Towering symbolism
A symbolic demolition took place in downtown Vancouver last week as GWL Realty Advisors Inc. launched the newest addition to the next wave of office development at 753 Seymour Street.
GWL president Paul Finkbeiner and Stephen Taylor, vice-president, real estate, with Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, as well as acting mayor Raymond Louie, joined forces to “symbolically demolish” an extract from the wall of the parkade that sits on the site of Vancouver Centre 2, a 33-storey office tower set to complete – not symbolically – in 2021.
The tower will address the realities of the Vancouver office market with approximately 371,000 square feet of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum-certified space that also aims for LEED’s cousin WELL, a certification of building health. GWL says the combination of standards promises to make the tower “one of the healthiest and most sustainable buildings in the city.”
While acting mayor Louie wielded the symbolic hammer, Mayor Gregor Robertson said in a press release for the event, as he did at the groundbreaking for 475 Howe Street, that 753 Seymour is “sure to be a new hub” for Vancouver’s tech sector as it facilitates “green economic growth.”
The tower has yet to sign an anchor tenant, but GWL believes market conditions – specifically, “heightened demand for office space in the downtown core” – support speculative construction.
Colliers International pegs downtown Vancouver office vacancies at 5.1% in the third quarter, down from 6.9% a year ago.
While vacancies are set to rise as the next wave of construction is completed, Cushman & Wakefield notes that the Vancouver office market will become ever tighter on a global scale as completions lag behind global demand.
Snow quality
With long-range forecasts calling for another winter of thick snow, and winter tires now required on the Coquihalla, ski hills from Whistler to Revelstoke are prepping for another season.
In the case of Panorama Mountain Village Inc., planning is taking the long view. Panorama recently signed Replay Resorts Inc. to elevate the guest experience at the resort, which is near Invermere and features a 4,265-foot vertical drop at the height of its 3,000 acres.
“Replay will begin work immediately on defining a future vision and the key aspects of the resort master plan within resort operations and real estate development. This combination will elevate the guest and ownership experience, while continuing to differentiate Panorama from other destinations in the industry,” a statement announcing the partnership explained.
Replay will identify tracts of land ripe for development, building on the $25 million invested into the resort since 2010. The initial development, Trappers Ridge, launched in 2012. With the assistance of Replay, new amenities for the resort as well as ski-in, ski-out and golf-oriented units are planned.
Panorama president and CEO Steve Paccagnan was unavailable for an interview but provided comments indicating that “a rapidly evolving tourism environment” required Panorama to take steps to differentiate itself from competitors.
Several new hotels have opened in Revelstoke with the expansion of its namesake mountain resort, while fresh investment in Mount Baldy above Osoyoos and $345 million worth of improvements at Whistler Blackcomb tip the time as ripe for improvements.
Big volume
While some resort owners invest in upgrades, the broader world of resort properties will come into focus at the Western Canadian Lodging Conference in Vancouver November 21-22.
The city’s an apt venue, given that B.C. has been a hot spot for hotel deals this year.
Colliers International reports that 19 hotels sold in Western Canada in 2017’s first half, and 13 of the deals were in B.C. While economic woes dogged other markets, buyers leapt at the chance to buy properties such as the Robsonstrasse in Vancouver and the Coquitlam Sleepy Lodge.
There was also BC Investment Management Corp.’s strategic sale of its 25-hotel SilverBirch portfolio to Hong Kong-based Leadon Investment Inc. for $1.1 billion.
Colliers pointed out that most of the deals took place outside Vancouver, which lacked properties for sale. The stock of available assets is likely to decrease because most of the properties that changed hands are set for conversion or redevelopment.
