Office Space and Commercial Real Estate News Toronto - May 2010

Click on the image above for full version

Here are the latest headlines for April 2010 that caught my attention.

http://officesearchtoronto.com/news

HIGHLIGHTS

First Canadian Place gets 72-storey facelift

Almost 40 years after it was constructed, the 72-storey, 298-metre-high First Canadian Place office tower still retains its status as Canada's largest office tower. Now it will soon be receiving what is conceivably the largest recladding in the country. The approximately 45,000 Italian marble panels will be replaced with approximately 375,000-square feet of glass spandrel panels.
Daily Commercial News Fri Apr 30 2010

Ontario pledges 4 Toronto transit lines in 10 years

Queen's Park has confirmed in writing that all four previously approved lines will be built albeit in 10 years rather than eight. A letter from the province to the city suggests Metrolinx has come up with a plan to keep all four previously announced Transit City projects, as well as York Region's express bus lanes, on the map, despite a $4 billion funding cut in the next five years. The province had repeatedly committed $9.5 billion to Metrolinx's Big Five transit projects.

Toronto Star Fri Apr 30 2010 - National Post

Should I buy or should I lease?

The question of whether to buy or lease commercial space to house a company's operations can be a dilemma. Although there may not be a one-size-fits-all answer, there are clear guide posts for entrepreneurs and small-business owners to follow to make the right decision.

Globe and Mail Fri Apr 30 2010

Commercial real estate market starts to perk up

The darkest cloud over the economic recovery — the troubled commercial real estate market — may be clearing a bit. Prices of commercial property are up slightly compared with last fall. Loan modifications have risen sharply the past six months. Commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), a big funding source that was comatose for two years, has come to life recently.

USA Today Wed Apr 21 2010

New tack for Richmond & Adelaide?

Toronto is studying the feasibility of turning stretches of downtown's one-way thoroughfares -- Adelaide and Richmond -- into two-way streets. It's an idea that local councillor Adam Vaughan is eager to test out in the hopes of improving car flow and injecting vitality into a strip that operates as a highway among high-rises.

National Post Wed Apr 28 2010

_____________________________

Brookfield Reaches Agreement With General Growth Properties - Brookfield Asset Management - BAM.A-T

Brookfield Asset Management Inc. announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with General Growth Properties, Inc. for a proposed recapitalization of General Growth. Brookfield, along with its consortium partners, has agreed to invest $2.625 billion in equity to fund General Growth's recapitalization as the cornerstone investor for its plan of reorganization.

CNN Money Thu Apr 01 2010 - Globe and Mail - Reuters

GTA Commercial REALTORS® Release Commercial Market Report

In March, TREB Commercial Members reported 860,895 square feet of leased space, a 104 per cent increase from the 421,642 leased square feet recorded in March 2009, Commercial Council chair Garry Lander announced today. In the first quarter of 2010, lease transactions for commercial space increased 73 per cent from the first quarter of 2009.

Market Wire Wed Apr 07 2010

Green market squandered by Canada: study

Canadian business is failing to take advantage of the exploding global market for green technology, according to a study by the Conference Board of Canada. The report — Global Climate-Friendly Trade: Canada's Chance to Clean Up — said world trade in climate-friendly technologies grew by an average of 10 per cent annually from 2002 to 2008.

CBC Fri Mar 26 2010 - ReNew Canada

The evergreening of Toronto

It started very simply: In 2001, after 11 years of working to help restore and plant trees across Toronto and playing a strong leadership role in the ecological restoration of the city's near-11,000 hectares of ravines, the not-for-profit organization Evergreen decided to fill a gap. The boarded-up Brick Works produced 43 million bricks a year and played a unique and significant role in building the city.

Financial Post Fri Mar 19 2010

Vancouver, Toronto set to lead rebound

Vancouver and Toronto are leading a post-recession rebound across the country, according to two reports released yesterday that paint a rosy picture for 2010 as Canada surges ahead of its G7 counterparts in economic growth. The Conference Board of Canada's spring metropolitan outlook predicts growth in all of the country's major economic centres.

National Post Thu Apr 08 2010

TransGlobe aims to raise $250M in IPO - TransGlobe

TransGlobe Apartment REIT plans to raise $250-million in an initial public offering to buy rental apartments across Canada, say two people familiar with the sale. TransGlobe will sell trust units for $10 each, say regulatory documents filed yesterday by the Mississauga, Ont.-based firm. The offering, expected to be priced in the first week of May, is being led by CIBC World Markets.

National Post Mon Apr 12 2010

Could wind turbines work in Toronto?

When University of Toronto student Scott Whitty trekked to class in downtown Toronto, he wondered why it was always so windy in one particular spot. When he was dispatched to find problems in the city and solve them, he and classmates Kai van Es and Andrew Payne wanted to figure out whether they could simultaneously harness the wind there and make it easier for pedestrians to walk by.

Toronto Star Mon Apr 12 2010

LaSalle raises $230 mln for Canadian properties - LaSalle Investment Management

LaSalle Investment Management on Wednesday underscored its confidence in Canadian real estate by saying it had raised $230 million to invest in industrial, retail, office and residential properties in that country. The Canada Income & Growth Fund III, which has achieved its final closing, will have a total potential buying power of more than $550 million with leverage, said LaSalle.

