Public Spaces

Social destabilization unsettles city fabric

Social destabilization unsettles city fabric

Data, collaborative networks and a suite of tested best practices can be valuable resources for property managers pressed to respond to the unsettling social destabilization occurring in many Canadian cities.
Ontario mulls its site redevelopment potential

Ontario mulls its site redevelopment potential

A centralized agency will be tasked with identifying provincially owned sites with redevelopment potential, placing a priority on new uses that align with infrastructure initiatives.
Accessibility carries a simple business case

Accessibility carries a simple business case

Many commercial real estate operators are making the simple business case for buildings that are functional for all potential users. It’s a quest that can begin with simple investigations, simple low-cost measures and simple mindfulness.
Public transit wariness

Public transit wariness makes the core edgy

Commuters’ willingness to jump on the bus, light-rail car or subway is expected to be a driving factor in repopulating office space in some major North American markets, including Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
value-add assets

Turnaround tales of value-add assets

Prominent Canadian asset managers recently recounted their experiences in repositioning underperforming properties, offering insight on turnaround logistics and the role value-add assets play in investment strategies.
development momentum

LRT development momentum on track in Toronto

The recently completed $102-million deal for Toronto Don Valley Hotel & Suites heralds the development momentum attached to the Eglinton Crosstown light rail transit line, now under construction across a 19-kilometre east-west stretch of the city.
big three retail landlords

Big three retail landlords thrive on experience

Yorkdale Shopping Centre again takes the title of Canada's most productive mall in the Retail Council of Canada's annual analysis of shopping centres with more than 250,000 square feet of gross leasable area.
Massey Hall

Massey Hall burnished for new generations

Panellists expressed a sense of pride and responsibility about making an imprint on a building that is both a civic landmark and embedded in Canada's cultural psyche.
Saddledome demolition

Saddledome demolition plan bucks transparency

The upfront cost has been projected at $13.8 million. The environmental repercussions of dismantling and discarding a 474,000-square-foot concrete and steel structure are more difficult to peg.
scrutiny of accessibility

Ontario aims to relax scrutiny of accessibility

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing says the underlying principle of improving accessibility will be maintained, and connects the revisions to the government's commitment to cut red tape that is slowing down the production of new housing.
multi-suite residential

Mixed-use developments may stifle diversity

Mixed-use developments in Toronto are creating neighbourhoods that are unaffordable for many people, according to a new study.
commercial hubs

Four growing commercial hubs in Toronto

The GTA's rising population and provincial investments will fuel growth at commercial hubs near future transit-oriented developments.
Office buildings

Office buildings urged to be facilitators of change

Creative programming can add value to office buildings in an increasingly competitive leasing environment.
zero emissions

Inside the Zero Carbon Building Standard

The CaGBC is working to spearhead the next evolution of green building with the launch of its Zero Carbon Building Standard.
smart community

Montreal building first vertical smart community

A new $200-million hotel-office-condo-multifamily development officially broke ground in downtown Montreal last week.
York Recreation Centre

York Recreation Centre revitalizes brownfield

With the development of the York Recreation Centre, the City of Toronto is serving a previously underserved community by using a previously underused site.
mall

Aging mall in cottage country finds new life

A few years ago, an aging mall in Midland, Ontario, was left struggling like many enclosed shopping centres across Canada.