Oxford, CPP selling T.O. Royal Bank Plaza for $1.2B-plus

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

Amancio Ortega, the billionaire behind the Zara clothing chain, has agreed to buy Toronto’s Royal Bank Plaza skyscraper from Oxford Properties and CPP Investments for about $1.2 billion.

BTB acquires Ottawa Lansdowne Park office buildings

RENX  Commercial  •  Office  •  Ottawa

BTB Real Estate Investment Trust (BTB-UN-T) has invested $38.1 million to buy two class-A office buildings in Ottawa adjacent to Lansdowne Park and  TD Place Stadium, home of the CFL’s Redblacks.

Mission Group unveils plans for three Kelowna towers

Residential, Commercial  •  Western Investor

Kelowna’s Mission Group has unveiled plans for its portion of a large three-tower downtown development in partnership with the University of British Columbia Okanagan. Mission proposes a 16-storey commercial building and 30-storey residential tower to complement the university’s 34-storey building.

The People Space › People Space: Changes at Slate, new faces at AY, RISE, Sienna…

Don Wilcox: Managing Editor

Republic proposes 14-storey T.O. mixed-use

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

Republic Developments has proposed a 14-storey mixed-use building with 314 residential units and 1,112 square feet of retail space at 111 Strachan Ave., just west of downtown Toronto. The IBI Group-designed building would include 28 studios, 69 one-bedrooms, 104 one-bedroom-plus-dens, 84 two-bedrooms and 29 three-bedrooms.

Southpark Edmonton’s first LEED Gold multires project

Residential  •  Sustainable Biz Canada

Real estate investment firm One Properties announced its Southpark on Whyte in Edmonton has become the city’s first LEED Gold-certified multiresidential development. The project was developed in partnership with Edmonton-based Wheaton Properties.

The Industrial Real Estate Show › Podcast: NAI Global CEO Jay Olshonsky with host Chad Griffiths

Chad Griffiths: Partner, NAI Commercial

Calgary council votes to pursue new arena deal

Commercial  •  CBC  •  Calgary Herald  •  Canadian Grocer

Calgary city council voted unanimously Wednesday to keep working on a new event centre while directing administration to determine whether the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation would be interested in re-entering discussions.

CRE investors have life sciences on their radar

Commercial  •  Toronto Storeys  •  RENX  •  RENX

The life sciences sector is increasingly popular with investors, and while the emergent asset class has limitations in Canada that don’t exist in the U.S., its relative nascence means there won’t be a better time to invest than the present.

Supply Chain to impact Canadian retailers in 2022

Commercial  •  Retail Insider  •  Canada Newswire

The most unprecedented issue for retailers in 2021 was the swift onset of supply chain challenges at almost every node of the system, faced by manufacturers and retailers around the world, according to the Retail Council of Canada.

Reitmans emerges from restructuring proceedings

Commercial  •  Toronto Star  •  Canada Newswire

Reitmans (Canada) Ltd. (RET-X) says it has paid creditors $95 million as it exits creditor protection after about 20 months. The Montreal-based company says it has paid court-appointed monitor Ernst & Young to distribute funds to creditors according to the plan of arrangement.

CT REIT to issue $250M in debentures

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX

CT REIT (CRT-UN-T) has agreed to issue, on a private placement basis in each of Canada’s provinces, $250 million aggregate principal amount of series H senior unsecured debentures with a seven-year term and a coupon of 3.029 per cent per annum.

Global data centre deals hit $47B

Commercial  •  Bisnow

Investors undertook a record $47.1 billion in data centre deals in 2021, up from $34.5 billion the year before and more than triple the total of $14.9 billion in 2019, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing Synergy Research Group data.

Workers consider quitting, instead of returning to office

Commercial  •  Financial Post

Workers grew more uncomfortable about heading back to the office in the first week of the year and were much more likely to consider quitting if their employer demanded they return, a sign that companies’ efforts to get people back amid rising COVID caseloads face stiff resistance.

WeWork announces strong December sales results

Commercial  •  Business Wire

WeWork Inc. (WE-N) announced preliminary sales results for December, demonstrating continued strong demand for flexible space despite a challenging macro environment. Sequential growth underscores the priority businesses are placing on solutions enabling more flexible and hybrid work models.

Brookfield completes 1.8M-sq.-ft. L.A. mixed-use

Residential, Commercial  •  CP Executive

The California Market Center in downtown Los Angeles has fully opened, with its second phase complete. Brookfield Properties announced it has finished the $250 million mixed-use project after three years and signed athletic wear giant Adidas as anchor tenant.

Quebecers flee urban centres in record numbers

Residential  •  Montreal Gazette  •  La Presse

A report, compiled by the Institut de la statistique du Québec, shows that between July 1, 2020 and July 1, 2021, a record 232,000 Quebecers moved from major urban centres to different regions, a increase of 19 per cent compared with the same period between 2019 and 2020.

Quebec housing repossession demands surge

Residential  •  Montreal Gazette

Before Christmas, some renters in Quebec got more than holiday cards in the mail. They also got notices from their landlords that they intend to retake possession of their homes.

Ontario has Canada’s lowest housing stock

Residential  •  Global News

Ontario is the worst offender among Canadian provinces when it comes to the lack of sufficient housing stock, says a new analysis from Scotiabank Economics, which shows that Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba are the only provinces below the national average.

Finance committee to hold hearings on prices

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

The House of Commons finance committee has agreed to hold hearings into the causes of high inflation, a move that will keep soaring real estate prices at the top of the political agenda heading into the next sitting of Parliament.