Landa Global has acquired a 3.4 acre development site on Elmbridge Way in the City Centre area of Richmond for $60 Million. The site is designated Urban Centre T5 within the Oval Village subarea of the City Centre Area Plan.
A rezoning application had been submitted by the previous owner to allow a high-density mixed use residential hotel development in three towers.
The site at 6851 & 6871 Elmbridge Way had been listed for sale with Avison Young in 2019:
Tatla Developments has submitted a rezoning application for a mid-block site on Kingsway in the latest rental application for the area. The 9,076 SF site is located at 1247 Kingsway, in between Inverness Street and Clark Drive.
The zoning for the site is currently C-2, but the rezoning application proposes:
31 market rental units;
15 studio units, 12 two bedrooms & 4 three-bedrooms;
3,800 SF of retail space;
a total density of 3.60 FSR;
a building height of 70 ft; and
16 underground parking stalls and 100 bike spaces.
The cooling off started in early 2018, but 2019
land sales data in Metro Vancouver shows the extent of the slowdown.
After a seemingly unstoppable run up in values
and transaction activity over the past five years, both prices and number of
sales have declined.
After a record 2018 for land sales in Metro Vancouver with $5 Billion in total sales value, the total value for 2019 was down more than half, to $2.4 Billion.
Declines have been offset by continued strength in demand for rental residential and office development. Likewise, more recent activity suggests a return of demand for condo land in the suburbs. Conversely, core luxury condo sites have essentially fallen off the radar.
Here’s a look at each of the 10 largest land
deals of 2019:
The goods: The largest land deal of the year took place in the rapidly transforming Brentwood Town Centre area of Burnaby. The site in question represents a land assembly of auto dealership land and an office building to total a combined 8 acres (some of which already owned by Grosvenor) located at the corner of Lougheed Highway and Alpha Avenue, across the street from Shape’s Amazing Brentwood project, now under construction. The deal closed in October 2019 and represents a long-term redevelopment for Grosvenor.
A rezoning application has now been submitted by Perkins + Will Architects that would establish a master plan for the site. The development plan envisions a high density mixed-use development with condos, rental apartments, retail and office space.
The goods: This 3.7-acre site is located in the Maplewood Village area of North Vancouver. The property is currently improved with older lowrise apartment buildings but is designated to allow rezoning for a medium density residential development up to a density of 2.50 FAR. There is currently no timeframe for redevelopment.
3. Plaza 102 Site, Surrey
Price: $54 Million
Site Area: 1.6 acres
Vendor: Private Investor
Purchaser: Private Investor
The goods: This
strip mall is located at the corner of 102 Ave and King George Boulevard in the
City Centre area of Surrey. The site is directly across 102 from Central City.
There is no word yet on redevelopment, but the City Centre Plan allows for a high density redevelopment up to 7.50 FAR.
The goods: This sale involved a large industrial site in the Latimer area of Campbell Heights in South Surrey. An initial rezoning application anticipates rezoning the combined site to allow a new industrial building. Blackstone Property Partners took Pure Industrial (“PIRET”) private in May 2018.
The goods: Another tower site in the coveted Metrotown area of Burnaby, this assembly of a strata building was completed by Casey Weeks and Morgan Iannone of Colliers in early 2019. Rezoning details have not been released yet, but the OCP allows a highrise tower.
The goods: This 9 acre low density residential site in the Partington Creek area of Burke Mountain was sold by the City of Coquitlam to Polygon. After the sale, a development proposal has been submitted which includes 132 townhouse units.
The goods: This site was sold by the Colliers team of Oliver Omi and Casey Pollard in April 2019. The site was sold via off-market transaction and includes an older lowrise commercial building. The site is zoned C-2 which allows outright approval for 4-storeys.
