A portfolio of five apartment buildings that was offered for sale in 2013 has sold to a private investor from China, now based in Vancouver. The 5-building, 193 unit portfolio of buildings in the West End and North Vancouver sold at a blended average cap rate of approx. 3.75%.

The largest and most prominent building among the five assets, is Pacific Beach Apartments, a 56-unit concrete highrise located at Jervis and Beach Avenue. The building sold for $15,200,000, representing $272,000 per unit.

A recent survey of assessed values gives a glimpse at how the BC Assessment Authority is looking at commercial properties in Metro Vancouver in 2014.

Below is a random survey of various asset types in nine separate areas. The annual change in assessed values was derived from a random sample of five properties in each category. While this is by no means a scientific survey, it does show some variation that is interesting.

745 Clark Drive in East Vancouver has sold for a reported $4,000,000. The 21,000 SF office building is located on the northwest corner of Clark Drive and East Georgia Street. Recently renovated with exposed timber beams, the building is in excellent condition with potential for expansion on the 15,030 SF lot. Gated parking facilities are available on site. The price represents $191 per SF.

A development permit application has been submitted for 179 Main Street, located directly North of the Fire Station at Main and Powell. The zoning for the site is DEOD and the plan is for a 9-storey residential building including the following:

• A total area of 35,828 SF
• A density of 3.98 FSR
• Ground floor retail
• 9 social housing units
• 47 market rental units

More information: http://former.vancouver.ca/devapps/179main/index.htm

2013 has been relatively quiet for the sale of office buildings in Metro Vancouver. There were no major downtown office buildings sold in the past year; though there were a number of sizable deals elsewhere in the region.

Here are the top 5 office deals in Metro Vancouver in 2013 (ranked by purchase price):

1. Discovery Parks Building, 887 Great Northern Way – Dundee REIT acquired the building through a share sale in May for a total purchase price of $66,135,000. The 165,000 SF building was developed in 2002 by Discovery Parks. It is fully leased and includes tenants such as QLT Inc., and 1-800-GOT-JUNK. The cap rate was reported to be 6.2%.

 
2. Surrey Central Business Park – Concert Properties‘ sale of Surrey Central Business Park was one of the larger deals of the year at $59,700,000. This five building, 350,000 SF portfolio was bought by a local investor. This sale was linked with another of Concert’s assets in Burnaby.

 
3. 1770 West 7th Avenue – just a few weeks ago this sale was announced. Chip Wilson, former CEO of Lululemon acquired this 5-storey, 75,000 SF office building located at Burrard and West 7th. The building, built in 1985, was sold for $32,625,000, or $430 per SF.

4. 3500 – 3650 Gilmore Way – this sale was part of Concert’s portfolio sale of suburban office assets. The $30,700,000 purchase price equates to $295 per SF.

5. 33991 Gladys Avenue – this newly constructed 3-storey, 71,500 SF office building was sold by the developer to a local private investor for $20,250,000. The building was 85% leased to the Federal Government.