Aragon laying down roots on Vancouver Island

RENX  Residential  •  Condominiums, Office, Apartments, Homes, Retail  •  British Columbia, Metro Vancouver, Toronto / GTA

Aragon Properties’ primary development focus has been on its hometown of Vancouver for 32 years, but it has moved farther west with Esquimalt Town Square, a mixed-use downtown site which includes multiresidential, office, retail and public spaces.

Artis calls Sandpiper Group claims ‘smear campaign’

RENX  Commercial  •  Office, Industrial, Retail  •  National, Winnipeg

Artis REIT (AX-UN-T) president/CEO Armin Martens and the trust’s management team say allegations by dissident shareholder Sandpiper Group amount to an “American-style smear campaign” and that the trust has consistently outperformed its peers since inception in 2005.

Matsqui F.N. plans mixed-use project in Abbotsford

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe Newswire  •  Daily Hive  •  Abbotsford News

Matsqui First Nation will be working with Vancouver-based development partner District Group and the City of Abbotsford, to redevelop returned Abbotsford lands. Currently, Matsqui intends to develop a mixed-use project that will include rental housing, commercial and institutional uses.

Real estate’s norms turned upside-down: Sonshine

Commercial  •  Yahoo Finance  •  Financial Post (Sub. required)  •  RENX

“Unfortunately . . . everything that was accepted wisdom in the real estate business only eight months ago has been turned on its head, even in the face of record low interest rates and massive government spending,” RioCan REIT CEO Ed Sonshine said.

Businesses warn of ‘collapse’ without rent programs

Commercial  •  Toronto Star  •  Toronto Star

The Brass Taps Pizza Pub and Old Nick — two landmark restaurants on Danforth Avenue — have made the agonizing decision to close for good, highlighting a desperate need for immediate federal help as others wait on “pins and needles.”

Cancellations saddle nation’s hotels with $1B loss

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver  •  La Presse

The cancellation of more than 2,700 major business events before August led to a loss of more than $1 billion in direct spending at the nation’s hotels, Destination Canada says. More than half of November and December’s events have already been cancelled.

N.S. offers hotels, motels property tax rebate

Commercial  •  Toronto Star

Nova Scotia hotel, motel and inn operators hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic are being offered a property tax rebate. The rebate program will cost about $4.6 million, Business Minister Geoff MacLellan said Thursday following a cabinet meeting.

Cargo keeping Winnipeg airport alive

Commercial  •  Winnipeg Free Press

There were a few more travellers shuffling around the Winnipeg Richardson International Airport during Q3, but the Winnipeg Airports Authority remains in a serious financial bind. The WAA was able to make up some of its loss from hauling cargo.

Mattamy acquires Dallas’ New Synergy Homes

Residential  •  Canada Newswire

Mattamy Homes, the largest privately owned homebuilder in North America, announced it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire the homebuilding operations of New Synergy Homes in Dallas. Mattamy will own and control more than 3,400 homesites in 26 future communities.

Real Estate & E-commerce files final prospectus

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire

Middlefield Group, on behalf of Real Estate & E-Commerce Split Corp., announced it has filed a final prospectus in relation to an initial public offering of class A shares and preferred shares. The maximum amount of the offering is $100 million.

Ontario cracking down on crane safety

Residential  •  Daily Commercial News

Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development is cracking down on tower crane safety this fall in the aftermath of two crane collapses in Toronto this summer. The ministry hopes to visit all 200-plus tower crane sites across Ontario.

Podcasts from the real estate world

Residential, Commercial  • 

Dani Reiss, Canada Goose: How Canada Goose filled a critical need, Financial Post, Down to Business: Episode 75

Elena Boyack, Triovest Realty Advisors: Finding & hiring real estate talent, Highview Partners People Who Perform: Episode 26

Mark Goodman, Goodman Commercial: Decades of selling Vancouver apartments, Canadian Real Estate Forums

CBRE is shifting its headquarters to Dallas

Commercial  •  Dallas Morning News

The U.S.’ largest CRE firm — CBRE Group — is trading its California address for a new headquarters in Dallas. The international property firm with more than 100,000 employees and more than 530 offices is planning to shift its head office to North Texas.

CubeSmart strikes $540M NYC self-storage deal

Commercial  •  CP Executive

Self-storage heavyweight CubeSmart has struck a $540 million deal to acquire eight properties in New York City, ramping up the company’s portfolio in a supply-starved market where pandemic-driven moves have boosted demand for storage space.

Walmart turns four stores into e-commerce labs

Commercial  •  CNBC

Walmart is turning four of its stores into laboratories that test ways to turn the retailer’s huge physical footprint into a more powerful edge for e-commerce. It is designating two stores near its headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., and two others.

Amazon to hire 100,000 seasonal workers for holidays

Commercial  •  Toronto Star  •  660 News  •  Reuters

Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN-Q) plans to hire 100,000 seasonal workers heading into the holidays as customers are expected to continue shopping online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Amazon has recorded record profits during the pandemic.

Immigration shortfalls spell long-term pain for housing

Residential  •  Toronto Star  •  Business In Vancouver  •  Business In Vancouver

Canada’s failure to meet its immigration targets due to COVID-19 offers some relief in terms of rent affordability. However, it won’t negatively impact the Canadian detached housing market — at least in the near term, say real estate experts and economists.

Affordability still pressing issue in North: CMHC

Residential  •  CBC  •  Canada Newswire  •  Canada Newswire

The cost to rent and own remains the most significant housing issue in the three capitals north of 60, according to the latest Northern Housing Report. from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

Home insurance policies may carry COVID-19 exclusion

Residential  •  CBC

Homeowners may see something new when they renew their home insurance policies over the next few months: a communicable disease exclusion. This will protect insurance companies from any claims related to COVID-19, Insurance Bureau of Canada’s Amanda Dean said Wednesday.

Americans searching Canadian RE sites has doubled

Residential  •  Toronto Star

As Americans contemplate the possibility of four more years of a Donald Trump presidency, many are checking out Royal LePage’s website. U.S. traffic to the site spiked 116 per cent between Oct. 1 and 22, Royal LePage CEO Phil Soper told the Star.