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Crestpoint buys two major Calgary office properties – Real Estate News EXchange

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The Stampede Station office complex in Calgary. (Courtesy Crestpoint)

Just days after making a major office purchase in Montreal, Crestpoint Real Estate Investments Ltd., has announced the acquisition of two large office properties in Calgary. Crestpoint purchased Stampede Station and TransAlta Place, adding 498,000 square feet of leasable space to its portfolio.

Crestpoint also purchased the Place du Canada in Montreal in a transaction which closed on Dec. 30, 2019. In total, the acquisitions represent $190 million in investments.

“While Crestpoint has existing industrial and retail assets in the Greater Calgary Area, we are excited to announce that these two acquisitions mark our first office investments in Calgary,” Crestpoint president Kevin Leon said in a media release announcing the Calgary purchases.

“This investment is attractive as it provides a cost base well below replacement cost, an attractive going-in yield and upside in the future either through re-leasing the existing office space or at some point in the future the creation of high-rise residential projects.”

Crestpoint acquired 100 per cent interests in the Calgary properties on behalf of the Crestpoint open-end fund. The deal closed on Jan. 30.

Calgary Beltline office properties

Both properties are in Calgary’s Beltline, an area that has continued to see development despite an extended slowdown in the Alberta economy due to depressed prices for oil and other natural resources.

“The Beltline continues to be one of Calgary’s fastest-growing areas given the convenient access to amenities, attractions, public transit and recent multiresidential development,” Leon said in the release.

The two towers were previously part of Artis REIT’s (AX-UN-T) portfolio.

Artis has been actively readjusting its holdings during the past several years, diversifying from what used to be a heavily weighted Alberta portfolio, divesting non-core or lower-performing properties and expanding its presence in new markets including the U.S.

Artis president and CEO Armin Martens said early in 2019 the REIT planned to divest up to $600 million in assets during the year.

Stampede Station: 1327-1331 Macleod Trail SE

Stampede Station is a 162,000-square-foot, 10-storey class-A building with ground-floor retail and 373 underground and surface parking stalls.

Built in 2008, it has achieved LEED-EB Gold, BOMA BEST Gold and Energy Star certification.

It is leased to a variety of long-term high-quality tenants including Rogers Insurance, AppDirect and Enerflex Systems. 

Stampede Station is across the street from the BMO Centre, Calgary’s largest convention centre, and offers quick access to the Victoria Park/Stampede CTrain station.

The acquisition includes 0.64 acres of land zoned for future residential development.

TransAlta Place: 110 12th Avenue SW

The three-building TransAlta Place office property in Calgary. (Courtesy Crestpoint)

TransAlta Place is comprised of three office buildings totaling over 336,000 square feet and 295 underground parking stalls, encompassing an entire city block.

“The building is a unique property as it has a campus feel with multiple towers, plenty of amenity space and is situated close to the downtown core,” says the release from Crestpoint.

The complex is 100 per cent leased to TransAlta, Canada’s largest clean electricity provider. 

TransAlta Place is adjacent to the proposed Green CTrain line, which is scheduled to be completed in 2026.

Following these major acquisitions, Crestpoint’s total assets under management have grown to $4.9 billion. 

Montreal purchase

Located at 1010 de la Gauchetière St. W. in the central business district, Place du Canada is a 384,000-square-foot, 22-storey office building with two levels of retail and a 352-stall underground parking garage.

It is leased to a diversified roster of premier tenants, including National Bank, The Guarantee Company of North America and Fuller Landau Associates. Place du Canada has excellent transit access as it is connected to Montreal’s underground city including the subway system, train and bus stations and a future LRT station.

Jamie Miller, Crestpoint’s senior director, acquisitions and asset management, told RENX last week that with National Bank poised to move into a new head office in late 2023, Crestpoint will embark on a major overhaul of the building with an eye to repositioning it within the market.

Place du Canada is Crestpoint’s second Montreal office acquisition, after 630 René-Lévesque Blvd. W.

About Crestpoint

Crestpoint is a commercial real estate investment manager with $4.9 billion of gross assets under management.

Crestpoint is part of the Connor, Clark & Lunn Financial Group, a multi-boutique asset management company that provides investment management products and services to institutional and high net-worth clients.

With offices across Canada and in Chicago, New York and London, Connor, Clark & Lunn Financial Group and its affiliates are collectively responsible for the management of over $79 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2019.