Reuters Wed Apr 14 2010

Landlords call province's HST measures unfair

Landlords say the McGuinty government is duping Ontario's 1.3 million tenant households by saying measures introduced Monday will protect them from the HST. And by refusing to help landlords absorb the harmonized sales tax, the province will force them to cut back on badly needed maintenance and repairs, they added.

Your Home Tue Apr 13 2010

JLL Sees Recovery Signs for U.S. Office Market - Jones Lang LaSalle

Signs of a national office market recovery, including the peaking of sublease space and rents bottoming out, began appearing this year, according to Jones Lang LaSalle in its First Quarter 2010 North American Office Outlook. However, company research experts believe that though confidence is returning, job growth will be slow to recover until at least the beginning of 2011.

Globe St. Wed Apr 14 2010

An office that redefines the energy envelope

A pioneer in green building design for 30 years, Stephen Carpenter likes to explore new boundaries. But the University of Waterloo-trained engineer is no wild-eyed radical. In his determination to raise stretch the possibilities in the design of low-energy buildings, he prefers to keep things simple and monitor results. Enermodal is now Canada's largest exclusively green building consultant.

Globe and Mail Tue Apr 13 2010

FirstService Adds Colliers BK in Chicago to its network - FirstService Corporation - FFKY-Q

FirstService Corporation announced that its subsidiary, Colliers International, has acquired a significant ownership interest in Chicago's leading commercial real estate services firm, Colliers Bennett & Kahnweiler establishing an important regional hub in the US Midwest to service its growing portfolio of global and national clients.

Market Watch Mon Apr 19 2010

Foreigners continue to buy Canada

Foreign investors continue to flock to Canadian securities, snapping up bonds for the 14th month in a row in February. Non-residents added another $6.7-billion to their holdings of Canadian securities in the month. Foreign investors have added Canadian bonds to their portfolios for 14 straight months, with acquisitions totalling $100.7-billion since January of last year.

Globe and Mail Mon Apr 19 2010

Gould St. collapse cripples downtown stores

Several downtown businesses may have to wait weeks to reopen after the collapse of a Gould St. building façade on Friday in Toronto. By Sunday afternoon, a small construction crew was doing desultory work around the site. A half-dozen businesses fenced off inside the working area were darkened and shuttered.

Toronto Star Mon Apr 19 2010

A quiet period for commercial real estate

A year-long frenzy of activity in Canada's commercial real estate market has ground to a halt, for a simple reason: building owners don't want to sell. After three quarters of sharp growth, sales of office, industrial and retail properties in Canada's largest market, Toronto, fell in the first quarter. It's a phenomenon playing out across the country as cash-rich REITs hunt for properties.

Globe and Mail Wed Apr 21 2010

Allied Properties REIT grafting a new building onto an old one

West of the Toronto financial district, one developer is choosing a different route. He’s keeping the old – a handsome century-old brick factory that began as a huge bakery – and taking it to new heights. The project will graft an 11-storey glass office tower on top of the five-story industrial building, says Michael Emory, president and chief executive officer of Allied Properties REIT.

Globe and Mail Wed Apr 21 2010

Canadian Commercial Council of REALTORS Welcomes New Board - Canadian Real Estate Association

The Canadian Commercial Council (CCC) of REALTORS® is pleased to announce the installation of its new board, which commenced at the AGM in Ottawa. The new board consists of Chair, Karen Barry, who has been a commercial specialist for 21 years. Karen is currently the president of Barry Commercial Real Estate, a boutique investment brokerage firm, and Barry Realty Advisors, in Calgary, Alberta.

Canadian Real Estate Association Thu Apr 22 2010

Toronto’s Queen’s Quay Terminal receives Ontario Association of Architects award

A project that transformed a long-derelict warehouse into a mixed-use development that attracts year-round visitors to the Toronto waterfront has received a 2010 Landmark Award from the Ontario Association of Architects. Completed in 1983, Queen’s Quay Terminal features a dramatic eight-storey atrium that creates a visual link between the interior of the building and the waterfront.

Daily Commercial News Fri Apr 23 2010

Canada's Tallest Condo, 75 storeys, breaks ground in Toronto - Aura

Aura in promises to dramatically alter the look of Toronto's skyline thanks to its height and its relative distance from other supertall towers. Measuring 75 storeys and 243 metres, the condominium is set to become the tallest residential building in Canada. Aura will smash the height record for the city north of Queen Street, currently held by Minto's Quantum North at Yonge and Eglinton.

National Post Mon Apr 26 2010 - Globe and Mail - Canada News Wire - Market Wire

Toronto naysayers are wrong, says Oxford CEO Blake Hutcheson - Oxford Properties

Blake Hutcheson ran CB Richard Ellis for a decade, then spent the past two years in New York as a partner of a firm putting together a $3-billion private equity fund. But he never cut his ties with Toronto. His family stayed put, and Hutcheson continued to serve as vice-chairman of Build Toronto, the agency charged with developing city-owned real estate.

Toronto Star Mon Apr 26 2010