Commercial Real Estate News

Can Toronto defeat growing bedbug crisis?

Kamla Ross had chosen the apartment in downtown Toronto for all the right reasons: It was clean, in a safe neighbourhood and near the subway. She loved it, until the night she saw an apple seed-sized bug crawling on her bed. Unsure if it was a bedbug, she went to sleep, setting herself up to be human bait. Across the city, thousands like Ross, are realizing that bedbugs are quickly becoming everyone’s problem.

Joint ventures with REITs open door to commercial properties

While most real estate investors are still climbing out of the hole dug by their poor-performing portfolios, some are re-entering the market by teaming up with commercial real estate investment trusts. Within the last year or so, investors including CalPERS, Texas Teachers, Canada Pension Plan and Dutch money manager PGGM have done joint ventures with REITs.

Frank McKenna New Chair of Brookfield Asset Management

Brookfield Asset Management Inc., the real estate investor that’s acquiring a stake in bankrupt mall owner General Growth Properties Inc., named former Canadian Ambassador Frank McKenna chairman. McKenna, formerly Brookfield’s lead independent director, replaces Robert Harding as chairman, the Toronto-based company said today in a statement. Harding will remain on Brookfield’s board and head up a new global infrastructure advisory board.

N.Y. hotel law change a blow to tourists

To the dismay of everyone in the travel industry other than hotel executives, Governor David Paterson of New York has signed legislation outlawing the rental of apartments in the state (which means primarily New York City) for periods of less than 30 days. A large pro-tourism industry has just received a staggering blow, and tens of thousands of tourists will have to pay expensive hotel rates for their stays in New York City.

Timbercreek Launches Global Real Estate Fund, Files Final Prospectus

Timbercreek Asset Management Ltd., on behalf of Timbercreek Global Real Estate Fund, has filed a final prospectus dated August 5, 2010 with Canadian securities regulatory authorities in each of the provinces of Canada, and a receipt therefore has been issued. The prospectus qualifies the distribution of class A units and class B units of the Fund. The Offering is scheduled to close on August 26, 2010.

Brookfield Asset Management says it's thriving in an uncertain economic environment and will continue to use its financial heft as a competitive advantage to close major deals with long-term investment potential. "In this uncertain and volatile environment, we're able to execute on transactions at what we think are valuations which will result in strong long-term capital returns," the asset manager's chief financial officer Brian Lawson said Friday.

Way cleared for Sandbanks cottage resort to proceed

An obstacle blocking development of a cottage condominium resort on East Lake, near the famous Sandbanks Provincial Park, has been cleared. Friends of East Lake has withdrawn its OMB appeal, allowing following a compromise worked out with the developer and municipality. Sandbanks Summer Village, to be built on the site of a former golf driving range, will include 237 three-season cottages on 32 hectares.

At 7:15 a.m. on March 26, 2006, solemn Winnipeg Jets fans gathered to witness the demise of the Winnipeg Arena -- once a temple to the storied and now-defunct NHL team. Demolition experts threw 200 kilograms of explosives at the aging arena, but it refused to crumble. For many Winnipegers, the arena was the heart of the city, an ordinary structure that held extraordinary civic value.

Yankee Stadium, the Temple of Swat

The Yankees are different. No team in the world matters to as many people. Most franchises represent a city — the Maple Leafs or the Canadiens represent perhaps a little more than that, dividing a country between them. In the months of Canadian summer, the Blue Jays try gallantly to fill the space of devotion left by the vanished Expos, but heads turn discreetly, irresistibly, toward the Hudson.

Loan Restructuring – A Sign Of Hope In A Dismal Commercial Real Estate Industry Forecast

Although the U.S. economy appears to be showing preliminary signs of recovery with the stabilization of some large financial institutions, the commercial real estate market continues to be negatively affected by the ongoing decline of home prices, the high rate of commercial loan defaults and an unmoving high unemployment rate.

Freddie Mac requests $1.8B in aid after 2Q loss

Government-controlled mortgage buyer Freddie Mac is asking for $1.8 billion in additional federal aid after posting a larger loss in the second quarter. Freddie Mac said Monday it lost $6 billion, or $1.85 per share, in the April-to-June period. The company is required to pay a 10 percent annual dividend to the Treasury Department on money it has received from the government.

Scary stat: One in six U.S. homes under water

In case you missed it, a Wall Street Journal article on Wednesday caused quite a stir because of this one alarming statistic it cited: Nearly one in six U.S. homeowners owe more on their mortgage than their house is worth. This is a huge problem, of course, because it is one of the sources of the surging number of home foreclosures; the more foreclosures there are, the lower home prices fall.