RELATED STORIES:

* Crestpoint, Redbourne acquire Montreal Place du Canada

* Crestpoint buys 50% of large Calgary industrial portfolio

* Artis continues divestments, eyes U.S. industrial growth

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Greater Toronto home sales jump in October after Bank of Canada rate cuts: board

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TORONTO – The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board says home sales in October surged as buyers continued moving off the sidelines amid lower interest rates.

The board said 6,658 homes changed hands last month in the Greater Toronto Area, up 44.4 per cent compared with 4,611 in the same month last year. Sales were up 14 per cent from September on a seasonally adjusted basis.

The average selling price was up 1.1 per cent compared with a year earlier at $1,135,215. The composite benchmark price, meant to represent the typical home, was down 3.3 per cent year-over-year.

“While we are still early in the Bank of Canada’s rate cutting cycle, it definitely does appear that an increasing number of buyers moved off the sidelines and back into the marketplace in October,” said TRREB president Jennifer Pearce in a news release.

“The positive affordability picture brought about by lower borrowing costs and relatively flat home prices prompted this improvement in market activity.”

The Bank of Canada has slashed its key interest rate four times since June, including a half-percentage point cut on Oct. 23. The rate now stands at 3.75 per cent, down from the high of five per cent that deterred many would-be buyers from the housing market.

New listings last month totalled 15,328, up 4.3 per cent from a year earlier.

In the City of Toronto, there were 2,509 sales last month, a 37.6 per cent jump from October 2023. Throughout the rest of the GTA, home sales rose 48.9 per cent to 4,149.

The sales uptick is encouraging, said Cameron Forbes, general manager and broker for Re/Max Realtron Realty Inc., who added the figures for October were stronger than he anticipated.

“I thought they’d be up for sure, but not necessarily that much,” said Forbes.

“Obviously, the 50 basis points was certainly a great move in the right direction. I just thought it would take more to get things going.”

He said it shows confidence in the market is returning faster than expected, especially among existing homeowners looking for a new property.

“The average consumer who’s employed and may have been able to get some increases in their wages over the last little bit to make up some ground with inflation, I think they’re confident, so they’re looking in the market.

“The conditions are nice because you’ve got a little more time, you’ve got more choice, you’ve got fewer other buyers to compete against.”

All property types saw more sales in October compared with a year ago throughout the GTA.

Townhouses led the surge with 56.8 per cent more sales, followed by detached homes at 46.6 per cent and semi-detached homes at 44 per cent. There were 33.4 per cent more condos that changed hands year-over-year.

“Market conditions did tighten in October, but there is still a lot of inventory and therefore choice for homebuyers,” said TRREB chief market analyst Jason Mercer.

“This choice will keep home price growth moderate over the next few months. However, as inventory is absorbed and home construction continues to lag population growth, selling price growth will accelerate, likely as we move through the spring of 2025.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Homelessness: Tiny home village to open next week in Halifax suburb

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HALIFAX – A village of tiny homes is set to open next month in a Halifax suburb, the latest project by the provincial government to address homelessness.

Located in Lower Sackville, N.S., the tiny home community will house up to 34 people when the first 26 units open Nov. 4.

Another 35 people are scheduled to move in when construction on another 29 units should be complete in December, under a partnership between the province, the Halifax Regional Municipality, United Way Halifax, The Shaw Group and Dexter Construction.

The province invested $9.4 million to build the village and will contribute $935,000 annually for operating costs.

Residents have been chosen from a list of people experiencing homelessness maintained by the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia.

They will pay rent that is tied to their income for a unit that is fully furnished with a private bathroom, shower and a kitchen equipped with a cooktop, small fridge and microwave.

The Atlantic Community Shelters Society will also provide support to residents, ranging from counselling and mental health supports to employment and educational services.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Here are some facts about British Columbia’s housing market

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Housing affordability is a key issue in the provincial election campaign in British Columbia, particularly in major centres.

Here are some statistics about housing in B.C. from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2024 Rental Market Report, issued in January, and the B.C. Real Estate Association’s August 2024 report.

Average residential home price in B.C.: $938,500

Average price in greater Vancouver (2024 year to date): $1,304,438

Average price in greater Victoria (2024 year to date): $979,103

Average price in the Okanagan (2024 year to date): $748,015

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Vancouver: $2,181

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Victoria: $1,839

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Canada: $1,359

Rental vacancy rate in Vancouver: 0.9 per cent

How much more do new renters in Vancouver pay compared with renters who have occupied their home for at least a year: 27 per cent

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

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