CAPREIT buys out 8 GTA multifamily operating leases

RENX  Residential  •  Apartments  •  Toronto / GTA

Canadian Apartment Properties REIT (CAR-UN-T) is spending $123 million to prepay the buyouts of its operating leases for eight multifamily properties in Toronto. The REIT had previously bought out three operating leases, and on Wednesday it added eight more properties.

‘Tsunami of claims’ expected for pandemic losses

Commercial  •  Toronto Star

As COVID-19 wears on, lawsuits are ramping up in the U.S. and Europe, said Toronto employment lawyer Sivan Tumarkin. Canada is starting to see its own lawsuits, both class-action and individual, from business owners looking to claim business interruption insurance.

Telus to build regional HQ in Victoria

Commercial  •  Victoria Times Colonist

Telus Communications is acquiring a city-owned site to build a “landmark” office and retail building north of Victoria’s historic Crystal Garden. The Telus Ocean building will serve as the company’s regional headquarters for a staff of about 250.

Dutch firms plan 87-storey downtown T.O. high-rise

RENX  Residential, Commercial  •  Condominiums, Office, Retail  •  Toronto / GTA

UPDATED: Dutch developers Kroonenberg Groep and ProWinko are proposing an 87-storey, mixed-use high-rise which would tower over the downtown Toronto intersection of Bay and Bloor Streets. If approved and built as proposed, it would be Canada’s tallest building.

Reliance acquires 6.7 acres in downtown Victoria

Commercial  •  Victoria Times Colonist

Reliance Properties has acquired 6.7 acres of downtown Victoria property, including the site of the Capital Iron building, in a transaction expected to close this summer. The acquisition includes the Capital Iron parking lot and adjacent commercial buildings.

Mission Group has big stake in new Kelowna campus

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe Newswire

Okanagan-based developer Mission Group will play a significant role in the land development of UBCO’s new Downtown Kelowna campus. Mission Group, the co-owner of the 550 Doyle Ave. site, said plans include university student rental housing, office and  academic space.

CRE Matters › Effective property marketing in an evolving landscape

Tanya Nicholson: Director, Marketing, Landlord and Investment Sales, Colliers International

Canadian outdoor retailer Sail files for bankruptcy

Commercial  •  CBC

Laval-based Sail Outdoors Inc. has filed for bankruptcy protection so it can restructure amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Sail, which employs nearly 1,800, says its 14 Sail stores and four Sportium stores are open in accordance with provincial public health guidelines.

Bridging Finance to sell 11% of loan book

Commercial  •  Financial Post

One of Canada’s largest private lenders is looking to sell as much as 11% of its loans. Bridging Finance Inc. has already sold $30 million in loans and plans to offload a further $170 million to other direct lenders and institutional investors.

QuadReal Property raises $350M via bond issue

Commercial  •  IPE Real Assets  •  Canada Newswire

Vancouver-headquartered QuadReal Property Group has taken advantage of the lower interest rate environment to raise $350 million by a bond issue. The real estate arm of British Columbia Investment Management Corporation said the notes were issued by BCI QuadReal Realty.

Alberta overhauls real estate regulator

Residential, Commercial  •  CBC  •  Edmonton Journal  •  Canada Newswire

Alberta is restructuring its real estate regulator, eight months after firing the previous board on the grounds it was dysfunctional. The Real Estate Council of Alberta licenses and regulates residential and CRE agents and brokers, mortgage brokers and property managers.

Alta. mulls eviction ban for landlords who skip rent relief

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail

Alberta is considering banning commercial evictions in cases where landlords have refused to participate in the federal rent-relief program. The program is designed to cut tenants’ rents by 75 per cent if their landlords have opted in.

Calgary committee approves new Green Line path

Commercial  •  CBC  •  Calgary Herald

The revised alignment for Calgary’s Green Line was approved during a committee meeting on Tuesday, but the $4.9-billion project’s future remains uncertain, as it still needs to face council before moving forward.

Queen’s Park moving forward with Ontario Line

Commercial  •  CBC  •  Daily Hive

Queen’s Park announced Tuesday it is moving ahead with the Ontario Line subway plan, but any mention of the project’s target completion date was notably absent. The province is issuing the first two public-private partnership requests for qualifications (RFQ).

U.S. office space demand to decrease, NAIOP predicts

Commercial  •  CP Executive  •  CNBC

National economic upheaval and surging unemployment will push U.S. office market absorption into negative territory through the second quarter of next year. That’s according to the NAIOP Research Foundation’s Office Space Demand Forecast for the second quarter.

Tech finds new importance in property management

Commercial  •  National Real Estate Investor  •  Real Estate Weekly

If it isn’t already taking place in your organization, it’s time to reconsider traditional modes of operation in favour of alternative approaches. That’s easily said, but it’s also a massive undertaking, which will most likely involve new technologies.

Piroli building six-storey downtown Windsor apartment

Residential  •  Daily Commercial News

Piroli Group Developments is building a $45-million, 152-unit, six-storey apartment building called West Bridge Place near the downtown core of Windsor. It will be the first residential tower in the city’s centre in three decades.

Mixed-use redevelopment proposed for Van. lot

Residential, Commercial  •  Daily Hive

A modest redevelopment is proposed for a single standard lot — 33 feet wide and 122 feet long — within the South Main area of Vancouver. Matthew Cheng Architect Inc.‘s intention is to redevelop a new 45-foot-tall, four-storey mixed-use building.

Hamilton sales, listings still struggling to return to normal

Residential  •  CBC

Sales and listings for Hamilton-area homes were still struggling to return to last year’s volumes according to the latest report from the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB). A positive sign amid the slow market is average prices are up.

Real estate auctions move seamlessly online

Residential, Commercial  •  Western Investor

On May 12 Calgary-based Hansen Land Brokers Inc. auctioned three Alberta land parcels in Whitecourt and Dead Man’s Flats, with a total of 22 acres selling for more than $2 million within hours. The entire auction was held online.