CAPREIT raises $1B in equity in 2019, funds growth

RENX  Residential  •  Apartments  •  National, International

Canadian Apartment Properties REIT (CAPREIT) (CAR-UN-T) has issued three equity offerings that have raised more than $1 billion in 2019, as president and CEO Mark Kenney says investors appreciate its 20-year track record of providing sustainable and growing distributions.

Experts offer insight into U.S. real estate investment

RENX  Commercial  •  Investment  •  International

Demographics, climate change and regulatory issues are factors determining where companies invest in U.S. real estate, according to panelists at the Global Property Market conference in Toronto. In addition to gateway markets, the four panelists identified key non-primary cities.

Starlight proposes huge Victoria project

Residential, Commercial  •  Victoria Times Colonist

Starlight Investments intends to tear down all of the existing commercial buildings on two Victoria city blocks to make way for a massive mixed-use project that will include residential towers, more than 100,000 square feet of commercial buildings and green space.

Niagara Falls approves 72-storey tower

Residential, Commercial  •  Daily Commercial News

A long-stalled hotel build is set to become a landmark skyscraper overlooking one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Niagara Falls approved an application to pick up a never-completed hotel project and refashion it into a mixed-use building.

Walmart, SCI open doors on e-commerce facility

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

SCI Canada and Walmart Canada today announced the official opening of SCI’s largest dedicated and purpose-built distribution centre (DC) in Mississauga. At approximately 450,000 square feet, the DC is the main facility dedicated to fulfilling Walmart Canada’s online orders.

The Saskatchewan Edge › Tax increase hits Saskatoon commercial owners hardest

Kelly Macsymic: Business Manager, Stuart Commercial Inc., Sales Associate, ICR Commercial Real Estate

The rise and fall of a small-town mall

Commercial  •  CBC

When it opened in 1990, Centre Square Mall was the northernmost frontier of brand-name indoor shopping. Yellowknifers flooded its halls to live the glamour and convenience of shopping in larger, southern cities.

North Vancouver’s Capilano Mall plans redevelopment

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver  •  RENX

The managers of Capilano Mall are planning for redevelopment of the mall. QuadReal Property Group has begun consultations on exactly what the redevelopment will entail. Cap Mall opened in 1969 and went through expansions and renovations in the ’70s and ’80s.

Mississauga is creating its downtown as a city model

Residential, Commercial  •  Toronto Star  •  RENX

An early hub of trade, commerce and connections, downtown Mississauga’s historic legacy is inspiring its Exchange District — one of the city’s newest neighbourhoods and a key piece of the city’s ambitious vision outlined in its updated Downtown21 Masterplan.

Infrastructure Bank pledges $300M for Montreal port

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  Toronto Star

Plans for a major South Shore expansion of the Port of Montreal received a boost Wednesday of up to $300 million from the Canada Infrastructure Bank. The expansion would include a rail connection to support container traffic and boost international trade.

Ottawa’s ByWard Market needs an upgrade

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

Chateau Lafayette general manager Deek Labelle is happy to hear that changes are coming to the ByWard Market in Ottawa, especially since her family has been involved with one of the city’s oldest businesses for nearly half a century.

Fort Mac rebranding to attract investors, retail

Residential, Commercial  •  CBC  •  CBC

Fort McMurray says it plans to rebrand itself with the aim of attracting new residents and investors to the region. Bringing in new retail stores would help convince residents to shop locally rather than online or in Edmonton.

Second Cup acquires Bridgehead for $9.5M

Commercial  •  CBC  •  Toronto Star  •  Ottawa Citizen

Ottawa-based Bridgehead coffeehouse chain has been bought by Aegis Brands, the parent company of Second Cup Coffee Co. (SCU-T), for $9.5 million. Bridgehead locations will continue to operate under the Bridgehead name, and its head office will remain in Ottawa.

New store openings hit Dollarama’s profit

Commercial  •  Reuters  •  Canada Newswire  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Canadian dollar-store operator Dollarama Inc. (DOL-T) missed analysts’ estimates for quarterly profit by a narrow margin on Wednesday, bruised by higher costs from store openings.

Inside Canada Goose’s new inventory-free store

Commercial  •  Financial Post  •  National Real Estate Investor  •  Canada Newswire

Canada Goose’s (GOOS-T) latest store has a faux-rock crevasse, a room that snows and a floor that cracks like ice. But it might be more notable for what it does not have: product you can take home.

Cyber Monday online sales hit record $9.4 billion

Commercial  •  CNBC

Cyber Monday shoppers spent a record $9.4 billion online, up 19.7 per cent from a year ago, according to data released by Adobe Analytics.

Tory calls for tax hike on homeowners

Residential  •  Globe and Mail  •  Toronto Star  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Toronto Mayor John Tory proposed increasing and extending an existing levy on property taxes called the city-building fund, which would rise to 10.5 per cent in 2025 from 1.5 per cent this year, in order to raise billions for transit and affordable housing.

Delta shoots down 35-storey residential tower

Residential  •  CBC

Delta city council has voted down a contentious 35-storey residential high-rise development that drew extended and sometimes angry debate at a public hearing last week. The proposed project contained 335 housing units with 20 per cent of them designated affordable.

B.C. condo insurance spikes 50 to 300%

Residential  •  CBC

B.C. strata buildings are being told to “evaluate the risks” as condo owners grapple with an insurance cost spike. The Condominium Home Owners Association of B.C. warned the cost of insuring strata buildings had gone up between 50 and 300 per cent.

Burnaby adopts tenant assistance policy

Residential  •  Business In Vancouver

Burnaby renters facing demoviction (eviction prompted by redevelopment) are now entitled to a suite of new protections that will make them the “best looked-after tenants that Canada has ever seen,” according to Mayor Mike Hurley.