Urban Capital to begin building Montreal’s Cité Midtown

RENX  Residential  •  Condominiums  •  Greater Montreal

Urban Capital Property Group is set to begin construction this summer of the first phase of a $325-million, master-planned community in Montreal that represents its largest current development outside the GTA. Cité Midtown will have 790 housing units (700 condominiums and 90 townhouses).

Gazit to reduce ownership in First Capital Realty

Commercial  •  Canada Newswire  •  RENX

First Capital Realty (FCR) (FCR-T), one of the largest owners, developers and operators of necessity-based real estate in Canada’s most densely populated urban centres, announced Gazit-Globe Ltd.’s ownership of FCR would be reduced from 31.3 to approximately 9.9 per cent.

Oxford, CPPIB sell Dynamic Funds Tower complex

RENX  Commercial  •  Office  •  Toronto / GTA

A joint venture between the Great-West Life Real Estate Fund, London Life Real Estate Fund, OPTrust, and I.G. Investment Management  has purchased the 650,000-square-foot Dynamic Funds Tower complex in Toronto. It was previously owned by Oxford Properties and CPPIB.

Canada Lands set to revitalize Ottawa block

Residential, Commercial  •  CBC

The City of Ottawa’s planning committee has granted the necessary zoning approvals to allow Canada Lands Company to transform the 2.6-hectare Booth Street complex into a retail and residential area some are comparing to Toronto’s Distillery District.

NCC cancels LeBreton Flats proposal process

Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal

The National Capital Commission has officially cancelled the procurement process looking for a proposal to redevelop Ottawa’s LeBreton Flats following the collapse of its preferred proponent’s partnership.

Ottawa approves development, sound stage project

Commercial  •  Ottawa Business Journal

Two sizeable projects got the green light from Ottawa’s planning committee Thursday. The committee gave its thumbs-up to the proposal for a $40-million sound stage off Woodroffe Avenue in Nepean, which required approval for changes to Greenbelt lands.

Marwest, Quantum pitch Port Coquitlam proposals

Residential, Commercial  •  Western Investor

Two major projects that would add another 5,000 residents to Port Coquitlam’s borders were pitched by developers Tuesday. At the city’s committee of council, Marwest Development Corp. and Quantum Properties offered preliminary designs of their residential and commercial visions.

Sidewalk Labs unveils heated walkways, building raincoats

Residential, Commercial  •  CTV

Sidewalk Labs offered a glimpse at a handful of high-tech prototypes it hopes to launch in a waterfront smart city it has proposed for Toronto on Friday. The technologies include hexagonal sidewalks that light and heat up.

Toronto property tax rates among lowest in GTA: Report

Residential  •  Globe and Mail  •  CTV  •  CBC

The city of Toronto could stand to raise its property taxes by as much as 20 per cent, a new Centre for Urban Research and Land Development report suggests, pegging its rates as currently among the lowest across the GTA.

Tech set to capitalize on B.C. real estate slowdown

Residential, Commercial  •  Business In Vancouver  •  Business In Vancouver  •  Globe and Mail

Luke Krueger, the co-founder of Calgary’s Valhalla Private Capital, is among those banking on the tech sector benefiting from a slowdown in B.C. real estate. Valhalla Angels launched its fourth Western Canada chapter last month in Vancouver.

Digital Colony buys Toronto’s Cogeco Peer 1 for $720M

Commercial  •  IPE Real Assets  •  Toronto Star  •  Business Wire

Digital Colony has agreed to a $720-million deal to buy a cloud services company from Cogeco Communications. Cogeco Communications said it is selling Cogeco Peer 1 to affiliates of Digital Colony, which will remain headquartered in Toronto.

Major projects driving Edmonton CRE: CBRE

Commercial  •  Edmonton Journal  •  RENX

The Edmonton International Airport, a proposed southwest Edmonton hospital, and the Valley Line LRT expansion are driving long-range commercial real estate trends, says a report from the real estate firm CBRE.

Gap to separate Old Navy brand, close stores

Commercial  •  Reuters  •  CBC

Gap Inc will separate its better-performing Old Navy brand and shutter about 230 stores of its struggling namesake apparel business, in one of its biggest restructuring efforts to energize sales, sending shares surging 25 per cent on Thursday.

Ontario appoints new Waterfront Toronto board members

Commercial  •  Toronto Star  •  Globe and Mail

Close to three months after dismissing all of its representatives on the Waterfront Toronto board of directors, the Ontario government announced its newest appointees to the agency on Thursday afternoon.

REIT financial results:

Commercial  • 

Artis REIT, (AX-UN-T), Canada Newswire

REOC financial results:

Commercial  • 

Parkit Enterprise Inc., (PKT-X), Canada Newswire

Port of Vancouver breaks cargo record

Commercial  •  Vancouver Sun

Crude petroleum and barley showed the most growth in volume shipped through the Port of Vancouver in 2018, according to statistics released on Thursday. The Cargo Statistics Report stated cargo shipped through the Port of Vancouver reached a record 147 million tonnes.

Vancouver to strengthen protections for renters

Residential  •  Vancouver Courier

The City of Vancouver plans to pilot a new notification system that will inform renters of their tenancy rights by mail when the city receives a permit application to develop select recently sold rental buildings.

Port Moody nixes proposal for rental-only zoning

Residential  •  Tri-City News

Saskatoon builders sound alarm amid steep decline in sales

Residential  •  Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Ron Olson’s Saskatoon-based Boychuk Construction Corp. has spent more than four decades building homes in and around Saskatoon, long enough to have seen a few booms and busts in the city’s construction industry.