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Choice Properties reaps benefit of Loblaw connection

4 years ago

Choice Properties REIT  (CHP-UN-T) has an “enviable position” among retail-based property owners and operators, president and CEO Rail Diamond told analysts during the trust’s Q1 2020 financial results conference call Thursday.

The assembly of detached housing lots has become the norm for Vancouver developers looking to do multifamily residential projects. However, one challenge with land assemblies is the premium which is often paid for the land.

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PC Urban, whose portfolio spans residential, office, retail and industrial properties, has six B.C. projects under construction. They include two multifamily buildings in Kelowna and Port Moody; a 23-unit townhome complex in North Vancouver; and three IntraUrban light industrial developments.

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PM Justin Trudeau announced significant rent relief for businesses that can’t afford to pay their landlords. The federal help, expected to lower rent by 75 per cent for affected small businesses, will be provided in partnership with the provinces and territories.

Romspen Commercial Lending

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CMLS Financial, one of Canada’s largest, independently owned mortgage services companies, has released its latest Commercial Mortgage Commentary, an in-depth analysis of the commercial mortgage market in Canada.

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Allied Properties REIT and Great Gulf have been granted zoning approval by Toronto City Council to build a new office, condominium, and retail complex at 540 King West. Initially submitted for rezoning in early 2018, the project evolved in 2019.

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The federal government plans to significantly increase the number of civil servants working in a Gatineau office complex following a major rehabilitation of the aging building in the coming years, according to a National Capital Commission report.

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Ottawa’s National Capital Commission is putting a call for proposals to develop a portion of LeBreton Flats on hold due to COVID-19, the agency said Thursday. The NCC owns the 55-acre parcel of land just west of the downtown core.

Energy Profiles

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Alexandre L’Heureux, CEO of WSP Global Inc., (WSP-T), Canada’s biggest engineering firm, is expressing doubts about how quickly governments around the world will be able to get new infrastructure projects off the ground to power an economic recovery.

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Canada’s cities are asking for at least $10 billion in emergency funding from the federal government, warning they are running short of money to keep essential services going. Toronto and Montreal mayors warned their cities could not cope on their own.

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CRE clusters in urban cores represent 10s of billions in investments. The underlying assumption has been that the physical location of a firm’s offices is instrumental to its success. COVID-19 has changed that.

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Dentist offices, hairdressers, golf courses and retail stores could be allowed to reopen starting in May under Saskatchewan’s plan to refire parts of its economy during the COVID-19 crisis. The five-phase plan was presented Thursday.

REF Webinar - Office market

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Institutional investors and developers based in Mainland China are expected to not only slow down their outbound investment into overseas real estate markets, but increase their dispositions, especially with the economic uncertainty arising from COVID-19.

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Bell Partners has so far raised $950 million for its latest U.S. value-add apartment fund according to the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation Board (BWC).

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“We think that, for the industrial sector, any short-term gain from an increase in online shopping will be outweighed by the plunge in demand and subsequent collapse in global trade,” Capital Economics says.

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A once-bustling bar and grill tucked below a Michigan Avenue overpass famously inspired a “Saturday Night Live” skit starring John Belushi and Bill Murray. However, the money the Billy Goat Tavern is losing during the coronavirus outbreak is no joke.

Trez Capital

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When businesses began temporarily closing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, several tenants in David Cinelli’s two rental properties lost income. The Toronto-based realtor and landlord reached out to his tenants, offering rent deferrals or partial payments to those struggling financially.

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The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers‘ (QPAREB) market statistics indicate 27,817 Quebec residential transactions were concluded in Q1 2020, an 18 per cent increase year-over-year and the 23rd consecutive quarterly increase in sales.

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New-construction home sales were heading into what should have been a roaring year, with the second strongest March in 20 years. David Wilkes, CEO of Building Industry and Land Development Association, said he expects April will tell a far different story.

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A North Vancouver house where Group of Seven artist Frederick Varley (1881-1969) lived and painted in is for sale at $799,000. The house went on the market Wednesday, said Matt Council, one of four realtors on the Rossetti team selling the property.

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