential, Commercial  •  Edmonton Journal  •  RENX

A real-estate project repurposing a large, vacant downtown Edmonton office building to a 177-unit residential suite celebrated its official opening Monday morning. Calgary-based Strategic Group converted the aging Harley Court office building into a collection of one- and two-bedroom units.

Edmonton among Canada’s most affordable markets

Residential  •  Edmonton Journal  •  Calgary Herald

Edmonton’s benchmark home price puts the city among the most affordable real estate markets in Canada, a study shows. Realty firm Zoocasa conducted an analysis of median incomes across 15 major markets in Canada, comparing them with the benchmark home price.