IWG pivots to prep for post-COVID business world

RENX  Commercial  •  Office  •  National

The past year has seen flexible office space provide IWG face very serious challenges, leading to shifts in its operations and strategies. However, its management remains optimistic about what’s to come post-COVID-19.

Startup Squarefeet.ai prices condo, rental projects

RENX  Residential  •  Apartments, Condominiums, Homes, Technology  •  National

Montreal proptech startup SquareFeet.ai says its use of artificial intelligence (AI) is helping developers more accurately price their new condo or rental projects and maximize revenues.

Downtown Calgary’s office vacancy hits 32.3%: CBRE

Commercial  •  Global News  •  RENX  •  Calgary Herald

Calgary’s downtown office vacancy increased by 2.8 per cent to 32.3 per cent in Q1 2021, CBRE reported Wednesday, while noting mergers and acquisition activity “is anticipated to continue throughout the first half of 2021 and will drive sublease supply to new highs.”

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Dynasty Power moving into new Calgary HQ

Commercial  •  Calgary Herald

Dynasty Power has purchased an architecturally distinctive building in the heart of downtown Calgary for its new corporate headquarters. The building, at the corner of 8^th Avenue and 4^th Street S.W.,  is a 45,000-square-foot, four-storey landmark it plans to renovate.

Canadian banks further delay return to offices

Commercial  •  Reuters  •  Globe and Mail

Bank of Montreal and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) said on Wednesday they are extending work-from-home arrangements for employees to until at least mid-2021 as Canada battles a surge in new coronavirus cases driven by new variants.

Ivanhoé, GID create U.S. industrial real estate platform

Commercial  •  PR Newswire  •  IPE Real Assets

Ivanhoé Cambridge and GID, a leading integrated real estate company with $2 billion in assets under management, announced the creation of GID Industrial, an investment platform to target industrial assets in growing markets across the United States.

Brookfield aims for $1.5B profit with London office sale

Commercial  •  Bisnow

Brookfield Property Partners (BPY-UN-T) could reap a profit of as much as $1.5 billion when it sells London’s one-million-square-foot 100 Bishopsgate later this year. Brookfield will seek as much as $2.7 billion, making it the most expensive single building in U.K. history.

Developer building Windsor project on spec

Commercial  •  Windsor Star

Mikhail Holdings, for the first time in 30 years, is building a retail/commercial development on speculation. It’s a sign of optimism in Windsor’s future that Mikhail brothers Joe, John and Lou, are forging ahead with two new buildings totalling 25,000 square feet.

The Beer Store loss grows to $51 million

Commercial  •  Toronto Star

The Beer Store, majority owned by Molson Coors and Labatt, had an operating loss of $50.7 million in 2020, as competition from grocery stores and restaurant bottle shops grew, and keg sales were crushed by COVID-19 restrictions.

Dollarama insiders selling 2.2 million shares

Commercial  •  La Presse  •  Canada Newswire

The Rossy family is once again selling shares of Dollarama Inc. (DOL-T). This time, the CEO of the Montreal retailer, Neil Rossy, the family’s private holding company, and the Rossy Foundation are selling 2,200,000 common shares for a total of $125 million.

Canada’s place in global supply chain: RBC

Commercial  •  RBC blog

A Canadian strategy, one built to leverage existing strengths, coordinate with allies and establish new footholds in N.A. supply chains could usher in a new phase of economic growth. It could reinvigorate Canada’s export sector and regain lost U.S. market.

Modular building spurred by pandemic

Residential, Commercial  •  Daily Commercial News

“COVID . . . turned out in specific sectors to be somewhat of a turning point and made it more busy for us,” said Andy Berube, vice-president of Stack Modular, a manufacturer of large-scale, steel frame modular construction projects.

Cryptocurrency to raise funds for shipping container micro hotels

Residential, Commercial  •  Green Lodging News

Developer Darius Smith has launched ASJ Homes, a new leader in modern shipping container houses. Smith is also introducing new cryptocurrency Container Tokens, which will be used to raise funds for a new chain of shipping container boutique micro hotels.

Dalfen acquires 2 class-A Las Vegas industrial properties

Commercial  •  PR Newswire  •  RENX

Dalfen Industrial announced the purchase of two industrial properties in Henderson, Nev., – a suburb of Las Vegas. Henderson Distribution Center South and Henderson Distribution Center North total over 263,000 square feet in the highly sought-after Southeast Las Vegas/Henderson submarket.

Manulife Hong Kong signs 145,000-sq.-ft. office lease

Commercial  •  Yahoo Finance

Manulife Hong Kong announced it has signed a lease agreement for approximately 145,000 square feet of grade-A office space at International Trade Tower (ITT) in Kowloon East. This is Hong Kong’s largest grade-A office leasing deal since July 2019.

OSFI restarts consultations on stress test changes

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)  •  Financial Post  •  Financial Post

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) will take another crack at changing the mortgage stress test as economists and some bank chief executives call on policy makers to deal with runaway housing prices.

Canadians on brink of insolvency at five-year high

Residential  •  Financial Post  •  Globe Newswire

The economic blow of the pandemic appears to be finally hitting home for average Canadians. The number of Canadians close to insolvency reached a five-year high in the latest MNP Consumer Debt Index out this morning.

Workout spaces becoming a home sales centrepiece

Residential  •  Globe and Mail

Real estate agents staging homes for sale have long had a checklist of table-stakes features mainstream buyers will be looking for, but as we enter year two of living under the pandemic there’s a new must-have: A Peloton.

Toronto-area buyers returning to the city centre

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Toronto-area realtors say the flow of people out of the city has diminished and some buyers are once again feeling the pull towards downtown. At the same time, the intense bidding contests for detached houses are calming in some areas.