A 36-unit building at the corner of Nelson and Bute Streets in the West End of Downtown Vancouver has sold for $13,000,000. The building was originally constructed in the 1930’s but was fully renovated in 2010/2011. The cap rate was 4.15%. The buyer was Belmont Properties.
Several additional requests to amend the zoning were submitted in 1990 and 1993, each proposing to construct additional rental apartment towers along west 57th Avenue. Each proposal failed in the face of significant public opposition to the tower forms and the lack of a local community plan. Council directed staff to commence a planning study for the site. Shortly thereafter, however, the study was put aside in favour of the emerging Oakridge Langara Policy Statement (OLPS), which was approved in 1995.
Langara Gardens was eventually sold by the Wosk family in 2009 to Ben Yeung’s Petersen Group for $157 Million, representing a 4.3% cap rate. This acquisition, a Vancouver record, is increasingly looking like a great move for Petersen, with significant redevelopment potential on this sizeable lot; likely to a minimum of 1.0 FSR and potentially much higher given the potential transit station at West 57th.The Policy Statement will be presented for Council’s consideration at the end of the process (likely at least a year) and, once adopted, used to inform any future rezoning of the site.