Feds to accelerate GCworkplace office plan

RENX  Commercial  •  Office  •  National, Ottawa

“You can’t build a culture from the kitchen table.” This was a recurring theme during last week’s Ottawa Real Estate Forum, including during a discussion of the federal government’s future office plans with PSPC’s Stéphan Déry.

Ottawa’s class-B office market takes hit: Colliers

Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal

Ottawa’s office availability rate rose to its highest level in three years – 9.9 per cent – last quarter thanks largely to high-profile tenants such as Shopify putting space back on the market by shifting to a remote-first work model, Colliers International said.

Unitholder Jetport backs Sandpiper in Artis dispute

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

A dissident group of unitholders led by Sandpiper Group, seeking to oust five board members of Artis REIT and stop its planned spinoff of retail properties into a separate trust, has the support of the REIT’s largest unitholder Jetport Inc.

Revenue-based retail leasing offered at Van.’s Bench

RENX  Commercial  •  Retail  •  Metro Vancouver

Rendition Developments and Colliers Canada are taking a novel approach to leasing the retail portion of Vancouver’s new Bench development. They’re offering tenants an opportunity to pay proportional shares of operating costs and a percentage of revenue.

Four downtown Calgary office buildings vacant: AY

Commercial  •  CBC  •  Global News  •  RENX

There are four completely empty office buildings in downtown Calgary and another five that are two-thirds unoccupied as the economic downturn continues to push up vacancy rates in the city, according to the latest report from Avison Young.

$122M in Calgary property taxes still outstanding

Residential, Commercial  •  CBC

The City of Calgary says nearly $122 million in property taxes weren’t paid by the Sept. 30 deadline — about $77 million of that from residential properties. City council extended this year’s tax deadline from June 30 due to COVID-19.

Grand opening at Edmonton’s Stadium Yards

Residential, Commercial  •  Edmonton Journal

Stadium Yards, Edmonton’s transit-oriented rental housing and commercial development, opened a show suite in its first rental building Friday. The six-storey, 84-unit apartment complex will be joined by a restaurant and a second rental building of six storeys and 202 units.

Senators owner floats new Kanata rink

Commercial  •  Ottawa Citizen

OPINION: Did Eugene Melnyk just kill the idea of a downtown Ottawa arena? Melnyk reportedly said he “hopes” to build a new arena in five years and is looking at land in Kanata very close to the existing rink.

FLATO proposes five New Tecumseth rental buildings

Residential, Commercial  •  Simcoe.com

Dutch tech firm sets up shop in Kanata

Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal

Dutch telecom equipment design house AimValley, which recently set up shop in Kanata, says the National Capital Region’s deep pool of relatively affordable talent ​tipped the scales when the firm was deciding where to establish its North American headquarters.

Subversive offers wary cannabis investors entry point

Commercial  •  Bloomberg  •  Canada Newswire

This month, cannabis will get a second publicly traded REIT – a sign the industry is growing up. Subversive Real Estate Acquisition’s (SVX-U-NE) merger with Inception REIT is part of a $183-million transaction expected to close at the end of October.

B.C. architectural fees fall following 2018 high

Residential, Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver

After peaking in 2018, the average net fee charged by British Columbia’s largest architectural firms has fallen to slightly above 2017 levels, according to data collected on BIV’s Biggest Architecture Firms in Metro Vancouver list.

CPP lands Neiman Marcus’ luxury retailer

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

After a series of legal manoeuvres and a bruising battle with creditors, CPP Investments and investor Ares Management LLC are the owners of Mytheresa, the Neiman Marcus-owned online luxury retailer that’s worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

American Equity opts for Brookfield partnership

Commercial  •  Financial Post  •  Globe Newswire

American Equity Investment Life Holding Co. confirmed it plans to launch a new partnership with Brookfield Asset Management (BAM-A-T) after rejecting a proposed US$3-billion takeover from Athene Holding Ltd. and Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co.

Front Yard to be acquired by Pretium JV for $2.4B

Residential  •  Globe Newswire

Front Yard Residential Corp. (RESI-N) announced it has entered into a definitive merger agreement whereby a partnership led by Pretium will acquire the REIT in a transaction valued at approximately $2.4 billion, including debt to be assumed or refinanced.

Ventas makes $1B deal for life science campus

Commercial  •  CP Executive  •  CP Executive

An affiliate of Ventas Inc. has acquired Genesis South San Francisco, a life science campus. The seller, a joint venture of Bain Capital Real Estate and Phase 3 Real Estate Partners, was advised by Eastdil Secured.

Vancouver rents fall as immigration goes negative

Residential  •  Business In Vancouver  •  Vancouver Sun

Net immigration to British Columbia has gone negative, plunging 111 per cent in the first half of this year compared to the first six months of 2019, adding to concerns in the rental housing sector.

$500K bonus for realtor of Alberni condo buyer

Residential  •  Straight

A seller is offering a $500,000 bonus for an agent who can deliver a buyer for the $13,888,800 Alberni condo in downtown Vancouver. Adam Major of Holywell Properties explained the deal is a contract assignment.

TRREB backs Ontario ban on open houses

Residential  •  Globe Newswire

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) supports the provincial government ban on in-person real estate open houses for a second time in the Greater Toronto Area COVID-19 hot spots.

A look at the hottest luxury markets: RE/MAX

Residential  •  RE/MAX blog

From Vancouver to Montreal, the luxury real estate market has been performing well. This has been attributed to evolving consumer trends and changes in home-buying patterns, with more people working from home and a renewed focus upon our living space.