Amazon to build new Hamilton, Ajax fulfillment centres

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial  •  Ontario, Toronto / GTA

E-commerce giant Amazon plans to add two new fulfillment centres and five last-mile “delivery stations” across the Greater Toronto and Greater Golden Horseshoe areas, the company announced Wednesday morning.

Armin Martens lays out case for Artis Retail REIT

RENX  Commercial  •  Office, Industrial, Retail  •  National

Investors covet pure-play REITS, so that’s what Artis REIT (AX.UN-T) president/CEO Armin Martens intends to offer. Martens said spinning off a $779M retail REIT reflects a new reality in investing, should unlock value, and offers more future alternatives.

Feds extend commercial rent relief for last time

Commercial  •  CBC  •  Globe and Mail

Willcocks leaves Manulife to become Triovest CEO

RENX  Commercial  •  Human Resources  •  National

Ted Willcocks is leaving Manulife Investment Management after 10 years heading its global real estate division to become the president, chief executive office and a board member with Triovest.

Rental demand takes a hit as students stay home

Residential  •  Globe and Mail  •  Ottawa Business Journal

Rental housing markets across Canada are seeing weaker demand this fall as some postsecondary students pivot to online learning and stay in their hometowns. The result is a spate of empty bedrooms and mounting losses for landlords with continuing uncertainty.

B.C. rental sector navigates perilous times

Residential  •  Globe and Mail

A year fraught with uncertainty and challenges for B.C. landlords and tenants is far from over.  As of Sept. 1, landlords were able to evict tenants for failure to pay rent. On Dec. 1, the freeze on rent increases will be lifted.

B.C. closes clubs, banquet halls; Ont. pauses reopening

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  CBC

B.C. has ordered nightclubs and banquet halls to close, with provincial health officer Bonnie Henry citing such facilities as a major source of coronavirus transmission. In one week in August, there were public exposures at three separate Vancouver nightclubs.

CIBT Education Group subsidiary to buy two apartments

Residential  •  Stockhouse

A CIBT Education Group subsidiary limited partnership has received $13.1 million to acquire two rental apartment buildings in Vancouver, expanding its portfolio to 11 projects and 16 buildings operating under the GEC brand, for a total of 1.5 million square feet.

Developer plans 29-storey apartment near Ottawa LRT

Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal

As the push to build housing along the Confederation LRT Line ramps up, LaSalle Investment Management is proposing to build a 29-storey, 300,000-square-foot high-rise with 337 rental units and ground-level commercial space at Holland Cross.

Site plan approvals advance for 57-storey The HUB

Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

The HUB, a 57-storey office tower by Oxford Properties at Bay and Harbour in Toronto, received zoning by-law approval in 2019. Recently submitted updated materials for its site plan application have moved the project a step closer to starting construction.

Heritage rules, development an explosive mix

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

OPINION: Ideas about cultural heritage have become increasingly broad. And City of Toronto heritage planning staff are now willing to conserve some very undistinguished structures – while also beginning a heritage survey that aims to touch every corner of the city.

‘Temporary’ tax cut demanded for Montreal businesses

Commercial  •  LaPresse

Calls are mounting for the City of Montreal’s administration to pressure the province of Quebec to “temporarily” reduce taxes on non-residential buildings in the city centre. Advocates maintain the measure would “give hope” to businesses and revive the local economy.

Five ways to fix Tim Hortons’ plummeting sales

Commercial  •  Toronto Star

In RBI’s Q2 results last month, the numbers for Tim Hortons were brutal, with same-store sales falling by 29.3 per cent. Tim’s is RBI’s largest source of profit, providing 47 per cent of its total adjusted EBITDA in 2019.

London, U.K. office values seen falling by 10%

Commercial  •  Bloomberg

Offices in central London are set to decline in value by as much as 10% this year as the pandemic drives down demand for space, likely pushing down rents in the expensive areas by about 8% according to DWS Group.

Google abandons plan to rent Dublin office

Commercial  •  Bloomberg

Google has walked away from a plan to rent space in Dublin, shelving one of the city’s biggest real-estate deals in recent years. Google had been in talks to rent about 202,000 square feet in the Irish capital.

Ex BlackRock property head launches investment firm

Commercial  •  IPE Real Estate

Marcus Sperber, BlackRock’s former global real estate head, has launched a new property investment and advisory business. Sperber is to lead NorthCroft Capital including its advisory business, together with David Bearman, a founding partner of Firefly Capital.

Toronto Sneaky Dee’s to be demolished for 13-storey building

Residential  •  The Daily Hive

The City of Toronto has received a development proposal for a 13-storey mixed-use building where Sneaky Dee’s resides, as well as other neighbouring units along College Street east of Bathurst Street. The plan is opposed by the surrounding community.

Old Stonehenge’s condo tower proposal redesigned

Residential  •  Urban Toronto

An application to bring a high-rise residential development to Toronto’s Weston area has advanced through a resubmission. The project at 1695 Weston Rd. is designed by Core Architects for Old Stonehenge Development Corporation, and has evolved significantly since its 2017 submission.

August GTA sales rose 40 per cent from last year

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

The heatwave in the Toronto-area real estate market in July and August may give way to a slightly cooler September, but buyers and sellers who haven’t secured a deal aren’t giving up. A grand Victorian-era house sold for $5.7-million.

Opinion: Canada housing is due for a crash

Residential  •  Motley Fool

One of Canada’s most resilient and prolific sectors has been its real estate market. The residential market has mainly been on a consistent rise for the last several years. Canadians already know this. It is the reason for the buzzing activity in the housing market since the 2008 financial crisis.