Toronto’s new and improved Regent Park ice rink has officially opened at 480 Shuter St., boasting new lighting, dasherboards and fencing. The rink is part of a larger project, the Regent Park Athletic Grounds, which is currently under construction. The state-of-the-art sports facility is slated for completion later this year.

A 124,000-square-foot Sport for Life Centre in Winnipeg is set to enter the second phase of construction in spring 2015. The first phase of construction opened in April 2010. The one-of-a-kind facility, which will feature space for sport training and programs, recreational pursuits and youth leadership development, will be used as a venue for the 2017 Canada Summer Games.

Nobel Real Estate Investment Trust (Nobel REIT) has purchased two Montreal-based industrial properties for more than $10 million. Both properties are located near the Pierre-Elliot-Trudeau

Fourth quarter statistics from Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) reveal a strong Toronto office market. According to the commercial real estate brokerage, 1.6-million square feet of office space was added to the city’s inventory this year and, despite that, vacancy rates remain the same as they were in Q4 2013. C&W reported a mere 0.1 per cent increase from Q3 2014 in Toronto’s office vacancy rate.

Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust (PIRET) has finalized the purchase of a western Canadian portfolio, including one Ontario-based property for $55 million. Located in Edmonton,

Ottawa’s National Arts Centre (NAC) will undergo a $110.5-million expansion and transformation thanks to funding from the Government of Canada. Diamond Schmitt Architects, the designer for the project, will revamp the building to include improved performance and theatre spaces, new wings for presentations and an enhanced entrance.

Corporate real estate advisor and brokerage Newmark Knight Frank Devencore recently released a Real Estate Market Study, noting that office vacancy rates in the downtown areas of many major Canadian cities have increased, year-over-year. Over the last 12 months, Class “A” and “B” office vacancy rates have increased, Canada-wide, from 4.9 per cent to six per cent.

The IIDEXCanada Silver Innovation Award has been presented to Quadrangle Architects (Quadrangle) for the architectural firm’s 200-square-foot booth, known as #Started, at IIDEXCanada 2014, Canada's National Design and Architecture Exposition & Conference. #Started was one of three Quadrangle booths created for StartupSpace, a special feature exhibition showcasing workplace concept spaces for startup tech culture, at the IIDEXCanada conference.

Memorial University, Newfoundland and Labrador’s only university, has just opened a new offshore research and development centre, known as the Suncor Energy Offshore Research and Development Centre. The $6.8-million facility expands an existing engineering building to include an additional 14, 208 square feet of research space.

The new 250,000-square-foot Faculty of Social Sciences building at the University of Ottawa, designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects and KWC Architects, has earned three design awards. The facility received an Institutional Building Award at the Ontario Concrete Awards, an Interior Wood Design Award from Ontario Wood WORKS!, and an Interior Green Wall Award of Excellence at CitiesAlive, the Green Roofs for Healthy Cities conference.

The Manitoba government is moving forward with proposed legislative changes to create a special planning area (SPA) for CentrePort Canada—the country’s only Foreign Trade Zone

In the same week, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) received a LEED Gold certification from the Canadian Green Building Council (CaGBC) and a Sustainable Tourism Award from the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO). The LEED Gold certification was achieved for the MTCC’s south building in the Existing Building: Operations & Maintenance category, making the facility one of the first Canadian convention centres to earn the recognition.

The School of Sustainable Design Engineering at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) has received a commitment of $16-million in government investments from the province. A new state-of-the-art engineering building will require $12-million in development funding while the remaining $4-million will go towards operating costs for the new engineering degree.

Toronto’s Direct Energy Centre, located at Exhibition Place, has been awarded LEED Gold certification for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance. This achievement makes the facility one of the first convention centres, nationwide, to receive the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) distinction.

The Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) and the Saskatchewan Polytechnic institution have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish a Manufacturing Centre of Excellence in Saskatoon at the school’s campus. The new facility will focus on improving productivity, innovation and workforce development for the province’s manufacturing industry.

Several Toronto buildings received top honours at the recent Ontario Masonry Design Awards gala, held at the Allstream Centre in Toronto, Ontario. The awards, which covered projects completed between the summers of 2009 and 2013, recognized the substantial, imaginative and creative use of masonry design in Ontario buildings and projects.

The Government of Canada is providing $436.7-million, through the Provincial Territorial Infrastructure Component (PTIC) of the New Building Canada Fund (NBCF), to the province of Saskatchewan for new projects. Of that sum, $196.5-million will be dedicated to provincial projects and the remaining $240.2-million will go to other eligible PTIC applicants.