Strategic Group assets on Alta.’s judicial sale market

RENX  Commercial  •  Office, Investment  •  Alberta, Calgary

Segments of Alberta’s commercial real estate market, particularly office, have been hit hard by economic challenges brought on by lower oil prices and, most recently the pandemic, but that hasn’t translated yet into a spike in judicial property sales.

Granite acquiring $564M in U.S., European industrial

RENX  Commercial  •  Land, Industrial, Investment  •  International

Granite REIT (GRT-UN-T) is acquiring seven U.S. and European industrial properties, and has closed on a previously announced acquisition in Atlanta. The properties are valued at $564 million. Granite also plans to raise $288 million through a share issue.

SmartCentres redeveloping VMC site into crown jewel

Commercial  •  Retail Insider  •  RENX

SmartVMC, the massive 100-acre development at the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, is the crown jewel of SmartCentres REIT’s evolution ‘from shopping centres to city centres’. Redevelopment will result in the creation of a vibrant new downtown Vaughan.

Manulife buys two-tower Gatineau res property for $63M

Residential  •  Canada Newswire  •  Toronto Star  •  RENX

Manulife Investment Management has acquired Le Vibe, a recently constructed residential complex at 78-88 Rue Dollard-des-Ormeaux in downtown Gatineau on behalf of its Manulife Canadian Property Portfolio fund. The two eight-storey towers total 180 units and were acquired for $63 million.

CF Pacific Centre relatively unscathed by COVID-19

Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver  •  Business In Vancouver  •  Business In Vancouver

CF Pacific Centre in downtown Vancouver appears relatively unscathed in terms of spaces left empty by vacated businesses. In comparison, the empty storefront count at another high-end mall – West Vancouver’s sprawling Park Royal Shopping Centre – is significantly higher.

Mainstreet Equity launching B.C. acquisition binge

Commercial  •  Western Investor  •  RENX

Calgary-based Mainstreet Equity Corp. (MEQ-T), which already controls a third of the Surrey multifamily rental market, is planning a multimillion-dollar acquisition expansion in B.C. in 2021. “Tell your readers I am buying,” Mainstreet founder and CEO Bob Dhillon told Western Investor.

Real Estate by the Numbers › ‘Benevolent dolphins’ and the non-symmetrical nature of RE gains and losses

Volodya Gusak: President, Denciti Development

Beacon Hall Golf Club eyes $250M sale to T.O. developer

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

The rolling hills and woodlands at one of Canada’s top courses, Beacon Hall Golf Club in Aurora, Ont., may soon be turned into a suburban Toronto housing development. An unnamed developer has offered to buy the 200-acre property for $250 million.

City of Toronto plans to slash its office footprint

Commercial  •  CBC  •  BlogTO

ModernTO, a plan by the City of Toronto to drastically reduce its number of office locations and extend more flexible working arrangements to its employees, portends a shift that could reshape the way offices function across the city.

Brookfield veteran Ric Clark to form WatermanClark

Commercial  •  Bisnow  •  Bloomberg

Ric Clark, a Brookfield veteran of more than three decades, is teaming up with Philip “Tod” Waterman to form a new real estate investment and operating company known as WatermanClark. Clark stepped back from Brookfield earlier this year.

Savills thriving in new Calgary home

Commercial  •  Calgary Herald

At this time last year, Savills — one of the largest real estate companies in the world that was founded in London in 1855 — continued its expansion into the Canadian market by opening an office in Calgary.

Metro sales, profits grow as pandemic lift continues

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

Metro Inc.‘s (MRU-T) sales and profits grew once more in Q4, as the pandemic continues to provide an unusual level of growth in the grocery sector. The Montreal-based retailer reported $4.1-billion in sales for Q4, up 7.4 per cent year-over-year.

Intact, Tryg acquire British insurer RSA for US$9.6B

Residential, Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  Reuters

Intact Financial Corp. (IFC-T) and Denmark’s Tryg A/S have reached an agreement for the acquisition of RSA Insurance Group for $9.55 billion US. IFC will acquire RSA’s Canada, U.K. and International operations and co-own RSA Group’s Danish business with Tryg.

ERES acquires Dutch multiresidential property for $34.6M

Residential  •  Globe Newswire

ERES REIT (ERE-UN-X) announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire a multiresidential property located in Prins Alexander, a district in the northeast of Rotterdam. The two-building property is comprised of 84 residential units and was acquired for $34.6 million Cdn.

Concerns rise about U.S. bank CRE loan portfolios

Commercial  •  Bisnow

Months of economic despair wrought by the coronavirus pandemic may lead to a wave of bank defaults as a worsening pandemic has already started prompting local governments to issue new lockdown orders, which could stall the economic recovery.

U.S. office REITS down 24% in 2020

Commercial  •  Regina Leader-Post

As more employees get used to working remotely and office space continues to grow in major markets, shares of major office landlords have plunged this year. A Bloomberg index of office REITs is down about 24 per cent in 2020.

Municipalities vexed by Ontario zoning orders

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Ontario’s Ministerial Zoning Order over-ruling local planning is vexing communities. “. . . Why are we as municipalities spending all this time and effort on planning if you’re going to just come in and do as you want?” asked Aurora Mayor Tom Mrakas.

2020 on track as most active year in Canadian RE history

Residential  •  Toronto Star

Simcoe County beckons for departing Torontonians

Residential  •  Toronto Star

As the pandemic persists and work-from-home opportunities flourish, Simcoe County has become the destination of choice for Toronto’s pandemic exodus, says Sarah Stevens, who teaches economics at Georgian College and is also a professional speaker, real estate coach and realtor.

Edenshaw’s 15-storey condo building rising in Port Credit

Residential  •  Urban Toronto

Edenshaw Developments‘ 15-storey condo building TANU is part of a wave of new projects within walking distance of Port Credit GO station. The IBI Group-designed project will house 202 condominium suites, six penthouses and six townhomes of between 626 and 2,335 square feet.

Strategic Group properties on Alberta’s judicial sale market

RENX  Commercial  •  Office, Investment  •  Alberta, Calgary

Segments of Alberta’s commercial real estate market, particularly office, have been hit hard by economic challenges brought on by lower oil prices and, most recently the pandemic, but that hasn’t translated yet into a spike in judicial property sales.