There are a whopping fifteen rezoning applications going to City of Vancouver Council next week, spanning neighbourhoods from Downtown to the Fraser River waterfront. Here’s a rundown of what’s being considered:

2806–2890 East Broadway, 2813–2881 East 10th Avenue & 2528–2580 Kaslo Street

Applicant: Sightline Properties

A 26-lot land assembly just north of Renfrew SkyTrain Station is proposed for four mixed-use towers ranging from 39 to 45 storeys, totalling 1,959 units (1,386 strata and 573 rental, with 20% of rental floor area at below-market rates), plus ground-floor retail and a 73-space private childcare facility. Density is 10.5 FSR. Application prepared by Arcadis.

282 West 49th Avenue – Revision of Approval in Principle

Applicant: Musqueam Capital Corporation / YMCA

A minor revision to a previously approved mixed-use redevelopment of the Langara Family YMCA site, increasing total floor area to 54,300 sq. m and raising building heights by 1–2 m to accommodate design refinements. The project includes a 33-storey rental tower (306 units), a 37-storey strata tower (291 units), and an 8-storey building with 88 social housing units and a replacement YMCA community centre, at an overall FSR of 6.71.

8080 Yukon Street – Revision of Approval in Principle

Applicant: Purpose Driven Development (on behalf of Kiwanis-Soroptimist Senior Citizens Housing Society)

A minor revision to a February 2026–approved social housing project in Marpole, increasing the height of one 6-storey seniors building from 23 m to 25.3 m to accommodate new building technology. The broader project totals 903 social housing units across four buildings of up to 32 storeys, with no change to the overall floor area of 58,190 sq. m.

6212–6218 Ash Street

Applicant: 1279398 B.C. Ltd.

A proposed 6-storey mixed-use building with 30 rental units (20% below-market) and a 37-space private childcare on the ground floor, located one block from Langara–49th Avenue Station. The application increases density from 1.2 to 3.4 FSR, with a building height of 23 m.

3202–3270 Riverwalk Avenue (Parcel 11) – East Fraser Lands

Applicant: Wesgroup

An amendment to the CD-1 (499) by-law for Parcel 11 in the River District, increasing permitted height from 12 to 15 storeys (37.5 m to 48 m) to allow above-grade structured parking in response to high groundwater conditions that make deep underground excavation impractical. No change to overall floor area.

375 East 1st Avenue

Applicant: Onni

A large mixed-use development adjacent to the future Great Northern Way–Emily Carr SkyTrain Station, proposing four towers of 35–40 storeys with a total of 1,156 units (639 strata, 485 rental, and 32 artist social housing), a 225-room hotel, office and retail space, and an arts and culture production facility to be conveyed to the City. Total floor area is 110,800 sq. m with buildings reaching up to 137 m in height. Designed by Boniface Oleksiuk Politano Architects.

1045 Haro Street & 830–850 Thurlow Street

Applicant: 1045 Haro Street Limited Partnership (Chard)

Two towers of 25–26 storeys connected by an 8-storey podium in the West End, with 542 rental units (22 below-market, operated by the YWCA), a private childcare facility, and ground-floor commercial. Density increases from 6.0 to 10.6 FSR, with a building height of 80.9 m. Designed by Musson Cattell Mackey.

2406–2490 Renfrew Street & 2905–2911 East Broadway

Applicant: Easthill Development Limited Partnership

A rezoning revision for a site previously approved under CD-1 (846) in 2022, now seeking a 31-storey tower and a 6-storey mid-rise with 339 market rental units and ground-floor commercial. FSR increases from 4.1 to 7.5, with maximum height rising from 48.6 m to 97 m. Designed by Studio One Architecture.

466–476 West 27th Avenue

Applicant: Vittori Developments Ltd.

A proposed 15-storey rental building with 140 units (20% below-market) mid-block between Cambie and Yukon Streets, within 400 m of King Edward Station. The application proposes an FSR of 5.89 and a height of 45.6 m, with additional height qualifying under the Rental Development Relief Program.

