Bentall Kennedy LP and West Pender Property Group (WPPG) were recently cutting deals in a move that provides Bentall with yet another redevelopment site.
Bentall, on behalf of Westpen Funds, recently acquired 1090 West Pender from WPPG for $19.5 million, which in turn acquired a half interest in Bentall-owned 1050 West Pender. The latter is a 21-storey office tower with 220,129 square feet of leaseable area; 1090 gives Bentall a 0.2-acre site with 77,400 square feet on 12 storeys.
When combined with the parkade at 1070 West Pender, 1090 West Pender positions Bentall to develop an office tower on a prominent 0.73-acre corner site.
“1070 and 1090 together present an opportunity for a pretty significant development,” Tony Astles, Bentall executive vice-president, said. “It’s just a brilliant site.”
Proximity to the convention centre and growing pedestrian traffic make retail at grade possible, while offices above would be a good fit with other towers on the block such as 1055 Dunsmuir, a 35-storey tower with more than 540,000 square feet. City zoning permits just short of 350,000 square feet if 1070 and 1090 West Pender are redeveloped together.
But Astles said any redevelopment would be “several cycles” in the future.
The dealings come on the heels of an Avison Young report noting the strength in B.C. real estate investment trades. Avison Young tracked 99 investment sales in excess of $5 million across B.C. last year, with an aggregate value of $1.95 billion – a record for the province.
While sales activity downtown chugs along, it’s worth noting that the Village on False Creek – formerly known as Millennium Water – is also attracting strong interest.
By deadline last week there were no fresh numbers on sales. The latest figure of 128 sold units (announced February 22, five days after the project was relaunched with 230 units offered to the market) is holding fast. Lesli Boldt, whose company has been managing public relations for the latest campaign, said no new numbers would be available until this week. However, she did say there was no dramatic change from the number initially announced even after the seven-day recission period allowed buyers.
The average sale price on units sold to date is $778,800, with 20 units fetching above $1 million.
In addition, Terra Breads has signed a 10-year lease for a 2,100-square-foot café on the plaza. This promises a much-desired watering hole for those using the seawall as well as community centre visitors and people buying into and inhabiting the village.
And speaking of buyers, word is North Vancouver’s Conasys Inc. has been contracted by receiver Ernst & Young to provide homeowner manuals to the project’s new residents. Conasys’ information packages detail every product and component in a home, with contact information for the manufacturers and trades that installed them. It’s provided as an online database that can be easily updated as contacts change, providing a measure of security for building occupants.
It never fails to amaze this columnist the responses a mention of Vancouver elicits when he travels.
There was the taxi driver in Eugene, Oregon, a couple of weeks ago, for example, who barked out an expletive-laden admiration for Vancouver – until his comments made clear he’d confused our waterfront with Victoria’s. (Thanks, Victoria, for making us look good!)
Then there was the college instructor who considered a position in the Okanagan but decided against it when he took housing prices into account. Okanagan home prices just weren’t affordable on a post-secondary salary.
While the latest RBC housing affordability report indicates that homes in B.C. became “less unaffordable” through the second half of 2010, it expects the high cost of home ownership to weigh on the B.C. and Vancouver housing market in 2011.
Still, it’s in agreement with the BC Real Estate Association (BCREA) regarding the overall state of the market – balanced. BCREA said a balance between supply and demand will help boost residential sales 8% this year, with a further 4% increase in 2012.
The average price of homes sold through the B.C. MLS system is forecast to increase 2% in 2011 to $517,000, pulling back slightly in 2012 to $515,400.