PCI Developments delivering massive Vancouver projects

RENX  Commercial  •  Office  •  Metro Vancouver

At W. Hastings and Seymour in downtown Vancouver, the first few floors of a 25-storey office tower are underway. To the north is a 17-storey, connected tower at 333 Seymour, a dated 1980s office building undergoing a major renovation.

Chartwell Retirement Residences holds firm in crisis

RENX  Residential  •  Seniors Housing  •  British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta, Quebec

Chartwell Retirement Residences (CSH-UN-T) had built plenty of business momentum through the last quarter of 2019 and the first two months of this year before the COVID-19 pandemic brought things to a screeching halt.

Student housing companies expanding despite pandemic

Residential  •  Globe and Mail

Toby Chu, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Vancouver-based CIBT Education Group, has brought 900 beds of rental housing online for students in the Lower Mainland, and he is planning for another 2,400 more.

Mohawk acquires 30,000-sq.-ft. Chicago MOB

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

Toronto-based Mohawk Asset Management Corp., announced the formation of Mohawk Chicago (Portage Park) Opportunity Partners (I) LP and the purchase of the 30,000-square-foot Portage Park Medical Office Building in Chicago. A purchase price was not disclosed.

B of C lowers interest rate again

Commercial  •  CBC

The Bank of Canada has made a second unscheduled cut to its benchmark interest rate, lowering it to 0.25 per cent amid the COVID-19 crisis. The central bank made the announcement in a press release on Friday morning.

Canadian CRE still strong investment play: M&M

Commercial  •  Bisnow  •  Western Investor

Canadian CRE is well-positioned to survive and even thrive beyond a lengthy pandemic, according to a new Canadian coronavirus outbreak assessment from Marcus & Millichap. “A recession is not imminent,” the report states.

The Saskatchewan Edge › 4 ways to show your support for local business

Kelly Macsymic: Business Manager, Stuart Commercial Inc., Sales Associate, ICR Commercial Real Estate

Gatineau tenant fined $1,200 under anti-virus rules

Residential  •  Ottawa Citizen

Gatineau police have issued a city tenant tickets totalling $1,200 plus costs in the city’s first crackdown on large assemblies forbidden under Quebec’s stringent COVID-19 containment measures. The officers determined two of the five people present were not residents.

Will coronavirus change the future workplace?

Commercial  •  REMI Network  •  Commercial Observer

Many companies have been forced to rethink traditional workplace structures in the past few weeks as physical office space quickly morphs into work-from-home situations. The length of time companies will be operating without a dedicated space hinges on COVID-19’s evolution.

A&W asks landlords for two-month rent deferral

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

A&W Canada is asking landlords for a two-month rent deferral, as the COVID-19 pandemic forces restaurants to limit dine-in service or close in an effort to stop the spread of the virus.

REIT/REOC COVID-19 business updates

Commercial  • 

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

Firm Capital Mortgage Investment Corp., (FC-T), Globe Newswire

REIT fourth-quarter financial results

Commercial  • 

Lanesborough REIT, (LRT-UN-X), Canada Newswire

PROREIT, (PRV-UN-T), Canada Newswire

Ontario adopts measures to support bars, restaurants

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire  •  CTV  •  CBC

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) Thursday announced licensed restaurants and bars in Ontario may now sell alcohol with food takeout and delivery orders between the hours of 9 a.m. and 11 p.m.

Beijing’s roads and restaurants grow crowded

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

Scenes unimaginable even a week ago have returned to China’s capital. Crowds of people gathering in restaurants and clustering at a sidewalk fair. A weekend crush of cars in entertainment districts followed by suffocating weekday traffic on commuter routes.

Asian REITs losing defensive lustre

Commercial  •  South China Morning Post

Asian REITS are losing their appeal as a defensive investment amid the coronavirus pandemic that is keeping consumers at home and causing economic activity to pause. Asian REITS have slumped by 43.8 per cent this year through March 19, according to Bloomberg.

AIIB increases public health infra investment

Commercial  •  IPE Real Assets  •  IPE Real Assets

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is planning to ramp up its investment in public health infrastructure to help countries impacted by COVID-19.

GTA’s homebuilders, developers doing their part: BILD

Residential  •  Toronto Star

In difficult times like these, the health and well-being of everyone are of the utmost importance. This includes workers in Ontario’s new home building and renovation industry, and our industry’s customers.

Big banks field 213,000 mortgage deferral requests

Residential  •  Bloomberg  •  Business In Vancouver

More than 213,000 requests to defer or skip payments have been completed or are being processed since the country’s six largest banks announced the plan last week, according to Mathieu Labreche, a spokesman for the Canadian Bankers Association.

Sharp drop in Canadians searching for homes

Residential  •  Toronto Star

Canadians’ interest in searching for houses online is waning amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to real estate portal Point2 Homes. Canadian home searches on the website were 38 per cent lower on March 23 compared to March 5.

U.S. mortgage rates drop

Residential  •  Globe Newswire

Freddie Mac‘s (FMCC) Primary Mortgage Market Survey show the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.50 per cent on Thursday. That is down from last week when it averaged 3.65 per cent. A year ago at this time, it averaged 4.06 per cent.