365–395 West Broadway

Applicant: Bonnis Development Yukon St. Inc.

A proposed 32-storey mixed-use tower with 196 market rental units and ground-floor retail at the corner of Broadway and Yukon Street, 180 m from Broadway–City Hall Station. The application proposes an FSR of 22.0 on a 766 sq. m lot, with a building height of 104 m. Staff are supporting a height above the Broadway Plan’s standard 30-storey limit due to the site’s shallow lot depth.

1088 West 12th Avenue

Applicant: PC Urban

A proposed 26-storey mixed-use rental building in Fairview with 304 units (20% below-market) and ground-floor commercial, replacing an existing 65-unit rental building. FSR increases from 3.0 to 6.9 and height from 27.5 m to 81 m. The 26-storey height is supported under the Broadway Plan due to the site’s frontage exceeding 45.7 m. Designed by Francl Architecture.

1618–1680 East Hastings Street

Applicant: Urban Native Youth Association and City of Vancouver

An Indigenous-led mixed-use project at East Hastings and Commercial Drive proposing 157 social housing units in a 23-storey tower, with the lower four storeys housing a renewed Urban Native Youth Association centre, a Nicola Valley Institute of Technology campus, and a 44-space Indigenous childcare facility to be owned by the City. The application proposes an FSR of 5.9 and a height of 81 m.

7525 Cambie Street

Applicant: Wesgroup

A proposed 12-storey mass timber mixed-use building with 97 market rental units and ground-floor retail at the corner of Cambie and West 59th Avenue, representing the first application under the City’s Mass Timber Policy for Rezonings. FSR of 4.26 and height of 48 m. No below-market rental requirement applies, reflecting the premium cost of mass timber construction.

2611 Victoria Drive

Applicant: Vertex DC Ventures Inc. and Fastmark

A proposed 26-storey mixed-use tower with 250 rental units (20% below-market) and ground-floor commercial near Commercial–Broadway Station, at an FSR of 10.9 and a height of 83 m. Staff are recommending referral back rather than approval, as the building above the 10th storey falls within the Trout Lake public view cone (View 27.1), and the City’s view cone policy is currently under review.

807–819 Hornby Street & 908–948 Robson Street

Applicant: Reliance Properties

A proposed 35-storey mixed-use tower at the corner of Robson and Hornby Streets in Downtown Vancouver, with 176 strata units and 160 hotel rooms above an 11-storey commercial podium with ground-floor retail. The application proposes an FSR of 14.5 and a height of 108.7 m, with a negotiated cash community amenity contribution of up to $4.3 million.

David Taylor | Colliers International david.taylor@colliers.com | 604-761-7044 | vancouvermarket.ca

I’ll be posting quarterly market updates with summaries of relevant sales and listings.

Q1 2026 produced a mixed quarter for Metro Vancouver commercial real estate investment. Transaction volume remained selective, with buyers focused on well-leased, income-producing assets rather than the speculative plays with ‘development upside’ that dominated our market for much of the last decade. Here is a summary of notable sales and trends across asset classes tracked on Vancouver Market during January through March 2026.

Multifamily / Apartment

Apartment buildings showed decent transaction activity, with several notable sales across Vancouver neighbourhoods reflecting a wide range of cap rates depending on location, vintage, and building quality.

The quarter’s most striking multifamily data point was the 3.4% cap rate achieved on the sale of a 14-unit Kitsilano walk-up at 2250 York Avenue, which traded for $5,995,000 ($428,000 per unit). Built in 1953 and sitting on a 75-foot frontage RM-4 lot, the sale underscores how location is driving value.

By contrast, a 10-unit Fairview walk-up at 1035 West 12th Avenue sold at a 4.9% cap rate for $2,895,000 ($289,500 per unit) — a more yield-oriented result reflective of the building’s smaller footprint and lower land-to-building ratio.

