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The top 10 CRE transactions in GTA in 2018

5 years ago

The Greater Toronto Area continues to dominate Canadian commercial real estate heading into 2019 — with investment likely to set a sixth consecutive record. “There’s no shortage of buyers,” said Altus Group’s Ray Wong, discussing the GTA’s Top 10 2018 CRE transactions.

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Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Limited announced it has acquired Chances Casino Kamloops. The acquisition makes Gateway the sole gaming provider in Kamloops. Gateway now operates 26 properties in B.C.Alberta and Ontario with approximately 8,600 employees.

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Vancouver startup CityHack Corp. is turning to actual hotels to offer entrepreneurs co-working space. CityHack is launching the company’s third venue this week with Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, after successful partnerships with Vancouver properties Hotel Blu and Hampton Inn & Suites.

Continuing demand for transit-oriented residential development in downtown Toronto has prompted Reserve Properties and Westdale Properties to move ahead with a second tower at Line 5 Condos near Yonge and Eglinton. The 450 units in the first tower have sold out.

CMLS

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Premier Doug Ford is tackling regional reform, a prospect met with excitement by some Ontario mayors and warnings from others who watched Toronto council get slashed in half. It intends to review regional governments in municipalities including Peel, Halton, Durham, and York.

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A CIBT Education Group (MBA-T) redevelopment that provides housing for international students could be one of the first tower projects within Vancouver’s emerging Oakridge Municipal Town Centre outside of the Oakridge Centre shopping mall property.

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A new high-rise set to open this summer  in south Edmonton bears all the necessary characteristics to win over renters in the prairie city. The 18-storey, 149,000-square-foot Central Tower will open at Century Park, a fast-growing and transit-oriented hub.

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WhereiPark, a leading digital marketplace for monthly parking across North America, announced  the acquisition of GarageHop, a provider of parking for non-resident tenants of buildings in the Seattle area with an emphasis on transit hub locations.

Centurion

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MPs have settled into their new home across the lawn in West Block. A short walk down Wellington Street in Ottawa, workers are making last-minute fixes at the new Senate of Canada Building, a former train station that will house Parliament’s senior chamber.

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On the west side of downtown, in the shadow of newer, taller skyscrapers, sits one of Calgary’s architectural gems, the Barron Building. The facade of the 11-storey building completed in 1951 features white and yellow stone interspaced with horizontal windows.

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A group of concerned citizens is  presenting an open letter to Victoria city council this week outlining issues around development in the city’s Old Town. The group is primarily worried about planning policies around development and heritage preservation guidelines.

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Holloway Lodging Corporation (HLC-T) has sold the Travelodge hotel in Dartmouth, N.S. The sale price for the hotel was $6.9 million, representing a cap rate of approximately 9.5% and a price per room of $92,000.

Triovest

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American Hotel Income Properties REIT (HOT.U-T) has completed approximately US$3.0 million of renovations at the Embassy Suites Columbus, Ohio. AHIP expects to begin similar renovation work at its Embassy Suites properties in IndependenceOhio, and in Phoenix in Q2 2019.

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Meeting the continuing and growing global demand for the brand, Red Roof is expanding its presence into the Canadian market, with its first property in Calgary. It has partnered with FANS International Hospitality Group to grow the brand.

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Sears will live on — at least for now. The company’s chairman and largest shareholder, Eddie Lampert, won a bankruptcy auction for Sears, averting liquidation of the iconic chain, according to a source familiar with the negotiations. The person agreed to speak on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the negotiation publicly.

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Blackstone is close to raising the largest-ever real estate fund, at $20 billion. The multi-national private equity and asset management company would thereby amplify its influence over prices paid for office towers, shopping centres and hotels.

CoStar

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There are signs the 2019 Toronto market could be rough one for new buyers, builders and renters. The first issue is affordability.  Preconstruction condos are set to top $1,000 a square foot in 2019, a 68-per-cent increase from 2016’s average presale price of $595 a square foot.

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It wasn’t so long ago million-dollar properties were a hard sell in Montreal. However, in the past couple of years, sales of high-end properties have picked up and at the ultra high end, prices are rising to eye-popping levels.

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Developer Jacques Bélisle purchased the land in 2012 zoned for up to 12 single-family homes. Instead of going the single-home route, he requested an amendment to the zoning to allow a multi-unit condo project targetting retirees.  The opposition was organized and intense.

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Major luxury developer Bruce Makowsky has announced a $38-million-dollar price adjustment for his spec home located at 924 Bel Air Road in Los Angeles. Originally listed at $250 million, the price was first lowered to $188 million and now to $150 million.

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