Ex-rivals now partners: RoseFellow plans first project

RENX  Residential, Commercial  •  Apartments, Land  •  Greater Montreal

Two former rivals at Montreal developers Montoni and Broccolini have founded their own real estate company, closed on their first development property and are kicking off a $90-million luxury multiresidential project in the borough of Saint-Laurent.

Shopify joining Twitter in indefinite work-from-home

Commercial  •  Financial Post  •  CBC  •  Globe and Mail

Shopify Inc. (SHOP-T) will allow its 5,000 employees to work from home indefinitely. The company plans to keep its offices largely closed for the rest of the year as it re-designs its space for a “digital by default” mindset.

Nightclub king scrambles to salvage his empire

Commercial  •  Financial Post

Within the first 48 hours of Canada slipping into a pandemic-induced lockdown, Charles Khabouth had to close more than 20 bars, clubs and restaurants he owns in Toronto and Montreal, lay off 2,600 employees and pull the plug on multiple construction projects.

Devimco unveils $500M Longueuil multires project

RENX  Residential  •  Condominiums, Apartments  •  Greater Montreal

UPDATE: Devimco Immobilier will spend almost $500M to build over 1,200 rental and condo units above and surrounding the Longueuil – Université-de-Sherbrooke Metro station and bus terminal as part of the first phase of the development of a new downtown.

Canada’s book biz hunting for a new business model

Commercial  •  Toronto Star  •  Toronto Star

Heather Reisman, CEO of Indigo Books & Music (IDG-T), is blunt about the pandemic’s impact on retailers. “We need government help,” she says, adding internet commerce won’t fix things. “We make no money online,” said Reisman.

Quebec retailers see slower sales since reopening

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  Calgary’s Business  •  Toronto Star

More than two weeks after being allowed to reopen after the loosening of COVID-19 restrictions, Quebec store owners are finding permission to open up doesn’t mean a return to business as usual.

Victoria’s Secret parent shuttering stores

Commercial  •  CTV  •  CBC  •  La Presse

U.S. company L Brands says it will close about 250 Victoria’s Secret stores in Canada and the United States and 51 Bath and Body Works locations. The company says it is suspending store rent for April and May.

Restaurant group wants fee cap on delivery apps

Commercial  •  Calgary Herald  •  Financial Post  •  Vancouver Sun

Alberta’s restaurant industry is calling on government to follow in the footsteps of some U.S. jurisdictions by imposing a cap on fees charged by food delivery apps such as Skip the Dishes and Uber Eats.

Sandpiper increases investment in Extendicare to 10%

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

Sandpiper Group announced it has acquired, through Sandpiper Real Estate Fund 2 Limited Partnership, an aggregate of 25,000 shares of Extendicare Inc. (EXE-T) at an average price of $5.94 per share or $148,500 in the aggregate.

Bird awarded Mississauga, Edmonton projects

Residential, Commercial  •  Canada Newswire

Bird Construction (BDT-T) has been awarded a construction management services contract for 185 Enfield Place Project in Mississauga for GWL Realty Advisors; and a stipulated sum contract for the Louvre Residence at Century Park Project in Edmonton under development by ProCura.

Three-storey office proposal redesigned in resubmission

Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

A proposed office building in Toronto’s Junction Triangle has been resubmitted with a revised plan. The project was first submitted in June 2017 with a wood-heavy plan called i2 Stack, with Ontario Hardwood Products Ltd. commissioning a Williamson Williamson Architects design.

Retail COVID-19 business updates

Commercial  • 

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., (BBBY-Q), PR Newswire

INDOCHINO, Canada Newswire

Recipe Unlimited Corp., Canada Newswire

RYU Apparel Inc., (RYU-X), Canada Newswire

Tech firms deploy Bluetooth for office COVID tracing

Commercial  •  Reuters

Technology companies are developing their own contact tracing systems to help prevent coronavirus outbreaks in their offices as countries begin to ease lockdown measures and a return to the workplace is in the offing.

Mastercard to allow staff to continue working from home

Commercial  •  Reuters

Mastercard Inc (MA-N) will not ask employees to return to its worldwide corporate offices until they are comfortable that the sometimes fatal coronavirus is under control with vaccines or other measures, chief people officer Michael Fraccaro said on Wednesday.

Starbucks CEO says sales recovering

Commercial  •  Toronto Star

Starbucks Corp. (SBUX-Q) CEO Kevin Johnson said that sales are recovering as the coffee chain moves toward normalizing its operations. “Over the last week, we have now regained about 60-65 per cent of prior year comparable U.S. store sales,” Johnson said.

NFL kicker Nick Folk builds a CRE career

Commercial  •  Bisnow

Nick Folk is learning the ropes of the commercial real estate business at Dallas-based AMR Capital, but he still hasn’t given up on his first career: placekicking in the National Football League, which he has done for 12 seasons.

Doubling minimum down payment will spur falling prices

Residential  •  Financial Post

The drastic decline in housing sales and forecasts for falling prices over the next year may require governments to tighten credit supply to prevent borrowers from excessive debt obligations, while at the same time trying to stimulate the economy.

Homebuilders see continued demand during COVID-19

Residential  •  Ottawa Business Journal

In this Coping with COVID-19 podcast episode, OBJ publisher Michael Curran speaks with leaders from Ottawa’s homebuilding industry. Featured guests include Brent Strachan from Minto Communities, Neil Malhotra of Claridge Homes and Fred Carmosino of Maple Leaf Custom Homes.

Residential sector says change will be vital

Residential  •  Daily Commercial News: Part II  •  Daily Commercial News: Part I

TWO-PART SERIES: A post-COVID-19 world is going to look vastly different for residential construction in Ontario, say industry leaders in the sector, with a willingness for change being instrumental in order to meet new challenges.

Reimagining spaces after COVID-19

Residential  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Before we can build new, we’ll have to alter existing architecture to meet the demands of the next pandemic or climate-change emergency. And we’ll have to do it in the most friendly and familiar way possible, Quadrangle’s Michelle Xuereb says.