Details about the new ‘Media Facade’ on the Telus Gardens office tower are emerging and it seems like it will be a distinctive feature. The screen is located on the west façade, between the 16th and 18th floors, and is approximately 26′ x 40′. It is only visible in one direction from both Georgia and Seymour Streets.

Here’s a description from the application:

“A simple and proven technology of back projection onto a retractable screen will provide a glare-free static image or full motion video. At dusk the screen descends, and the façade transforms.

When the performance is over, the screen ascends and the office tower is back to business. Content will be a mix of public art (including community messaging) and tenant exposure with the City of Vancouver reserving the right for special event programming.”

More details here.

A three-storey office building located at East 1st and Lonsdale has sold for $6,400,000. The 18,000 SF building was built in 1949 and is located on a 9,007 SF site. The property’s 2015 assessment is $5,620,000. The ground floor is leased to Eternal Skin Care.

Some great crane shots of MNP Tower, which is now nearing completion. Fixturing is underway for tenants with opening in the Spring.

Photos by Donald Jones, Flickr.

Here’s a quick look at the largest deals of 2014. While the announcement of the sale of the Jericho Lands was considered to be among the biggest deals of the year, this is not included as this was not a market transaction.

1. Hyatt Regency ($140 MM)

The sale of the Hyatt Regency hotel in Downtown Vancouver to InnVest REIT last month was the largest deal in Vancouver in 2014. The 644-room hotel sold for $140 Million. According to an InnVest press release: “InnVest funded the acquisition of the Hyatt with a new $70 million, 3.8% floating rate mortgage (three-year term plus two one-year options) and cash on hand”.

2. 1500 West Georgia ($120 MM)

Bosa Properties acquisition of 1500 West Georgia from Morguard was one of the most talked about deals in 2014. The 193,000 SF A Class office building sits on a very valuable and partially underutilized 43,320 SF, full-block site at the Southeast corner of West Georgia and Cardero. Speculation abounds as to future redevelopment.

3. Langara Gardens ($102 MM)

Peterson Group quietly sold a 50% interest in their 621-unit, 21 acre apartment property on Cambie Street known as Langara Gardens to Concert Properties in a deal that would peg the value over $200 Million. The site has been undergoing a preliminary planning process with the City of Vancouver since 2013.

4. 3777 Kingsway ($87 MM)

Another 50% sale managed to make Vancouver’s top deals of the year. The 50% sale of a building that many Vancouverites refer to as the ‘Telus Boot’, a 22-storey office tower near Metrotown, was sold by H&R REIT to Crestpoint for $87 Million.

5. 1444 Alberni & 740 Nicola ($84 MM)

Wall Financial’s acquisition of a full-city block in the West End was one of Vancouver’s largest deals with redevelopment potential. At just under an acre and containing existing apartments and office space, the site has redevelopment potential under the City of Vancouver’s new West End Community Plan.

There’s a lot of buzz in the market right now about 2015 assessed values, particularly for residential which seem to be all over the map with respect to increases/decreases from 2014.

For most Vancouver commercial properties over the past decade, market values have been consistently higher than assessment values. There are multiple reasons for this phenomenon, the most obvious of which has been a market that has seen steady capital appreciation rates that continue ahead of the assessors.  Here’s a quick look at all of the office buildings that sold in Metro Vancouver in 2014 for over $2,000,000:

Note that in almost all cases, purchase prices fall in a range of 10-40% above assessed value, and only in rare cases do they fall below assessed values. (If you’re wondering why  411 Dunsmuir Street wasn’t included, it was fully renovated and sat vacant for over a year before being fully leased and sold earlier this year and traded for over 3 times assessed value.