I am pleased to announce the sale of 1290 Homer Street, a heritage style office building located at the corner of Homer and Drake Streets in the Yaletown area of Downtown Vancouver. The building sits on a 50.5 x 120 ft site and is an excellent candidate for repositioning and/or redevelopment.
The property sold for $9,750,000.
Please contact me at david.taylor@colliers.com for details.
Plan A Real Estate has applied to the City of Vancouver to develop additional rental units on an apartment building they own at 1170 Barclay Street, The “Florida Apartments”. The proposal for the site includes:
Under the site’s existing RM-5B zoning, the application is “conditional” so it may be permitted; however, it requires the decision of the Director of Planning.
Existing Building
The architect for the project is Hearth Architectural Inc. The application explains the design rationale:
“The development proposal for The Florida is to preserve and restore the existing Heritage Class “B” Art Deco building that has long been in disrepair and in need of a major renovation. An addition to the restoration of The Florida will take the form of two storeys that steps back from the face of the existing building to emphasize the original heritage massing and form. With a total of 5 storeys in the new development proposal for The Florida, the floor plans will be redesigned to house more functional living spaces and provide for a good mix of studios, one bedrooms and two bedroom apartments. A total of 23 apartments will provide livability options for West End residents.”
The building was acquired in 2010 for $3,360,000, or a 3.5% cap rate.
Westbank Projects has applied to the City of Vancouver for permission to develop a site at 33 West Cordova with a 11-storey mixed-use building.The plan, which involves a deal between Ian Gillespie, the Portland Housing Society and BC Housing, was first announced a year ago.
The proposal for the 19,071 SF site that also fronts onto Blood Alley includes the following:
Under the site’s existing HA-2 zoning, the application is “conditional” so it may be permitted; however, it requires the decision of the Development Permit Board. 
The architect for the project is Henriquez Partners Architects. In the application, Henriquez explains the design rationale:
A two-storey office building at 1525 West 8th Avenue has sold for $19,500,000. The building sits on a 13,680 SF C-3A zoned property and has potential for redevelopment in the future to include residential. Based on the anticipated base density of 3.0 FSR, the price equates to $475 per buildable SF.
The building had been listed for sale earlier this year. Here is a promotional video outlining the property, including a rendering of a potential future condo tower on the site:
1525 West 8th Ave, Vancouver, BC from Cushman & Wakefield | Vancouver on Vimeo.
An interesting proposal has surfaced for a 33-foot lot on Commercial Drive at the corner of Napier Street. The site, which is improved with a 2-storey heritage commercial building built in 1908, is now being planned for heritage preservation with an infill apartment building at the rear lane.
Details of the proposal include:
Under the site’s existing C-2C1 zoning, the application is conditional and requires the approval of the planning department. For this project, relaxations would be required on building height and some setbacks. The application references incentives under the Rental 100 program.
View from Napier St – existing heritage building on the right
View from rear lane
The architect for the project is Cornerstone Architecture.
The property was listed for sale in 2013 and sold for $1,690,000, which equates to approx. $125 per buildable SF when the existing building is taken to account.