A development application has been made to the City of Vancouver for permission to redevelop a prime downtown corner. The site is located at the Northwest corner of Granville and Davie, and is most well-known as “Tsui Hang“, a popular late night Chinese restaurant. Tsui Hang is located in what was once a bank, built in the 1940s. The balance of the site contains older run-down one and two-storey commercial buildings. The developer is Deecorp. The architect is MCMP.

Preliminary plans call for a redeveloped site include a 7-storey mixed use building. The proposal includes the following:

• 94 residential units (75 one-bedrooms and 19 2-bedrooms)
• Retail on the ground floor;
• Total density of 3.85 FSR (3.5 max + 10% heritage bonus)
• Building height of 71 ft.
• Total floor area of 69,300 SF
• 47 underground parking spaces accessed from the lane

An existing C-2 zoned strip retail building at the corner of Oak Street and Laurier Avenue (one block North of King Edward) is proposed for redevelopment to allow a 4-storey building with retail uses on the ground floor and 11 residential units above, all over two levels of underground parking. Details for this 12,819 SF site include:

• Total density of 29,100 SF or 2.27 FSR (less than 2.5 max due to site restrictions)
• Top floor has two 2,000 SF units targeting downsizers
• Each unit gets two parking stalls
• Concrete construction with high quality interior and exterior finishes

The site was acquired by Xpec Oak Holdings Ltd. in 2014 for $7,900,000, or $271 per buildable SF based on the proposed density.

Smart REIT (formerly Calloway REIT) has acquired Haney Place Mall, one of Maple Ridge’s largest enclosed shopping centres, for $57,600,000. The mall is 190,000 SF and is located in the town centre area of Maple Ridge. It was originally built in 1981 and renovated in 1993. Anchors include Thrifty Foods and a soon to be opened Walmart in the now vacant Target space. Rexall is one of the more recent tenants. The seller was Vancouver based Narland Properties.

Further detail regarding the sale can be found in this Maple Ridge News article.

I am pleased to have acted on behalf of the Vendor in the sale of Cranberry Lane, an 88-unit apartment complex in the Hamilton area of Richmond.

Oxford Properties has formally applied to rezone their property at 1133 Melville Street; a 30,510 SF site currently occupied by a 7-storey parkade and office building topped with two floors of vacant multi-residential.

The project, rumoured for the last couple of years, calls for a 33-storey office building with retail at grade, including:

• a building height of 524 ft.;
• 658,687 SF of office and retail space;
• a density of 22.65 FSR; and
• 287 underground parking spaces.

This rezoning application is being considered under the Rezoning Policy for the Central Business District (CBD) and CBD Shoulder, General Policy for Higher Buildings and Rezoning Policy for Sustainable Large Developments.

Once completed, it will be one of the tallest and largest office buildings in Vancouver. Comparable nearby shorter towers include Bentall 5, which contains 583,000 SF of office space; Park Place at 596,000 SF; and Bentall IV at 548,000 SF.

The architect team of KPF and Kasian, describes the project in the application:

The project stands at 33 storeys. Typical floor plates are approximately 20,000 SF with a five storey bustle on the west side of the tower separating the tower volume from the adjacent Loden Hotel and providing 5 floors with a 23,000 SF floor plate. The ground floor is programmed with both lobby and active retail space.”

Oxford acquired the property in 2010 for $27,650,000. The property was previously owned by Amacon who developed the Loden Hotel next door. Amacon had originally planned a hotel and office tower project on the property, but later elected to sell it.