The One, 1451 Wellington show luxury condo demand

RENX  Residential  •  Condominiums, Hotels and Resorts, Retail  •  Toronto / GTA, Ottawa

Mizrahi Developments, the developer behind The One, Canada’s second-tallest building after the CN Tower, is eyeing sites in Toronto’s Yonge and Steeles area for future developments. The company hopes to develop properties there for luxury condos, says president Sam Mizrahi.

Risk, reward in Montreal neighbourhood revamp

Residential, Commercial  •  Montreal Gazette  •  RENX

Groupe Mach is one of three sets of investors planning to redevelop Centre-Sud at the eastern edge of downtown Montreal. The projects represent billions in proposed investments. They also come with risks — among others, the proliferation of multi-storey buildings.

Developers might sue Montreal over blocked project

Residential  •  Montreal Gazette

Developers behind a housing project in Pierrefonds have sent a letter of notice to Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante that they intend to sue the city for “hundreds of millions of dollars”  unless she reconsiders her plan to scuttle the project.

The Numbers Game › What will Toronto’s condo market look like in the next five years?

Ben Myers: President , Bullpen Consulting

Kensington Capital acquires five surgery clinics for $35M

Commercial  •  Vancouver Sun

Toronto private-equity company Kensington Capital Advisers acquired the False Creek Healthcare Centre in Vancouver, one of B.C.’s first private surgery and diagnostic facilities. In all, Kensington bought Centric Health (CHH-T) clinics in Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto and Mississauga for $35 million.

Marcus & Millichap to buy Form Real Estate Advisors

RENX  Commercial  •  Land, Retail  •  British Columbia

Brokerage firm Marcus & Millichap, Inc. is acquiring Vancouver-based Form Real Estate Advisors Inc. “We were incredibly impressed with the company’s core values as well as what the Marcus & Millichap platform had to offer,” said Form principal David Morris.

Strategic Storage acquires Milwaukee facility

Commercial  •  PR Newswire  •  RENX

Strategic Storage Trust II, Inc., a private REIT sponsored by an indirect subsidiary of SmartStop Self Storage REIT, Inc., announced its acquisition of a newly constructed approximately 770-unit self storage facility in Milwaukee. Financial details were not disclosed.

Greybrook, PMG purchase Miami site for US$32M

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe Newswire  •  RENX

Greybrook Realty Partners announced the successful closing of an equity investment by its managed issuer of US$32,075,000 to acquire and oversee the development of a prime parcel of land in Miami. Greybrook and PMG intend to develop a mixed-use building.

Montreal seeks solution to empty storefronts

Commercial  •  Montreal Gazette  •  CBC  •  CTV

Montreal will hold public consultations to seek solutions to empty storefronts on many of its commercial arteries. While the city’s economy is booming, many commercial streets are ailing, Mayor Valérie Plante said at city hall on Monday.

Shopify effect aids Ottawa’s brick-and-mortar merchants

Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal

To Sheba and Gordie Schmidt, e-commerce giant Shopify is like that neighbour who comes over when you need a hand. “Without online, we wouldn’t be here anymore. That’s the reality,” Gordie says of West End Kids, his children’s apparel store.

Woodfibre LNG to proceed with $1.6B project

Commercial  •  Financial Post

In a few short weeks, Woodfibre LNG is poised to become the second liquefied natural gas export project to break ground on Canada’s West Coast even as other advanced Canadian LNG proposals have been delayed yet again.

Fort St. John sees RE uptick post-LNG approval

Residential, Commercial  •  Western Investor

Nine months after the $40-billion LNG Canada liquefied natural gas (LNG) project was approved, Fort St. John, B.C., is seeing an uptick in both commercial development and residential real estate values. Canadian Tire has also launched an expansion project.

Time to buy 5.5%-yielding WPT Industrial

Commercial  •  Motley Fool  •  RENX

Toronto-based WPT Industrial REIT (WIR-U-T), which has gained 7.5% since the start of 2019 , recently reported some notable Q2 results. This included finishing the quarter with an impressive occupancy rate of 99.4 per cent, 1.2 per cent greater than a year earlier.

Hong Kong, China hold fire over Vancouver CRE

Commercial  •  South China Morning Post

Foreign investors, including those from Hong Kong and mainland Chinese, largely stayed out of commercial real estate in Vancouver, Canada’s second-largest investment market, in the first half of 2019 amid sinking home prices in the city.

Hong Kong Central office vacancies surge

Commercial  •  Bloomberg

​Harrison Street raises $1.6B for seventh property fund

Commercial  •  IPE Real Assets  •  Business Wire

Harrison Street has raised $1.6 billion US for its seventh US opportunistic real estate fund. The manager said the Harrison Street Real Estate Partners VII fund which reached its $1.3 billion hard cap target at close, exceeded its original $950 million target.

Canadians may be treating homes like ATMs: Survey

Residential  •  Globe Newswire  •  Globe Newswire

According to a recent survey conducted by Ipsos on behalf of MNP LTD, 27 per cent of Canadian homeowners with a HELOC say they have used the funds borrowed to pay down other debts.

Denmark and Sweden show creativity: BILD

Residential  •  Toronto Star

Our friends at the Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA) conducted a housing tour in Copenhagen, Denmark and Malmö, Sweden, this past spring. Their objective was to cross-pollinate innovative ideas in terms of sustainability, urban design and architecture.

Ontario act a ‘sensible change’: RESCON

Residential  •  Construction Canada

Ontario’s More Homes, More Choice Act is under fire from a Toronto city councillor for being too developer-friendly, but it’s being praised by Richard Lyall, president of the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON).

Manitoba’s first condos turn 50

Residential  •  Winnipeg Free Press

When Pat and Bob Migliore moved to Winnipeg from New York City 49 years ago, they were enticed by an advertisement in the Free Press for affordable, brand-new townhouse condominiums on Buchanan Boulevard.