Fiera Properties continues buying assets ‘coast to coast’

RENX  Commercial  •  Office, Apartments, Industrial, Investment, Retail  •  National

Fiera Properties Ltd. (FSZ-T) set a record for investment volumes last year, and is off to a fast start in 2019 with the acquisition of a 13-building office portfolio in Richmond, B.C. “We’re acquiring assets from coast to coast,” said Blair McCreadie.

BCI, RBC, Quadreal partner on record $7B fund portfolio

RENX  Commercial  •  Investment  •  National, British Columbia

UPDATED: British Columbia Investment Management Corporation will move over 40 Canadian real estate assets into a $7B fund in partnership with RBC Global Asset Management Inc. and Quadreal Property Group. The partnership, says RBC’s Michael Kitt, is the largest CRE transaction in Canadian history.

Asset giants join forces; Brookfield buys 62% of Oaktree

Commercial  •  IPE Real Assets  •  Bloomberg  •  Reuters

Brookfield Asset Management (BAM-A-T) is acquiring 62 per cent of Oaktree Capital Group, bringing together two companies managing more than $300 billion US in real assets between them. Brookfield is the world’s largest real estate investment manager and second-largest infrastructure fund manager.

Calgary’s BMO Centre to double in size

Commercial  •  CBC  •  Calgary Herald

The BMO Centre in Calgary’s Stampede Park is set to double in size after the federal government committed $166.6 million toward the project Tuesday. The $500-million expansion would bring it to more than one million square feet.

Vancouver retailers to be displaced by 12-storey tower

Commercial  •  Global News

The block of Robson Street between Granville and Seymour Streets is home to one of the last single-storey CRE properties in downtown Vancouver — but not for much longer. Bonnis Properties intends to tear it down for a 12-storey office block.

Reviews positive for Westbank’s S-shaped office building

Commercial  •  Vancouver Courier

Reaction to Westbank’s proposal to build a distinctive Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)-designed office building adjacent to BC Place stadium appeared largely positive at an open house. The project involves a site at 720 Beatty St., which Westbank purchased for $32 million in 2014.

Old banks reawaken as places to sleep

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

In earlier days, the most opulent building in many towns was likely to be a bank. Today, many of those beautiful edifices are still standing, but rather than places for your money, they’re open for you to stay.

Omar Khadr buys Edmonton strip mall

Commercial  •  Ottawa Citizen

Even as American families affected by casualties in Afghanistan seek a share of the $10-million settlement the Canadian federal government paid Omar Khadr, the former Guantanamo Bay prisoner used $3 million to buy a strip mall in Edmonton in November.

Alphabet looks to Hudson Yards model for Waterfront

Commercial  •  Bloomberg  •  RENX

The urban innovation unit of Alphabet Inc. may take a page from the Hudson Yards development in New York to help finance a futuristic urban hub on 800 acres of derelict land along Toronto’s waterfront.

Donnelly Group to launch nine-store cannabis chain

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver

Longtime pub operator Jeff Donnelly plans to launch a chain of nine cannabis stores – eight in B.C. and one in Ottawa – branded Hobo Recreational Cannabis, which he expects to open in quick succession starting in April.

MIPIM: Real estate investors debate future of asset class

Commercial  •  IPE Real Assets

Topics touched on at the MIPIM RE-Invest summit in Cannes, France on Tuesday centred around deals, pricing, e-commerce, climate change, new ways of living and how real estate should adapt as well as environmental, social and governance (ESG).

German CRE lenders exposed to no-deal Brexit: Moody’s

Commercial  •  Reuters  •  Bloomberg

Three of Germany’s five largest commercial real estate lenders have substantial exposure to the British market and could be hit hard by a no-deal Brexit scenario, Moody’s Investors Service said on Tuesday.

CRE execs arrested in U.S. universities bribery scheme

Commercial  •  Bisnow

CEOs and presidents of major real estate and development companies were among the more than two dozen prominent and well-heeled parents involved in a massive $25 million bribery scheme involving some of the U.S.’ most elite universities.

CoStar alleges illegal access, copyright infringement

Commercial  •  The Real Deal

CoStar Group filed two copyright infringement lawsuits against firms it claims repurposed its data and illegally shared subscriptions. The $17 billion real estate data giant has filed dozens of lawsuits against firms it has accused of copyright infringement.

Blackstone-backed Embassy becomes India’s first REIT

Commercial  •  Bloomberg  •  IPE Real Assets

REIT financial results:

Commercial  • 

BTB REIT, (BTB-UN-T), Canada Newswire

Burlington’s new push for housing density

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

“Density” is applied to housing construction with the disdain of a four-letter word. However, most will agree there is an affordability crisis and that one of the ways to address it is to find ways to build more supply.

Vancouver residential land prices may have already peaked

Residential  •  Western Investor

Take a good look at the prices paid for residential development land in Metro Vancouver last year, as Colliers International did in its annual LandShare Report, because it could be a while before you see them any higher.

Non-residents own more than 7% of Toronto condo units

Residential  •  Newinhomes.com  •  Globe and Mail  •  CBC

A new housing report shows the rate of non-residents owning Toronto Census Metropolitan Area condos is 7.6 per cent. Just over six per cent of overall Ontario condo units have at least one non-resident owner.

Canada home prices suffer worst February since crisis

Residential  •  Reuters

Canadian home prices fell in February for the fifth straight month as most major markets weakened, data showed on Wednesday. Except for 2009’s global financial crisis, the decline was the largest for February in 19 years of index history.