Development financing flows despite virus: Canada ICI

RENX  Residential, Commercial  •  Condominiums, Investment  •  National

Canada ICI Capital Corporation was established by Dale Klein in 1993 as a boutique mortgage origination firm and has funded transactions worth more than $20 billion. However, until recently it had never brokered a major loan amid a global pandemic.

Slate launches $500M fund to aid real estate firms

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

Toronto-based Slate Asset Management has launched a $500-million real estate fund to provide liquidity to firms affected by Covid-19. Slate will provide equity to stabilize companies’ balance sheets and will use bridge financing to assist borrowers on acquisitions and refinancings.

Ontario issues special orders to approve developments

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government has issued a series of special orders to approve a handful of plans from prominent Toronto-area developers and quash any potential opposition, saying the projects are needed to help the economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design, Policy and Canadian Cities › Ottawa following tired path in expanding urban boundaries

Naama Blonder: Architect, Urban Designer, Urban Planner | B.Arch, OAA, RPP, MCIP

First Capital plans Merivale Mall makeover

Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal

Merivale Mall owner First Capital Realty is planning a significant makeover of the shopping plaza that includes a mixed-use high-rise as the first step in a long-term strategy. First Capital Realty says it wants to construct at least two buildings.

CPP adds $17B to assets despite pandemic

Commercial  •  CBC  •  Financial Post  •  Bloomberg

The Canada Pension Plan earned a return of 3.1 per cent during the financial year ended March 31, the board reported Tuesday. Net assets for Canada’s national pension plan totaled $409.6 billion as of the end of March, up from $392 billion year-over-year.

‘We’re the rebel army to Amazon’: Shopify’s Lutke

Commercial  •  Financial Post  •  BC Business

For Tobias Lutke, the road to e-commerce billionairedom was paved by a childhood gift from his parents. The Shopify (SHOP-T) founder was six when he received an Amstrad CPC computer. Video games were scarce, so he started building his own.

Couche-Tard CEO sees more future takeovers

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Financial Post  •  Winnipeg Free Press

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (ATD-B-T) says the novel coronavirus pandemic will open up new takeover opportunities and accelerate its plans to introduce touchless technology as the Canadian convenience store giant grapples with rapidly shifting industry dynamics.

COVID-19 CRE rent aid to cost $520M: PBO

Commercial  •  Toronto Star

Parliament’s spending watchdog estimates a federal program aimed at giving small businesses a break on their rent could cost the public purse $520 million this fiscal year. Property owners with up to 10 eligible tenants were able to apply Monday and Tuesday.

Building permits post biggest monthly slump since 2008

Residential, Commercial  •  Reuters

The value of Canadian building permits slumped by 17.1 per cent in April, the largest decline recorded since October 2008, Statistics Canada said on Wednesday, as the coronavirus pandemic caused officials to shutter non-essential construction in parts of Canada.

Senior care stocks fall as Ontario threatens takeover

Residential  •  Bloomberg  •  Globe Newswire  •  CBC

Shares of Extendicare (EXE-T) and Sienna Senior Living (SIA-T) fell 1.3 and 0.7 per cent, respectively, after Premier Doug Ford said Ontario will consider all options for the future of the province’s long-term care homes, including taking over and operating them.

REIT/REOC COVID-19 business updates

Commercial  • 

Artis REIT, (AX-UN-T), Canada Newswire

ViveRE Communities Inc., (VCOM-X), Canada Newswire

Cannabis-growing facilities for sale across B.C.

Commercial  •  Vancouver Sun

Large cannabis-growing facilities are up for sale in communities across the province as the industry comes to grips with slower-than-expected sales of government-sanctioned cannabis products. An 18,000-square-foot cannabis cultivation and processing facility on 40 acres in Lumby is listed at $7.25 million.

WeWork could falter: Vornado president

Commercial  •  Business Insider

Troubled coworking giant WeWork could falter in the next few years as its costs spiral and the coronavirus pandemic upends its business model, Michael Franco, the president of Vornado Realty Trust (VNO-N), said on the group’s first-quarter earnings call.

Allianz Real Estate invests $212M in Milan office

Commercial  •  IPE Real Assets  •  Mingtiandi

Allianz Real Estate has invested $212 million Cdn to buy three office buildings from Crédit Agricole Italia. The $111 billion real estate manager said the sale and leaseback acquisition was made on behalf of several Allianz group insurance companies.

Europe’s luxury shops struggle to reopen in style

Commercial  •  Reuters

As European luxury shopping capitals from Paris to Milan slowly emerge from coronavirus lockdowns, stores are reopening to a trickle of customers, and virtually no tourists. The absence of big-spending travellers is a major drag on sales.

Is Airbnb’s slump a golden opportunity for rental?

Residential  •  Globe and Mail

Since the Coronavirus pandemic began, Vancouver bookings have sufficiently slowed that several short-term rentals appear to be finding their way into the long-term rental market, popping up on Craigslist and other rental sites.

Claridge Homes exec has high hopes for Ottawa

Residential  •  Ottawa Business Journal  •  Ottawa Business Journal

As it continues to add to a string of planned new multi-unit developments near transit and retail hubs, Claridge Homes says it remains confident that the capital’s housing market will hit the ground running once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.

Renters discover new leverage during pandemic

Residential  •  Globe and Mail

As restrictions on evictions during the novel coronavirus pandemic extend into their third month, some Ontario home buyers and sellers are discovering renters have incredible leverage over the fate of transactions, and some are willing to wield it.

GTA new home market set new April low: BILD

Residential  •  Globe Newswire  •  Urban Toronto  •  Daily Hive

The GTA new home market saw record low new home sales numbers in April, the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) announced. It was the lowest April for total new home sales since Altus Group started tracking in 2000.