RioCan leverages Ottawa retail redevelopment pipeline

RENX  Residential, Commercial  •  Apartments, Retail  •  Ottawa

The focus of RioCan REIT’s (REI-UN-T) portfolio transformation is in Toronto and Calgary. Some of that attention could soon shift to Ottawa where one project is in the ground and three others currently planned.

Graywood plans expansions into apartment sector, new cities

RENX  Residential  •  Condominiums, Apartments  •  Calgary, Toronto / GTA

Graywood Developments is currently focused on an extensive list of condo developments in Toronto and Calgary. However, the company is laying the groundwork to broaden its horizons, both into a new sector and at least one new geographic market.

ALR cannabis rules spark boom in conversions

Commercial  •  Vancouver Sun

Agricultural Land Reserve rules enacted last summer making it much tougher to build new greenhouses specifically for cannabis have fueled a boom in commercial greenhouse conversions in B.C.’s Lower Mainland. At least 5.2 million square feet is being converted.

Four facts about industrial property markets: Colliers

Commercial  •  Financial Post  •  RENX

Peter Garrigan has been in the CRE business for about 15 years, and in that time, there hasn’t been an economic event to substantially slap down the national industrial market — and he doesn’t expect such an event is coming soon.

Vancouver CRE prices won’t fall like residential

Residential, Commercial  •  Vancouver Sun

Metro Vancouver’s commercial property market won’t experience the same drop in prices as in the local residential market, says Jim Costello, a senior-vice president with Real Capital Analytics, which has offices in Singapore, London, New York and San Jose.

Three-tower community coming to Vaughan

Residential  •  Urban Toronto  •  RENX

A multi-tower project dubbed The Thornhill promises to add hundreds of new condo units to Vaughan. The Daniels Corporation and Baif Developments filed for Site Plan Approval with Vaughan Planning in March, and a project website is now live.

Solar panels help retailers tap into savings

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  RENX

Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre has 35 acres of flat roof area that’s wide open to all-day sun. For owner and operator Oxford Properties, there was no better place to install and test a massive, 20,000-square-foot solar array.

Jumbo Glacier Resort back on ice

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver  •  Globe and Mail

East Kootenay’s Jumbo Glacier Resort is back on ice after B.C.’s top court ruled the minister of environment was correct in pulling the environmental approval for the massive project because it was not substantially started.

CMLS releases Q2 commercial mortgage commentary

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire

CMLS Financial’s August commentary looks at a RioCan REIT’s plans to pursue lower cost CMHC-backed debt financing, the latest moves in commercial mortgage spreads as we hit the halfway mark of 2019, a new CMBS issuance in June, and more.

Holloway sells two N.S. hotels for $8.1M

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX

Holloway Lodging Corp. (HLC-T) announced it has sold the Travelodge hotel in Sydney, N.S., for $5.1 million, and its leasehold interest in the Super 8 hotel in Truro, N.S, for $3.0 million.

H&R one of the best REITs in Canada

Commercial  •  Motley Fool

I spend a lot of time studying Canada’s top REITs and I believe H&R REIT (HR-UN-T) is one of the few in Canada that offers high-quality management, steady growth, a safe dividend and quality assets.

REIT second-quarter financial results

Commercial  • 

BSR REIT, (HOM-U-T), Canada Newswire

Dream Industrial REIT, (DIR-UN-T), Globe Newswire

ERES REIT, (ERE-UN-X), Globe Newswire

Slate Office REIT, (SOT-UN-T), Business Wire

Ten iconic Canadian buildings we’ve lost

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

Places matter. Buildings matter. But which ones? Which ones are worth keeping, and which ones are we sorry to have lost? Today, that conversation is more complicated. For one thing, “heritage” has a broader meaning.

SNC-Lavalin proceeding with highway sale

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  Financial Post  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

SNC-Lavalin (SNC-T) will be proceeding with closing the $3.25-billion sale of the 10.01% stake in 407 International Inc. with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board following the dismissal by the Ontario Superior Court, Commercial List of the application by Cintra Global S.E.

Best time in a generation to buy U.S. CRE

Commercial  •  Forbes

Regardless of the economic climate, arguments can always be made for why small business owners should purchase their commercial properties. With a steadily growing economy and historically low interest rates, reasons to buy rather than rent are incredibly compelling now.

U.S. office property pipeline strong: Yardi

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

Strong demand for U.S. office space and “a supply pipeline that shows no sign of slowing down” is boosting average asking rents and lowering vacancy rates, according to a new report from Yardi Matrix.

Grassroots group pushes for more T.O. density

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Toronto Star

As the city of Toronto moves ahead with plans to develop affordable housing on 11 city-owned land parcels, the Housing Now TO organization is warning three of the four initial site proposals are not sufficiently dense to make financial sense.

Housing flashing ‘encouraging signs’: Home Capital

Residential  •  Vancouver Sun  •  Victoria Times Colonist

Home Capital (HCG-T) president and CEO Yousry Bissada says the housing market has been flashing positive signals recently, particularly in the Greater Toronto Area. “Sales activity is picking up, with particular strength in the GTA,” Bissada said Wednesday morning.

Montreal records 53rd straight monthly sales increase

Residential  •  Globe Newswire

In total, 3,698 residential sales were concluded in July, a 16 per cent year-over-year jump and a record for a month of July.  Furthermore, this was the 53rd consecutive monthly increase in residential sales in the Montreal area.

Condo complex hires investigator to catch illegal Airbnbs

Residential  •  Montreal Gazette  •  CBC

In early June, “Catherine” made her way to a downtown Montreal condo complex and waited for the man who was supposed to meet her there with the keys. She had rented out a unit in the building on Airbnb.