RoseFellow buys Montreal site, mulls stacked industrial

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial, Land  •  Greater Montreal

Montreal developer RoseFellow has gone into the trucking business to acquire a site in Dorval in Montreal’s West Island that could become home to the city’s first multi-level (or stacked industrial) distribution centre.

Assessed value of Calgary office drops 13%

Commercial  •  Calgary Herald  •  Calgary Herald  •  CBC

The assessed value of all offices across Calgary has plunged 13 per cent over the past year. As rents fell and vacancy rates went up — and more people worked from home — office buildings lost a combined $2.3 billion of their assessed value.

Nine Dollarama stores fined for COVID non-compliance

Commercial  •  Les Affaires  •  Globe and Mail

Nine Quebec Dollarama stores were issued statements of offense by the Commission for Standards, Equity, Health and Safety at Work for non-compliance with health instructions. The stores are in the Capitale-Nationale, Gaspésie, Yamaska, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Saguenay and Valleyfield regions.

FIMA multi-tower Etobicoke project advances

Residential  •  Urban Toronto

FIMA Development’s multi-tower development, proposed for 1750 The Queensway in South Etobicoke, has advanced again with a resubmission. The BDP Quadrangle-designed project would bring buildings ranging from six to 38 storeys and includes new retail and residential space.

Chard proposes two rental towers in Vancouver

Residential, Commercial  •  urbanYVR

Chard Development has proposed two towers of 28 and 32 storeys with 573 secured market rental units – 20 per cent dedicated to below-market rental and 35 per cent to be operated by the YWCA – plus 17,000 square feet of retail near Vancouver’s Canada Line station.

Sleek rental building proposed for Vancouver

Residential, Commercial  •  urbanYVR

A modern, mixed-use building with rounded edges is proposed for West 41st Avenue in Kerrisdale, containing 42 secured market rental units. M Moser Associates designed the upcoming project for the 2000-block of West 41st Avenue and Maple Street.

CRE Matters › Property tax assessments should be reviewed quickly – with a professional

Brendan Neeson: Executive Director of Property Tax Services, Alberta

Developers to advise on conservation authority rules

Residential  •  Toronto Star  •  Toronto Star

After the Province of Ontario brought in controversial changes to the Conservation Authorities Act, it established a working group to implement the new rules, giving developers a key advisory role including executives from Mattamy Homes, Remington Group and EQ Homes.

Melcor REIT raises Q1 2021 distributions 17 per cent

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire

Melcor REIT (TSX: MR.UN) says it is increasing its Q1 2021 distributions by 17%. It has also established an independent committee to examine renewals and/or amendments to agreements between Melcor Developments Ltd. and the REIT, as well as other matters.

Alliance REIT, Atlas One to partner on fund-raising

Residential  •  Canada Newswire

Alliance REIT announced a partnership to leverage Atlas One Digital Securities Inc.’s digital securities platform to offer REIT units to a wider net of accredited investors. Toronto-based Alliance was established in 2016 and provides direct multifamily investments.

McGill, Couche-Tard launch unique laboratory store

Commercial  •  McGill News  •  Canada Newswire

McGill University and Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. are partners in the launch of a retail innovation lab at the Bensadoun School of Retail Management—a live testing ground for innovative and frictionless technologies that address the retail sector’s future.

Aritzia optimistic despite new round of store closures

Commercial  •  Victoria Times Colonist  •  Canada Newswire

Aritzia (ATZ-T) remains optimistic about the future despite enduring forced store closures over the holiday season that are increasing. The Vancouver-based company has seen its e-commerce revenues surge 78 per cent in its latest quarter from a year ago.

French government opposes sale of Carrefour to Couche-Tard

Commercial  •  Les Affaires

This time, it is final: the French government issued a “clear and final” veto on the merger proposed by Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard to the French giant Carrefour, to the chagrin of industry experts who call for consolidation of the sector.

Target’s holiday strategy pays off with strong sales

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

Target’s (TGT-N) strong sales streak extended through the pandemic-shrouded holiday season, as shoppers snapped up everything from clothing to home goods. The Minneapolis company reported Wednesday that its online sales surged 102 per cent for the November and December period.

Monmouth launches review after Blackwell’s unsolicited bid

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire  •  Globe Newswire  •  BNN Bloomberg

Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation has decided to explore strategic alternatives to maximize stockholder value, a move welcomed by Blackwell Capital, which in December made an unsolicited bid to acquire remaining Monmouth shares it didn’t already own for $3.8 billion.

U.S. CRE construction starts falter in December

Commercial  •  Daily Commercial News

ConstructConnect announced December’s volume of U.S. construction starts, excluding residential work, was $20.8 billion, a decline of 30.9% versus November’s $30.2 billion. Perhaps the most striking feature was the collapse in ‘mega’ projects of a million dollars or more each.

Toronto, Montreal see exodus pick up pace

Residential  •  Globe and Mail  •  Financial Post

More and more people are fleeing Toronto and Montreal for nearby regions, a long-standing trend tied to worsening home affordability and aggravated by the pandemic. Toronto saw a net intraprovincial outflow of 50,375 people, according to Statistics Canada figures released Thursday.

Home prices saw double-digit price growth in 2020

Residential  •  Canada Newswire  •  Vancouver Sun

The Royal LePage House Price Survey has found the aggregate price of a home in Canada increased 9.7 per cent year-over-year to $708,842 in Q4 2020, as strong seller’s market conditions continued to shape Canada’s real estate markets.

Experts question REIN report predicting foreclosures

Commercial  •  Mortgage Broker News

A recent Real Estate Investment Network report advised homeowners and potential buyers to prepare for a looming rise in foreclosure sales. Industry experts such as Dominion Lending Centre’s chief economist Dr. Sherry Cooper, however, are perplexed by REIN’s claims.

Ontario’s residential tenant eviction ban has exceptions

Residential  •  Globe and Mail

Ontario has issued its second moratorium on residential evictions during the pandemic — but it includes an exception where an expedited order from a judge or Landlord and Tenant Board could be allowed in “urgent situations,” such as illegal activity.