Ford signs $100-million lease for Ottawa-area industrial

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial, Land  •  Ontario, Ottawa

RoseFellow and JV partner Bertone Development Corp. have signed a 15-year lease with Ford Canada to build a 531,000-square-foot distribution centre at a cost of $100 million in Casselman, east of Ottawa.

Choice proposes six-building Scarborough community

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

Choice Properties REIT is proposing six buildings – 19, 22, 33 and 36 storeys and two at 13 storeys – on a vacant brownfield site at 685 Warden Ave. in Scarborough. The buildings would total 1,519 residential units – 928 one-bedroom and one-plus-den units; 452 two-bedrooms; and 139 three-bedrooms – and ground-floor retail.

Don’t let bank staff ‘hijack’ return to office: Emory

Commercial  •  Bloomberg

VIDEO: Allied Properties REIT CEO Michael Emory says some employees are “hijacking” the agenda for return-to-safe-work protocols at Canadian banks. “We have a duty to protect our employees. We also have a duty to protect our customers,” said Emory.

IT firm Kaseya leases 10K-sq.-ft. Vancouver office

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver

Miami-based IT firm Kaseya has taken a shine to Vancouver, leasing an additional 10,000 square feet within the city’s Sun Tower on West Pender Street. Colliers International Canada’s Colin Scarlett said demand for downtown real estate has been surging since January.

Katasa sells long-term care residences for $21.5M

Residential  •  La Presse

The Katasa Group has sold long-term care facilities Marquis de Tracy and Marquis de Tracy II, in Montérégie, Que., for $21.53 million to Ritchie Wang – a specialist in clinical activities for the elderly at the CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal – and Pierre-Paul Dorélien.

Hullmark proposes 25-storey art deco-inspired building

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

Hullmark has unveiled plans for a new 25-storey tower at 147 Spadina Ave.. The AUDAX Architecture-designed building would contain 223 condo units with retail at grade and represent a contemporary take on art deco architecture to fit in with the surrounding neighbourhood.

Value: Weighed and Measured › It’s time to recognize, and reward, the high value of low-cost labour

John Clark: AACI, FRICS | Vice President, The Regional Group of Companies Inc.

Reimagined Park Hyatt Toronto reopens its doors

Commercial  •  Urban Toronto  •  Business Wire  •  blogTO

Considered one of Toronto’s most iconic addresses, Park Hyatt Toronto and Oxford Properties have officially re-opened the fully restored luxury hotel in Yorkville. The KPMB Architects-designed building re-emerges as a mixed-use complex, featuring both residential and hotel suites.

Calgary approves tax deferral for hotels

Commercial  •  Calgary Herald  •  CBC  •  Global News

Calgary city council gave the green light Wednesday for hotels and motels to defer 2021 property tax payments. According to city officials, Calgary hotels saw “record low” occupancy rates in early 2021 and the Calgary Hotel Association has been advocating for relief.

Ottawa staff endorse NCC plan for embassies

Commercial  •  CBC

City of Ottawa planning staff recommend allowing the National Capital Commission to move forward with a plan to rezone its vacant land along the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway for five new embassies.

EllisDon, PCL announce mandatory vaccinations

Residential, Commercial  •  Daily Commercial News  •  Daily Commercial News

Two of Canada’s largest general contractors, EllisDon and PCL Construction, have announced they are implementing vaccination verification requirements at their workplaces. The firms will require Canadian employees working at any location on company business to be fully vaccinated by Nov. 1.

Real estate podcasts

Residential, Commercial  • 

Marlon Bray, Altus Group: Profitability in development, CRE Podcast
Mike Bishop, Third Space Properties: An industry champion, Highview Partners People Who Perform
Phillip Bernstein, Yale School of Architecture: The future of the built environment in the U.S., The Construction Record, Episode 136

Hong Kong property tycoons told to fall in line

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

As Beijing seeks to tighten its grip over Hong Kong, it has a new mandate for the city’s powerful property tycoons: pour resources and influence into backing Beijing’s interests, and help solve a potentially destabilizing housing shortage.

Evergrande’s possible collapse threatens China’s RE market

Residential, Commercial  •  Financial Post  •  CNBC  •  Al Jazeera

China Evergrande is teetering between a messy meltdown with far-reaching impacts, a managed collapse or the less likely prospect of a bailout by Beijing for what was once the country’s top-selling developer. Evergrande has liabilities of nearly $305 billion US.

Wanda raises nearly $6B for CRE management unit

Commercial  •  Reuters

Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group has raised nearly $6 billion for its commercial property management business ahead of its Hong Kong IPO, in one of China’s biggest such fundraisings this year, sources say.

U.S. housing crash misinterpreted: Report

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

The U.S. experience over the past two decades has been misinterpreted, according to The 2000s Housing Cycle with 2020 Hindsight paper. Researchers point out that while U.S. home prices were frothy in 2006, they weren’t the speculative lunacy that is commonly perceived.

Homeowner replacement cost index soaring

Residential  •  Globe and Mail  •  National Post

Canada’s consumer price index touched its highest level in almost two decades in August, as the price of just about everything is up sharply compared to the lows of a year ago and  the inflation rate hit 4.1 per cent.

Vancouver inventory dips to lows not seen since 2016

Residential  •  CTV  •  Toronto Star  •  Business In Vancouver

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver‘s Q3 report indicates the inventory in the Vancouver real estate market has reached a low not seen since 2016. Meanwhile, the August benchmark price was a record-breaking $1,176,600.

Renters left out of federal campaign promises

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Ottawa Citizen  •  Victoria Times Colonist

Renters have largely been left out of federal election campaign promises to make housing more affordable, even though a growing portion of Canada’s population rents and struggles to make their payments.

Only three T.O. neighbourhoods’ average rent under $2K

Residential  •  blogTO

According to the latest National Rent Report from rentals.ca and Bullpen Research & Consulting, there are only three Toronto neighbourhoods listed where prices average out under the $2,000 mark — south Parkdale at $1,691, Mount Pleasant West at $1,965 and North St. James Town at $1,912.