Partnerships keep Westdale’s development pipeline thriving

RENX  Residential  •  Industrial, Office, Retail, Apartments, Condominiums, Hotels and Resorts  •  National, Toronto / GTA, International

Partners have been a primary ingredient in Westdale Properties’ long-term success, and that’s continuing with several new and ongoing development projects across the Greater Toronto Area, Canada and parts of the United States.

WiredScore launches SmartScore building certification

RENX  Commercial  •  Technology  •  National

The company behind the WiredScore connectivity rating system for real estate is launching a new certification for smart buildings.

SmartStop, SmartCentres JV on development land

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial  •  Toronto / GTA

UPDATED with new acquisition: One day after parent firm SmartStop Self Storage REIT announced acquiring a property in Oakville, Strategic Storage Trust IV Inc., and SmartCentres REIT (SRU-UN-T) have purchased 2.7 acres of land in Weston for another facility.

WeWork to accept payments in cryptocurrencies

Commercial  •  Reuters

SoftBank-backed office-sharing startup WeWork said it would begin accepting payments in select cryptocurrencies and partner with Coinbase Global Inc. and payment app Bitpay to facilitate transactions. WeWork joins other high-profile firms diving into the digital currency space recently.

CRE land sales rose 28.7% YOY in Van. area: REBGV

Commercial  •  Western Investor  •  RENX

With 409 transactions, up 2.4 per cent from 2019, the year-over-year dollar value of land sales across B.C.’s Lower Mainland rose 28.7 per cent to $4.28 billion, according to the Commercial Edge report from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).

Slate Asset’s One Delisle soon to break ground

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Shovels will soon be in the ground for Slate Asset Management’s One Delisle, a tapering, artichoke-like, 47-storey tower at Yonge Street and Delisle Avenue. Slate is partnering with Chicago’s award-winning Studio Gang, led by Jeanne Gang, who is interviewed below.

Sponsored by FlexSpace Logistics StorageVault launches flexible last-mile solution: FlexSpace Logistics

StorageVault Canada is leveraging its extensive business expertise to offer an end-to-end last mile business solution, with storage, logistics and inventory management services, helping move your goods from manufacturer to warehouse to customer and everywhere in between, through FlexSpace Logistics.

Freeland unveils broad infra pledges in Budget 2021

Commercial  •  Daily Commercial News

Federal finance minister Chrystia Freeland’s first budget proposes spending of $1.9 billion over four years, starting in 2021-’22, to “recapitalize” the National Trade Corridors Fund. The government hopes to leverage private investment to boost the impact of the funding.

Feds propose 1% tax on foreign-owned vacant properties

Residential  •  CP 24  •  Financial Post  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Monday’s federal budget proposed a national one per cent tax on the value of non-resident, non-Canadian-owned residential real estate considered to be vacant or underused. The tax would bring in an estimated $700 million between 2022 and 2026, according to federal projections.

Montreal’s 20-20-20 housing bylaw comes into effect

Residential  •  Canadian Lawyer Magazine  •  Montreal Gazette  •  Globe Newswire

A new “20-20-20” bylaw came into force in Montreal on April 1, requiring new residential developments to contain 20 per cent social housing, 20 per cent affordable housing and 20 per cent “family housing” with a minimum of three bedrooms.

The Saskatchewan Edge › City of Regina takes heat for land transaction

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

Propeller transforming T.O. bank into office tower

Commercial  •  blogTO

A five-storey office building is planned by Propeller Developments to sit atop the 107-year-old former Dominion Bank branch at 421 Roncesvalles Ave. in Toronto. The NAK Design and superkül-designed building will also include a restaurant and retail space.

CN’s $33.7B tops CP’s bid for Kansas City Southern

Commercial  •  CBC  •  Toronto Star  •  Financial Post

Montreal-based Canadian National Railway (CNR-T) has offered to buy U.S. railway Kansas City Southern (KSU-N) in a cash-and-stock bid valued at $33.7 billion US, attempting to block Canadian Pacific Railway’s (CP-T) purchase for $25.2 billion US.

Bankers return just in time for Brookfield Dubai tower

Commercial  •  Bloomberg

Brookfield has needed to ride Dubai’s economic roller-coaster since opening the $1.5-billion ICD-Brookfield Place, the largest standalone office tower in the city last September when the worst of the coronavirus outbreak appeared over.

CDPQ acquires 15% interest in Indiana Toll Road

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  IPE Real Assets

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), a global investment group, has acquired a 15 per cent  interest in the Indiana Toll Road from a subsidiary of the IFM Global Infrastructure Fund. IFM GIF will retain more than 70% of ITR.

Industrial Realty buys 1.5M-sq.-ft. Chicago-area site

Commercial  •  CP Executive

Industrial Realty Group LLC has purchased the former home of Caterpillar’s hydraulic manufacturing operations, a nearly 1.5-million-square-foot industrial site in Rockdale, Ill. The firm plans to transform the facility into a multi-tenant complex featuring warehouse, distribution and manufacturing accommodations.

What downtown Montreal might look like post-COVID

Commercial  •  Global News

In preliminary results of a Canadian Federation of Independent Business survey, close to 70 per cent of Montreal respondents said the uncertainty surrounding the third wave and the possibility of more restrictions and closures is a main concern.

New Urbanism integrates sustainability and livability

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

Traditional Neighbourhood Developments’ new Village Centre development in  Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., is set to become a leading example of New Urbanism, whose aim is to create developments that are less like sterile suburbs and more like warm, walkable villages.

Exodus from T.O.’s core may be over: Urbanation

Residential  •  Toronto Star

While Toronto apartment vacancies remain high, there are signs that prices may be bottoming out on the condo side of the rental market and the exodus from downtown has slowed, according to a first-quarter report from Urbanation.

Queen’s Park extends maximum funding for LTC homes

Residential  •  Toronto Star

Ontario long-term care homes will be funded in full through the end of the summer regardless of how badly they were hit by COVID-19, after the provincial government extended an occupancy agreement due to expire at the end of March.