By ChangingCity

The mystery was that as far as we knew there wasn’t either a rezoning or development application submitted, although the building was being marketed. The design by Musson Cattell Mackey initially was for a 9-storey building with 77,000 sq ft of space (right).

Now there’s a development application, it’s a 10 storey building, and the design has evolved into something that looks really much more interesting. Our image shows the view down Seymour, looking north. There are angled glazed sections in the Seymour facade that don’t show up well from this angle, but which add an extra level of variation on what is really a very efficient block floorplate.

The Urban Design panel are due to see it in April 2014, and given a positive response it’s scheduled for the Development Permit Board in June.

 …read more

Source: Changing City

Taken March 30, 2014 by Alex Wren

Colliers International recently facilitated the off-market sale of the 1400 Block of Alberni for $83,500,000. The two parcels on the block are improved with a highrise apartment and an office building and have a combined site area of 43,282 SF.

This attractive development opportunity encompasses an entire downtown city block, a rare occurrence in today’s market. Simon Lim represented the Vendor in the transaction.

Read more at Colliers Canada

Photo credit: Brady Fleguel

Concerns are emerging that a building boom of office towers in downtown Vancouver is creating far too much supply.

Only half the 2.18 million square feet of new office space in seven towers under construction downtown — a boom enabled by new zoning bylaws in 2009 — has been preleased, executives at the Vancouver Real Estate Forum said Thursday.

“I am not seeing a lot of office demand right now, and that is concerning to me,” Bart Corbett, senior vice-president of Cushman & Wakefield, said in an interview.

Corbett and other executives discussed office space development and economic trends at a panel discussion titled “The Vancouver Hangover?”

A common theme was that Vancouver’s commercial real estate market is slowing. The panel was asked how eager landlords are to offer inducements to would-be tenants, and which sectors among high-tech startups, resource industry offices, or “slow and steady” traditional businesses, are preferred.

Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/business/real+estate+executives+gather+discuss+Vancouver+housing+trends/9530873/story.html