Dream Industrial REIT makes $347M move into Europe

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial  •  National, International

Dream Industrial REIT (DIR-UN-T) is under contract or in exclusive negotiations to acquire $347 million worth of light industrial and logistics assets in the Netherlands and Germany through seven transactions. It has also sourced $170 million in properties across North America.

RE dealmakers toast record financing year: Up 72%

Commercial  •  Financial Post

By the end of 2019, real estate dealmakers were toasting a record year in financings, as they took advantage of a benign risk environment to raise $18.8 billion over 74 transactions in 2019 – a 72 per cent increase in year-over-year value.

CPPIB sells interest in San Fran apartment JV for $1B

Residential, Commercial  •  IPE Real Assets

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has sold its 45% interest in a San Francisco Bay Area apartment joint venture with Essex Property Trust for approximately $1 billion US. One of the assets had been partly sold to Brookfield Asset Management for $311M.

Vancouver mayors endorse Surrey-Langley SkyTrain

Residential, Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver  •  CBC  •  Vancouver Sun

A significant boost to residential development along Fraser Highway is expected to coincide with the planned phased construction of the $3.13 billion Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension, according to a business case approved by Metro Vancouver mayors Thursday.

Waterfront Toronto fights to save Sidewalk Labs

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Waterfront Toronto is trying to block a legal attempt by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association to shut down its proposed smart-city development with Sidewalk Labs on privacy grounds, arguing its case is “speculative” and “premature.”

Is Toronto prepared to deal with eight million residents?

Residential, Commercial  •  Toronto Star

The way we work won’t be the same. The way we live won’t be the same. By 2030, even we won’t be the same, not after the arrival of a million new faces, lifting Greater Toronto’s population to eight million.

The Saskatchewan Edge › Would you recommend your CRE broker?

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

QuadReal, ARA acquire $267M Melbourne office

Commercial  •  IPE Real Assets  •  RENX

Singapore’s ARA Asset Management has secured the backing of Vancouver-headquartered QuadReal Property Group in its bid to clinch a $267 million Cdn development on the fringe of the Melbourne central business district.

Jerome Markson’s six-decade career celebrated

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

A Quite Individual Course: Jerome Markson Architect just opened at the Larry Wayne Richards Gallery at 1 Spadina Cres. While not a massive show, it will provide architecture aficionados a crucial overview of the Toronto architect’s long career.

Former union rep now a Coromandel executive

Commercial  •  Vancouver Sun

In his early working life, Raymond Louie was bundling newspapers in the noisy, viewless basement of the old Pacific Press building in Vancouver. Now as COO of Coromandel Properties, he can admire Coal Harbour and the North Shore mountains.

Robot dog to work at Mtl. construction site

Commercial  •  Montreal Gazette

There is a new type of worker on a Pomerleau construction site in Quebec. It’s a robot named Spot. Pomerleau says it is the first company to use this robot on a daily basis on an active work site.

ViveRE acquires 124 Moncton multires units

Residential  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX

ViveRE Communities Inc. (VCOM-X) announced it has entered into an exclusive letter of intent to acquire a 100 per cent interest in three multi-unit residential properties located in Moncton and owned by Denaco Group Ltd. The purchase price is $13.5 million.

AY completes fifth German acquisition for pension plans

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

Avison Young‘s Investment Management group today announced the completion of its fifth German portfolio acquisition on behalf of institutional Canadian pension plans. The four-storey mixed-used property in Leinfelden-Echterdingen near Stuttgart achieved Gold certification from the German Sustainable Building Council.

Between Super Bowls, downtown Miami boomed

Commercial  •  Forbes

When South Florida hosted its last Super Bowl in 2010, downtown Miami was still reeling from the great recession and the real estate market crash. Ten years later, the city’s urban core has rebounded with an unprecedented building boom.

San Francisco’s Treasure Island getting $6B facelift

Commercial  •  Business Insider

Treasure Island is a man-made landmass built in 1936 just east of San Francisco. A long-anticipated $6-billion redevelopment would add 8,000 new homes to the city’s housing market as well as a hotel, a new ferry terminal, and upscale retailers.

Google snags office space in more Seattle buildings

Commercial  •  GeekWire

Google is expanding yet again in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland, Wash., just a few months after purchasing a huge new office complex there. The Puget Sound Business Journal put the number at roughly 180,000 square feet.

Call for ‘vacancy control’ to curb Van. rental rates

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

If the average renter in Metro Vancouver were to give up their apartment and move into the same unit next door, they’d be looking at an average rent increase of 20.8 per cent is the takeaway from an annual CMHC report.

Calgary’s short-term rental rules kick in

Residential  •  CBC

Calgarians who rent out their homes through Airbnb or other short-term rental services must obtain a business licence as of Feb. 1 and abide new rules, or face a $1,000 penalty.

T.O. builders try to lure Millennials to the suburbs

Residential  •  Financial Post

Toronto developers are betting they can lure Millennials to suburbia. New projects in some of the city’s oldest suburbs are being pitched with walkable neighbourhoods, condo towers, cafes, shops and a hip city feel. The phenomenon has been dubbed “hipsturbia.”

Multifamily cross-border investment still going strong

Residential  •  Multi-Housing News

Foreign investors continue to find the U.S. multifamily market attractive, as late-cycle jitters help drive Canadian and Middle Eastern capital into the perceived stability of rental homes.