By John Clark

The asking price isn’t being disclosed. The Vancouver Sun reported the property’s assessed value is $89.9 million.

But assessed value is a measure of the value of the real estate on which the building rests, as well as the building itself. This does not take into account the value of the business operating on the premises.

These are unrelated – at least in theory. In practice, they often become quite tangled, and not just in the tourism and hospitality sector. This entanglement is often accidental. Sometimes it’s deliberate – a subtle exercise in turning a blind eye some owners may believe will serve their tax planning objectives. Trying to shave dollars from one tax bill, however, may just end up costing you more down the road and leave you painted into a corner.

But even with the best of intentions, distinguishing real estate from business value can be a challenging valuation scenario.

When a hotel isn’t just a hotel

Take a hotel. A sale will typically include all the chattels – furniture, fixtures and equipment – plus the expectation on the part of the buyer that they have …read more

Source: RENX

Marloborough Court, a 5-storey office building located at Marlborough Avenue and Kingsway in Burnaby, has been sold to a local private investor.

The building is adjacent to Metropolis at Metrotown mall, is an 83,000 square foot, five storey office complex offering large floor plates. The purchase price was $27,200,000, or $326 per SF.

The building is located on a fairly large site, totaling 36,500 SF. The site is designated commercial within the existing Metrotown Plan.

A controversial piece of property in central Coquitlam that’s sat vacant for years will get a new lease on life, in a move that was widely opposed at a public hearing Monday.The property is located at 1649 Como Lake Ave., directly west of the Chevron station at the intersection with Poirier Street.

The proponent, represented by Tideway Developments, wants to consolidate two lots at 1649 and 1665 Como Lake Ave. to make way for a one-storey, 6,600-square-foot development encompassing four businesses.

What those businesses will look like remains unclear, as the developers are still seeking interested parties. The city’s zoning policy allows only for businesses like a grocery store, specialty food retailer, flower shop or seasonal Christmas tree stand.

The rezoning was endorsed unanimously, despite a handful of residents at the public hearing citing concerns around increased traffic, crime and vandalism, a loss of property values, and the belief that commercial units don’t belong in the neighbourhood.

Read more: http://www.thenownews.com/news/long-vacant-lot-in-coquitlam-to-be-redeveloped-1.1077604

A project that we wrote about back in January goes to public hearing next week. 2975 Oak Street is an existing 14-unit apartment building at Oak and W 14th that is being proposed for partial heritage preservation and replacement with 50 rental units in a new 10-storey tower; for a total density of 2.8 FSR on the 12,500 SF site. All of this is being done under the existing RM-3 zoning.

Existing Building

Proposed New 50-unit Tower

The Aquilini family bought the property back in April of 2012 for $4,600,000 ($130 per buildable SF based on the proposed density).

Demolish 14 units and build 50…and no rezoning. How are they able to do this?

It’s all about the heritage. The existing building is a Heritage ‘B’ and the proposal includes a Heritage Revitalization Agreement (HRA) for the site.

Under the current RM-3 zoning applicable to the site, the existing building could be demolished and the site redeveloped with a density of up to 1.9 FSR and a building height of 120 feet without Council approval, subject to replacement of the existing rental units and securing these units through a Housing Agreement.

However, as incentive and compensation to the owner for the heritage designation, rehabilitation, and conservation of the heritage facades of the existing building built in 1928, an increase in permitted density to 2.8 FSR with a new tower is being supported by the City.

As with any demolition of existing rental, Aquilini had to provide a Tenant Relocation Plan which meets the requirements under the Rate of Change Guidelines for RM, FM, and CD-1 Zoning Districts.

Overall, not a bad little deal especially considering that this project isn’t going under Rental 100 and therefore rents won’t be capped. But before you get excited about finding another just like it, keep in mind that this one was unique with a very small heritage building on a disproportionately large site RM-3 zoned site. Even the City acknowledges that it won’t be setting a precedent as there are so few properties where an HRA would be viable in this area.

More details here.