Tower 2 breaks ground at CIBC Square in Toronto

RENX  Commercial  •  Office  •  Toronto / GTA

The 1.5-million square foot second tower at CIBC Square in downtown Toronto has broken ground, scheduled for completion in 2024. The 50-storey tower at 141 Bay Street will complement the first tower, a 49-storey building in the final phase of construction.

Development continues to expand Markham Centre

RENX  Commercial  •  Apartments, Condominiums, Homes, Infrastructure  •  Toronto / GTA

Markham Centre was largely agricultural land 40 years ago. Today, it’s the focal point of a city directly north of Toronto with more than 350,000 residents and over 11,000 businesses.

Sanofi, governments unveil $925M T.O. vaccine facility

Commercial  •  CBC  •  Canada Newswire  •  Toronto Star

Sanofi Pasteur Ltd. will invest more than $455 million in addition to $470 million in federal and Ontario government funding to build a new $925 million vaccine manufacturing facility at its existing site in Toronto.

Choice, Daniels plan 3 towers in Phase 1 at Golden Mile

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

More than four years after Choice Properties Real Estate Investment (CHP-UN-T) unveiled a plan to redevelop Scarborough’s 19-acre Golden Mile Shopping Centre, it has revealed its next steps along with partner The Daniels Corporation.

Private investor sought for T.O.’s Billy Bishop airport

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

PortsToronto is looking for a private-sector investor to operate the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport under lease as the industry continues to struggle from the impact of COVID-19. PortsToronto would retain oversight of the airport.

The micro-retail opportunity, coming to a city near you

Bronwyn Scrivens: Associate, Industrial, Omada Commercial

RioCan’s new CEO is betting on a big-city comeback

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

Jonathan Gitlin, who takes over as CEO Thursday, has RioCan REIT (REI-UN-T) doubling down on its portfolio of urban shopping centres and apartment buildings, getting ready for a tide of residents to return to major cities after the pandemic subsides.

Oxford’s $2.5B T.O. proposal not well-received: Councillor

Residential, Commercial  •  Toronto Star  •  RENX

Toronto city councillor Josh Matlow says his residents want a do-over on Oxford Properties Group and CT REIT‘s $2.5-billion redevelopment proposal on the Canada Square site at the southwest corner of Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue.

Retail lays foundation for major B.C. developments

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver

Bricks-and-mortar retail is now the foundation for the biggest developments and more than $600 million in investments in B.C., a year after the start of a pandemic that was forecast to drive the final nail into the coffin of storefront shopping.

McCormick announces London facility expansion

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  CTV

McCormick Canada announced a multi-million-dollar expansion, transitioning the blending, bottling and packaging of French’s Ketchup from a third-party Canadian supplier to in-house production at its London, Ont., manufacturing facility, with full production ramping up this week.

Dollarama hikes dividend, plans 70 new stores this year

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

Dollarama Inc.’s (DOL-T) sales were flat and profit declined slightly during the holiday season. However, Dollarama said sales had improved in the current quarter and that it plans to open 60 to 70 stores for this fiscal year.

Teachers’ RE operating income down 30% YOY

Commercial  •  Bloomberg  •  Financial Post

Operating income for Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan‘s real estate portfolio was $800 million in 2020, a decrease of 30 per cent year-over-year, following rent abatements and lower occupancy. The problems in Canadian malls have pushed real estate losses to $4.1 billion for the year.

HOOPP eyes overseas office as it surpasses $100B in assets

Commercial  •  Financial Post  •  Globe Newswire

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan surpassed $100 billion in assets in 2020. CEO Jeff Wendling said HOOPP is shopping for an overseas office, possibly in Singapore, an expansion that would put it in the company of some of Canada’s largest pension funds.

CPP selling GlobalLogic stake to Hitachi for $3.8B

Commercial  •  Toronto Star  •  Canada Newswire

CPP Investments has signed a deal to sell its 45 per cent stake in GlobalLogic Worldwide Holdings, the parent company of GlobalLogic Inc., to Hitachi Ltd. The pension fund manager says it expects US$3.8 billion in net proceeds from the sale.

BSR acquiring 1,009 Texas residential units for $195M

Residential  •  Canada Newswire

BSR REIT (HOM-U-T) is acquiring a portfolio of three garden-style communities in its core Texas markets for total consideration of $195 million. The REIT is satisfying 100% of the purchase price for the portfolio through its existing credit facility.

5G poised to reshape data centre development

Commercial  •  Bisnow

The expansion of 5G networks is likely to significantly expand opportunities for data centre builders, particularly in areas outside of dense, first-tier markets. Technology experts are expecting 5G to help generate a bumper crop of connected devices, including industrial applications.

Market challenges not deterring Van. rental projects

Residential  •  Business In Vancouver

As of February, 768 new rental apartments had started construction in Metro Vancouver, up 34 per cent year-over-year and adding to the 5,207 units that broke ground in 2020, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC).

Taggart revives plan for nine-storey Ottawa apt. complex

Residential  •  Ottawa Business Journal  •  RENX

Taggart Realty Management has resurrected a plan to build a nine-storey apartment complex at 93 Norman Ave. in Ottawa’s Little Italy. The Roderick Lahey Architects-designed plan currently calls for 127 rental apartments in a mix of studio, bachelor, one- and two-bedroom units.

Policymakers must ‘douse the fire’ on housing prices: BMO

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

With home prices spiking across the country and houses selling well over asking prices, BMO’s (BMO-T) economic team said policymakers need to take action to immediately break “market psychology and the belief that prices will only rise further.”

Housing, farmland have outpaced inflation since 2020

Residential  •  National Post

From 2000 to 2020, the cumulative inflation change was 39 per cent compared to a change and increase of 51.8 per cent to the new housing price index. In the same period, the cumulative farmland value appreciation was 168.4 per cent.