The quarter’s largest multifamily deal was the sale of a newer 31-unit mixed-use building at 727 East 17th Avenue on Fraser Street, which traded at $12,500,000 ($694,000 per unit, 4.4% cap rate). The 2017-vintage building’s premium pricing reflects investor appetite for newer purpose-built rental stock with lower near-term capital expenditure requirements.

Also notable was the sale of a 20-unit Grandview-Woodland apartment at 2280 McGill Street for $5,600,000 ($280,000 per unit), acquired by New Chelsea Society.

Q1 2026 apartment cap rate range observed: 3.4% – 4.9% across sales in the City of Vancouver, with westside assets continuing to compress toward or below 4%.

Retail

Retail investment saw strong activity in Q1, headlined by the largest single deal of the quarter.

The retail air space parcel at 1101–1133 Alberni Street — part of the former Shangri-La Hotel, now operating as the Park Hyatt — sold for $55,000,000 ($1,342/SF, 5.3% cap rate). The 40,996 SF property, tenanted by Urban Fare, The Keg, and Burberry, was sold by Brookfield to Aquilini. The deal represents one of the largest retail transactions in Downtown Vancouver in recent years and reflects continued investor confidence in high-quality, well-tenanted urban retail despite broader headwinds in the sector.

In the suburbs, a Langley mixed retail and apartment property at 4041 200th Street (Brookswood Professional Center) traded for $11,200,000 ($394/SF), comprising 10,419 SF of retail space across seven commercial units and 16 apartment units.

Q1 2026 retail cap rate range observed: approximately 5.3% for well-leased urban and suburban retail product. The significant spread in $/SF — from $394 in Langley to $1,342 on Alberni Street — continues to reflect the premium commanded by downtown Vancouver street retail.

For a broader view of Metro Vancouver retail market conditions, see the Colliers Greater Vancouver Retail Report H1 2026.

Office

Office investment activity was limited in Q1, consistent with ongoing uncertainty around vacancy rates and return-to-office trends across Metro Vancouver. The most notable office-related development was Cadillac Fairview’s revised proposal for a 22-storey, 417,000 SF office tower at 601 West Cordova Street adjacent to Waterfront Station — a signal that long-term confidence in Vancouver’s downtown office market remains intact among institutional developers, even as near-term leasing conditions remain challenging.

For current vacancy rates, absorption data, and leasing trends across Metro Vancouver office submarkets, see the Colliers Vancouver Office Market Report Q1 2026.

Mixed-Use

Two mixed-use sales closed in Q1 with pricing undisclosed. A fully leased retail and apartment building at 3155 Kingsway in East Vancouver was sold by our team at Colliers (David Taylor and Kira Liu). A retail and office plaza at 3242 Westwood Street in Port Coquitlam (Westwood Square, 18,000 SF) was also sold by the Colliers team of David Taylor, Casey Weeks and Morgan Iannone.

Development Activity

Q1 2026 saw continued rezoning activity in Vancouver, particularly under the Broadway Plan and in established corridors. With continued challenges facing residential development, many developers and landowners continue to go down the path of entitlements with the hope of better market conditions to return in the next couple of years.

Two adjoining applications were submitted for 401 and 421 Kingsway in Mount Pleasant — a 12-storey, 100-unit condo tower and a 24-storey, 253-unit rental tower respectively. Cadillac Fairview also submitted a revised proposal for 601 West Cordova Street, a 22-storey, 417,000 SF office tower adjacent to Waterfront Station, designed by James Cheng Architects. A rezoning application at 486 West 26th Avenue near Cambie proposes switching a previously approved 6-storey condo to a 12-storey, 52-unit rental tower at 4.91 FSR.

Overall Market Context

The good news is that there are buyers right now for every asset class. While B.C. is not putting its best foot forward at the moment amid government mismanagement and persistent land claims, there will always be a general optimism in the market about Vancouver being a safe play for investors.

Q1 2026 transaction patterns are consistent with a market that remains active but selective. Buyers are prioritizing income certainty — fully leased assets with strong tenancy covenants attracted competitive offers, while vacant or partially vacant properties faced wider bid-ask spreads. The overall volume decline of 8.3% recorded for full-year 2025 appears to be continuing into early 2026, though individual asset classes — particularly purpose-built rental and well-located retail — are holding pricing relatively well.

Cap rates for Metro Vancouver apartment buildings remain among the lowest in Canada, sustained by chronic rental housing undersupply and strong population growth in the region. Retail cap rates have stabilized in the low-to-mid 5% range for quality suburban product, with core retail locations continuing to attract institutional and private capital at tighter yields.

For the full transaction archive and cap rate benchmarks by asset class, see the Metro Vancouver Commercial Real Estate Market Data page.

David Taylor is a Senior Vice President at Colliers International in Vancouver, specializing in the sale of retail, office, and apartment properties across Metro Vancouver. To discuss a property or listing, contact david.taylor@colliers.com or 604-761-7044.

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When I first wrote about the Top 10 Land Deals in Metro Vancouver at the end of 2016, here is how I summarized the market:

“Residential development site sales in Metro Vancouver topped $4.5 Billion in 2016. It’s a staggering value only made possible by the confluence of a variety of local and international market forces including: incoming capital, a feverish residential real estate market, and a perceived lack of quality land available for sale. Each of these factors seemed to create the perfect storm in late 2015 and early to mid-2016 and have played a large part in driving land values to record highs.”

Nine years later, market conditions could hardly be more different. Capital is now scarce with few new entrants to our market, the pre-sale condo market is basically frozen, rental rents are finally plateauing amid rising completions and vacancy, and years late policy measures to increase housing supply has flooded the market with density in many areas.

But deals are still getting done. Some are strategic, some are opportunistic, some are long-term visionary.

Here’s a look at each of the 10 largest land deals in Metro Vancouver this year:

1. 1371 McKeen Avenue, North Vancouver

• Price:                  $143 Million
• Site Area:            28 acres
• Vendor:               Wesbild
• Purchaser:          Dream Industrial REIT & GIC

The goods:        For the second year in a row, the top land sale was an industrial site in North Vancouver. This waterfront industrial site on McKeen had previously been contemplated for an industrial subdivision and redevelopment but was rejected by the District of North Vancouver. The Property is currently occupied by multiple industrial tenants, totaling approx. 860,000 SF of rentable area. GIC is a Singapore based sovereign wealth fund.

The sale was brokered by CBRE’s National Investment Team.

2. Renfrew & Broadway Land Assembly

• Price:                  $100 Million
• Site Area:           3.1 Acres
• Vendor:              Land Assembly
• Purchaser:          Sightline Properties

The goods:      Sightline Properties completed this residential land assembly of 26 single family lots comprising two full city blocks on East Broadway and Kaslo Street in early 2025.

The site is located in the Rupert Renfrew Station Area Plan that was passed by Vancouver city council in 2025. Sightline subsequently submitted a rezoning application for the assembled site in June 2025, which calls for four towers up to 45-storeys, and 1,959 residential units including 1,386 condo units.   

3. 9150 Bentley Street, Vancouver

• Price:                   $62.9 Million
• Site Area:            5.1 acres
• Vendor:               Southgate Holdings Ltd.
• Purchaser:           Translink

The goods:        Translink acquired this site that they had previously leased next to their bus operations and maintenance centre in South Vancouver, to the West of the Arthur Laing Bridge.

4. 13200 Rice Mill Road, Richmond

• Price:                   $52 Million
• Site Area:            10.4 acres
• Vendor:            Jim Pattison Group
• Purchaser:           Provincial Government (BC Transportation Financing Authority)

The goods:        This was a strategic acquisition by the Province as a staging area for the construction of the Fraser River Tunnel Project.

5. 10387 Nordel Court, Delta

• Price:                   $39 Million
• Site Area:            14.9 acres
• Vendor:              Private Investor
• Purchaser:           Choice Properties REIT

6. 1485 Davie Street, Vancouver

• Price:                  $38.5 Million
• Site Area:           26,000 SF
• Vendor:             Court Ordered Sale
• Purchaser: Openform Properties

The goods:          This West End rental tower development site was previously slated for redevelopment by Align Properties before foreclosure proceedings were initiated by Bancorp in 2023. Openform was ultimately successful in buying the site in court in a structured deal with the site value at $38.5 million.

7. 1233 Derwent Way, Delta

• Price:                  $37.2 Million
• Site Area:           4.8 acres
• Vendor:              Private Investor
• Purchaser: Metro Vancouver

The goods:       Another strategic government purchase, Metro Vancouver bought this property on Annacis Island in March 2025 to allow for future expansion of the wastewater treatment plant. 

8. 1390 Sharpewood Drive, Coquitlam

• Price:                 $37 Million
• Site Area:          4.7 acres
• Vendor:             Gemex Development
• Purchaser:    Qualico    

The goods:         In August 2025, Qualico completed on the acquisition of this 4.7 acre site in Coquitlam for a new single-family subdivision, now branded as “Sharpewood Hills” a collection of 39 single family homes under their Foxridge Homes brand.

9. 2268 West 3rd Avenue, Vancouver

• Price:                  $31 Million
• Site Area:           21,000 SF
• Vendor:              Private Investor
• Purchaser:  Marcon

The goods:        In September, Marcon completed on the acquisition of this 21,000 SF Broadway Plan rental tower site at West 3^rd Avenue and Vine Street in Kits. The site has an active rezoning application for a 22-storey rental tower including 207 rental units.

10. 2308-2388 128^th Street, Surrey

• Price:                 $27.1 Million
• Site Area:           5.7 acres
• Vendor:              Private Investor
• Purchaser:          Qualico

The goods:       It’s second acquisition on this year’s list, Qualico picked up a 5.7 acre land assembly in South Surrey.

Joe Varing of Varing Marketing Group represented the Vendor.

Some notes from the above list:

• 5 of 10 were residential land deals
• 3 of the 10 sales were government buyers

How does 2025 compare to previous years? The total dollar value for the above 10 deals was $570 Million, well below the 10-year average of $909 Million.

Here’s the ‘Top 10’ list broken down by year:

Please contact me for further information on any of the above transactions, or if any questions, comments, or corrections to the article.

Happy Holidays!

The District of West Vancouver has given first reading to a final draft of the Ambleside Centre Local Area Plan (LAP).

The Ambleside LAP has been in the works since early 2022, and has gone through multiple rounds of public engagement and refinement by planning staff. The affected area is generally along Marine Drive from 13th to 18th Streets.

Here are the recommended land use policies:

• Zoning updates to allow 3-4 storeys on most lots in the LAP, including on small lots
• Five sites designated ‘Waterfront’ along Bellevue West of 15th allowing taller forms through rezoning
• Four sites along parts of Clyde and Duchess allowing taller forms through rezoning

The LAP will go for public hearing in June and if approved, would form part of the OCP shortly thereafter.

A presentation on the Ambleside LAP can be viewed here: https://westvancouver.ca/media/6103

The City of New Westminster is exploring further changes to its Lower Twelfth Street area plan, with an ongoing study now being considered by council following on earlier work from 2024.

Current objectives include:

• Confirmation of the Official Community Plan vision for the mix of “ultra-light” uses
  supported by residential in the Lower Twelfth area.
• Endorsement of the neighbourhood massing approach, that would see the highest buildings closer to Downtown transitioning down to the lower density edges of the study area.
• Exploring changing the Official Community Plan designation of some properties outside but adjacent to the study area.

Next steps:

1. Completion of Additional Studies (Summer 2025) and report back to Council on implications to Lower Twelfth area study
2. Public and Nations Engagement (anticipated Fall 2025)
3. Council Approval of the Evaluation Framework (anticipated Winter 2025/2026)

The full presentation can be viewed here: https://pub-newwestcity.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=21572