Bentall Kennedy, on behalf of  the Bentall Kennedy Prime Canadian Property Fund and some other of its pension fund clients, has purchased Bentall 5 for approximately $400 Million, representing almost $700 per sq ft, and a cap rate below 5%. The Vendor in the transaction, the German bank Deka Immobilien GmbH, had purchased the tower just three years ago for $297 Million.

Paul Zemla, Chief Investment Officer for Bentall Kennedy’s Canadian operations told PR newswire: “Following direct discussions with Deka, we were very pleased to pursue this “AAA” office asset. Our knowledge and comfort with Bentall V, which we developed and have managed since its inception, combined with the very attractive long term prospects for the Vancouver office market made this a unique opportunity for our clients”.

The tower, completed in 2002 and expanded in 2007, contains approximately 580,000 sq ft of AAA office and retail space.

This deal represents a new benchmark for valuations of AAA office buildings in Vancouver.

Burnaby’s 401 Motor Inn eyed for social housing project.

Vancouver’s Portland Hotel Society wants Burnaby to “turn the light on” to address homelessness in the city.

Dan Small, a director with the society, spoke at council on Monday night, asking the mayor and councillors to demonstrate support for an affordable supported housing project at the 401 Motor Inn at 2950 Boundary Rd. The plan would see the motel turned into social housing with support services, such as on-site staff and counsellors.

Yesterday evening Vancouver City Council unanimously approved Manulife Financial’s proposal to rezone 980 Howe Street from DD (Downtown District) to CD-1 (Comprehensive Development).  The proposal was for a 16 storey office building with a total floor area of 268, 908 square feet, a floor space ratio of 11.2 and a height of 200 feet.

The East Burnaby area is generally the area bordering New Westminster, and includes the areas of Edmonds Town Centre, moving East towards the Burnaby crest area and Cariboo Road.

This area is typified by existing single family housing stock, some newer townhome developments, and higher density forms of development, particularly in the Edmonds Town Centre area. Major high density projects in this area include Ledingham McAllister developing the 40+ acre Safeway site, and Amacon developing the site currently occupied by Mott Electric.

Pricing in the area for resales reflects the current mix of units. The below table illustrates all resales over the last 12 months for specific unit types (max. 30 years of age).

Source: MLS Data

Villa Leah Apartments in Port Moody has sold for $6,600,000. The 32-unit lowrise walkup apartment building located near the city centre of Port Moody was extensively renovated prior to the sale. The price per unit is $206,000.