GTA office building spree to spur major tenant shuffle

RENX  Commercial  •  Office  •  Toronto / GTA

Toronto has 8.7 million square feet of office space under construction and 27.5 million more in the development pipeline. While the eventual fallout from COVID-19 is still largely unknown, there’s about to be a major shuffle of many large GTA tenants.

Ivanhoé invests in 538,000-sq.-ft. Paris office project

Commercial  •  IPE Real Assets

Ivanhoé Cambridge has invested an undisclosed amount in a 538,000-square-foot office development in Paris. Ivanhoé said it has acquired Joya in Val de Fontenay, being developed by Europequipements and Groupe Quartus, to be delivered in 2022.

SmartCentres proposes two condo towers in Pickering

Residential, Commercial  •  Urban Toronto

SmartCentres REIT (SRU-UN-T) is seeking permission to build 33- and 34-storey condominiums as part of SmartCentres Pickering, which will transform a 48-acre site at the intersection of Brock Road and Pickering Parkway, located just five minutes from Pickering GO Station.

PC Urban, KingSett acquire Richmond industrial property

RENX  Commercial  •  Industrial  •  Metro Vancouver

PC Urban Properties and KingSett Capital have partnered to purchase the multi-building light industrial Viking Way Business Centre in Richmond, B.C. The 9.7-acre property is 100 per cent occupied and the firms plan to announce redevelopment plans this fall.

Malls reopen, but will consumers come back?

Commercial  •  CBC  •  CBC  •  Montreal Gazette

Malls across the country are beginning to open their doors after weeks of government-mandated shutdowns, but both operators and retail tenants are stepping into uncharted territory amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rent-relief program too risky for landlords: NAI

Commercial  •  CBC  •  CBC  •  Globe and Mail

The “wildly confusing” federal commercial rent relief program may not get much uptake because the effort to help tenants puts too much risk onto the landlords, says Chad Griffiths, an Edmonton broker for real estate service firm NAI Commercial.

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Winnipeg development dispute heading back to court?

Residential, Commercial  •  CBC  •  Winnipeg Free Press

The lawyer representing developer Andrew Marquess says the City of Winnipeg is still in contempt of court and vows to take a years-long dispute over development on a parcel of land back before a judge.

Ski resorts already pondering how to safely reopen

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail (Sub. required)

Opening day at North American ski resorts may be months away, but many are already puzzling out how to safely reopen. “We are guardedly optimistic that we can open next winter,” says Rusty Gregory, CEO of Alterra Mountain Company.

Jasper ‘a ghost town’

Commercial  •  CBC

The streets of Jasper are quiet. Businesses are struggling to stay afloat and the stress is having an impact on people’s mental health, says Mayor Richard Ireland. Jasper will be more dependent on Alberta tourists than ever before this summer.

Unitholders OK Northview takeover by Starlight, Kingsett

Residential, Commercial  •  Globe Newswire  •  RENX

Northview Apartment REIT (NVU-UN-T) announced its unitholders have voted overwhelmingly to approve the proposed plan of arrangement pursuant to which Northview will be acquired by affiliates of Starlight Group Property Holdings and KingSett Capital for consideration of $36.25 per unit.

REOC first-quarter financial results

Commercial  • 

Gulf & Pacific Equities Corp., (GUF-X), Globe Newswire

California proposes bill to allow retailers to walk

Commercial  •  Bisnow

Introduced in March as a statewide commercial eviction moratorium and amended this month, Senate Bill 939 would allow California hospitality tenants devastated by shelter-in-place orders a chance to terminate their leases if negotiations with landlords fall through.

Klépierre has reopened 80% of European malls

Commercial  •  Globe Newswire  •  Reuters

Klépierre, the European leader in shopping malls, reports the vast majority of its shopping centres have reopened in Europe. As of today, 86 per cent of the group’s malls are open, representing 80% of the portfolio valuation on a group share basis.

Phoenix acquires tower sites across Ireland

Commercial  •  PR Newswire  •  IPE Real Assets

Blackstone-backed Phoenix Tower International announced the signing of an agreement with eir to purchase over 650 wireless towers and acquire newly constructed wireless towers over eight years across Ireland through a build-to-suit programme.

Self-storage rents not immune to COVID-19

Commercial  •  CP Executive  •  CP Executive

The global health crisis and deteriorating U.S. economy have taken a toll on self-storage rents in April. Over the past 12 months, street-rate rents dropped 2.6 per cent for the average 10×10 non-climate-controlled and six per cent for climate-controlled units of similar size.

Pharrell Williams’ Toronto condo project being revised

Residential  •  Post City  •  RENX

A revised site plan approval has been submitted to the city for the Pharrell Williams co-designed project Untitled near Yonge and Eglinton, which will bring even greater density to an area one councillor says is already at a breaking point.

COVID-19 reshapes how – and where – Vancouver works

Commercial  •  Globe and Mail  •  CBC

Engineer Paul Robinson knows he’s lucky to be part of “the Zoom class” of workers. Members of the Zoom class can work at home with little impact to their income because they can make use of video-conferencing technology.

Remote Vancouver Island mansion quarantine-ready

Residential  •  Vancouver Sun

When businessman and hotelier Raoul Malak bought a contemporary mansion in Metchosin, B.C., a town on the southern coast of Vancouver Island in 2012, the house was only six years old. Its prior owner had commissioned Simcic + Uhrich Architects.

U.S. Airbnb bookings rise 18% in the last 30 days

Residential  •  PR Newswire

Airbnb bookings are rebounding as Americans rush to book post-lockdown vacation rental stays, according to AllTheRooms Analytics, a provider of short-term rental analytics. U.S. Airbnb total nights booked over the next 90 days is now up 18.3% in the last 30 days.