Mtl. property among $191M in Dream Industrial buys

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial  •  Toronto / GTA, Greater Montreal, International

Through acquisitions and development, Dream Industrial REIT (DIR-UN-T) is adding over a million square feet to its Greater Montreal portfolio. That’s just one highlight in its most recent update, which reports $329 million in acquisitions in 2021 ($191 million previously unannounced).

Distribution centre proposed for Victoria airport lands

Commercial  •  Victoria Times Colonist

A “last-mile” distribution centre is planned on 7.7 acres of ­Victoria International Airport’s ­industrial land. Edmonton-based York Realty would construct the building for a client whose name is not being released yet, spokesman Matt Woolsey said Tuesday.

Crestpoint, Perimeter plan business park in Kitchener

Commercial  •  KitchenerToday  •  RENX

Crestpoint Real Estate Investments Ltd. and Perimeter Development Corp. have purchased 37 acres in Kitchener that will be the future home of the Homer Watson Business Park. Perimeter plans to begin construction in Q3 2021 and to complete the project by mid-2022.

Three-building Kitchener apt. property sold to Equiton

RENX  Residential  •  Apartments  •  Ontario

The acquisition of a Kitchener apartment complex, comprised of three buildings and 218 units, means the Equiton Residential Income Fund has grown its portfolio by over 50 per cent in just a month.

Netflix chooses Toronto for Canadian HQ

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

Netflix (NFLX-Q) has decided to put its Canadian corporate office — “a big first step” for the streaming giant — in Toronto. Co-chief executive and chief content officer Ted Sarandos had earlier said California-based Netflix was looking at Toronto or Vancouver.

Montreal’s Le Boulevard shopping centre to shutter

Commercial  •  Retail Insider  •  Montreal Gazette

Le Boulevard, one of Canada’s oldest shopping centres, will be shuttered as Montreal expropriates the property for a new transit line. Le Boulevard encompasses about 400,000 square feet of retail space and pre-pandemic saw more than eight million annual visitors.

CRE Matters › Canada’s hotel industry shows signs of recovery, resilience

Robin McLuskie and Alam Pirani: Colliers Hotels

Canmore rejects one of two proposed developments

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Canmore council has rejected one of two proposed projects that together would have almost doubled its population in coming decades. Plans for Three Sisters Village and Smith Creek covered about 80 per cent of the Alberta town’s developable land.

There will be parking spots at new REM station: Mayor

Residential, Commercial  •  Montreal Gazette  •  RENX

Kirkland Mayor Michel Gibson is confident there will be parking available at the REM light-rail station near the RioCan Centre along Highway 40. RioCan REIT and Broccolini are redeveloping the RioCan site with a massive residential, commercial and office complex.

Disney to close all Canadian stores

Commercial  •  Retail Insider  •  Winnipeg Free Press

U.S.-based mass media and entertainment conglomerate Disney will be shutting almost all of its standalone retail stores, including all 18 locations in Canada, according to sources. Two Canadian locations already shuttered last month.

In defence of The Beer Store: OPINION

Commercial  •  Toronto Star

As 2021 sees systemic changes in how consumers purchase goods and services it made me realize that some Ontarians have a fundamental misconception about what The Beer Store is and is not.

Weld failure caused Halifax crane collapse

Residential, Commercial  •  Daily Commercial News

A provincial government study has concluded the collapse of a 68-tonne construction crane in Halifax during post-tropical storm Dorian on Sept. 7, 2019 was the result of a weld failure in the lower portions of the tower. No one was injured.

U.S. CRE confidence soared in Q1: Survey

Commercial  •  CP Executive  •  CP Executive

Commercial real estate professionals’ confidence in the industrial and office sectors in the first quarter of 2021 rose sharply since the fourth quarter of 2020, according to the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors Snapshot Sentiment Report.

Starbucks misses Q1 expectations

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Starbucks Corp. (SBUX-Q) missed expectations for quarterly sales Tuesday, hurt by weakness at its business abroad where the COVID-19 pandemic has forced governments to restrict travel and shut cafes. Shares of the Seattle-based coffee chain fell about three per cent.

Top 10 U.S. residential, transportation projects

Residential, Commercial  •  Daily Commercial News

The accompanying tables show the top 10 largest upcoming Residential and Transportation Terminal construction projects in the U.S. They are all in the planning stage and are mainly new projects, but may also involve additions and/or alterations.

Atlas, DivcoWest to invest $1B in single-family rentals

Residential  •  PR Newswire

Atlas Real Estate, a full-service real estate company specializing in investment brokerage, property management and institutional acquisition, has entered into a joint venture with San Francisco-based DivcoWest to deploy $1 billion acquiring and renovating homes in high-growth U.S. states.

Vancouver homeowners getting larger tax burden

Residential, Commercial  •  Vancouver Sun

Residential property owners in Vancouver will pay a larger share of taxes this year after a divisive vote by city council Tuesday shifted $3.6 million in property taxes from businesses to homeowners.

Homebuyer complaints surge in Ontario

Residential  •  CBC

Real Estate Council of Ontario’s Brian Buchan says given the hot housing market, complaints of all kinds are at a historic high. Year-over-year, complaints from homebuyers have jumped 38 per cent, he says, “one of the largest jumps we’ve seen.”

Kitchener approves tiny homes on residential properties

Residential  •  CTV  •  KitchenerToday

Kitchener city council has passed a motion that will allow for a range of units including backyard homes, coach homes, laneway suites and tiny homes on thousands of residential properties, including single detached, semi-detached, and low-rise apartments.

Lockdown renovations with an eye toward future

Residential  •  Maclean’s

Amid the on-again, off-again lockdowns, nearly half of Canadians said they already had, or were considering, home renovations, according to an Abacus Data poll released in March. Here are some of the spaces they reconfigured with new realities in mind: