In past years, compiling a list of the Top 10 land sales in Metro Vancouver was a daunting task; not only was there such a large volume of sales transactions to sift through, but the size of the larger deals was staggering, with the total of just these 10 deals alone eclipsing $1 Billion annually for the period of 2016-2018.

It was an overheated market that was due for a correction, and this decline began in mid-2018.

The more recent global pandemic that emerged in March 2020 has and will continue to have major implications for almost every facet of local and global real estate. For the overall Metro Vancouver land market however, the pandemic can somewhat be characterized as “beating a dead horse”. 2019 sales volume was already down by more than half the previous year.

A pullback from developers to acquire more land amid a significant condo development pipeline in most submarkets was a primary reason. Land for both rental residential and commercial development has remained relatively scarce which has offset some of the decline in condo land activity. Likewise, more recent activity suggests a return of demand for condo land in the suburbs, though core luxury condo sites have essentially fallen off the radar. Land for industrial development is now acutely scarce, with each transaction seeming to support a record value per acre.

While the 2016-2018 market may seem like a distant memory now, there are reasons for optimism heading into 2021. One sentiment emerging from this trying year is that both private and instituational investors continue to be bullish on the long-term prospects for Vancouver and a projected demand for continued residential, commercial and industrial development. Any return to inflows of international capital, either for individual strata units, or for land deals, will also contribute to momentum in the years ahead.

Here’s a look at each of the 10 largest land deals of 2020:

1. 6851 & 6871 Elmbridge Way, Richmond

• Price:                  $60 Million
• Site Area:           3.4 Acres
• Vendor:               Bene Development
• Purchaser:         Landa Global

The goods:        The largest land deal of 2020 would not have even cracked the Top 10 list in recent years, which speaks to the shift in the market. The sale of this site on Elmbridge Way in the Oval Village area of Richmond’s City Centre area has an existing rezoning application for three residential towers, plus commercial and hotel space. The deal was negotiated in 2019 and continues Landa Global’s expansion in the overall Vancouver marketplace.

2. 8188 & 8132 Manitoba Street, Vancouver

• Price:                   $60 Million
• Site Area:            5.0 Acres
• Vendor:               Private Investor
• Purchaser:          Wesbild

The goods:        This 5.0-acre, I-2 zoned industrial development site is located just South of Marine Drive in South Vancouver. Wesbild has now submitted a development application for the first phase of the site, a 3.2 acre parcel that will be developed into two unique 6-storey industrial/office buildings, totalling 330,000 SF in the first phase. The sale was brokered by Stu Morrison, Darren Cannon and Roy Pat of Colliers.

3. 9930 197^th Street, Langley

• Price:                   $40.2 Million
• Site Area:            14.5 Acres
• Vendor:               Trimac Transportation
• Purchaser:          Hall Constructors

The goods:        Another industrial land sale nears the top of the list; this one in Langley on an underutilized site zoned for Heavy Industrial uses. No word yet on plans for redevelopment of the site.

4. 495 West 41^st Avenue, Vancouver

• Price:                  $40 Million
• Site Area:           15,860 SF
• Vendor:              Coromandel Properties
• Purchaser:         PCI Group

The goods:          This sale involved a former Esso gas station site at the Northeast corner of Cambie and West 41^st Avenue. Coromandel had acquired the site in October 2014 for $15,800,000. In 2018, an update to the Cambie Corridor Plan redesignated the site to allow for a potential mixed-use tower. No rezoning applications have yet been filed.

5. 1331 & 1340 Olmsted Street, Coquitlam

• Price:                  $39.3 Million
• Site Area:           9.5 acres
• Vendor:              City of Coquitlam
• Purchaser:         Mosaic Homes

The goods:          Mosaic Homes purchased this townhouse development site on Burke Mountain from the City of Coquitlam. The preliminary plan for the site calls for 167 townhouse units.

6. 6031 Wilson Avenue, Burnaby

• Price:                  $35.5 Million
• Site Area:           1.34 Acres
• Vendor:              Private Investor
• Purchaser:         Bosa Properties

The goods:         Just a few short years ago, Metrotown tower sites were selling monthly at record valuations. Today, the market for sites has cooled considerably amid a perceived oversupply of future condo product. This sale on Wilson represents an assembly, as Bosa controls the two neighboring sites at 5977 and 5979 Wilson. The price per SF for the site is considerably lower than what could have been achieved at the peak of the market, and was likely a motivating factor in this deal having been completed in 2020.

7. 2219-2285 Cambie Street, Vancouver

• Price:                 $32 Million
• Site Area:          15,680 SF
• Vendor:             Reliance Properties
• Purchaser:        Nicola Wealth Real Estate

The goods:         This site on the West side of Cambie at West 7^th Avenue, mostly known as the Robinson Lighting property is a fully tenanted retail property that has future development potential under it’s C-3A zoning.

8. 140-150 West 4^th Avenue & 2004 Columbia Street, Vancouver

• Price:                  $32 Million
• Site Area:           36,234 SF
• Vendor:              Private Investor
• Purchaser:         Dayhu

The goods:        This sale involved an I-1 zoned site in the burgeoning Mount Pleasant Light industrial/office district. A development application for the site envisions a 4-storey commercial building at a total density of 3.0 FSR.

9. 475 West Hastings Street, Vancouver

• Price:                  $31 Million
• Site Area:          9,360 SF
• Vendor:              Private Investor
• Purchaser:         Private Investor

The goods:        This site at the Northeast corner of West Hastings and Richards Street in Downtown Vancouver has long been home to tenants including Mr. Big and Tall. While no redevelopment plans have been made public, the intent appears to be a midrise hotel development.

10. Whalley Station Square, Surrey

• Price:                 $26.9 Million
• Site Area:           1.87 Acres
• Vendor:              Private Local Investors
• Purchaser:         Tien Sher Group

The goods:       This property is a retail strip mall in Surrey’s City Centre. Tien Sher has a rezoning application to allow for a high density mixed use development including 500 residential units and commercial space.

Some notes from the above list:

• 5 of the 10 largest land deals in Metro Vancouver took place in the City of Vancouver (up from just 1 last year)
• 3 of 10 were sold by market bid process (the other 7 were ‘off-market’)
• All 10 were bought by well-established ‘local’ development groups, with previously active offshore buyers absent from these large deals.

Have a question or a comment on any of the transactions above? Please feel free to contact me.

Bosa Properties and Kingswood Properties have submitted their formal rezoning application for a site sold by our team at the Southwest corner of Barclay and Thurlow Streets in the West End of Downtown Vancouver.

The site at 1040-1080 Barclay Street is an assembly of three lots comprising a lowrise strata building and two older apartment buildings. The combined site totals 46,272 SF. It is located within a sub-area of the West End Community Plan that allows re-zoning for tall towers if social housing is included.

The proposal is for 643 units in two residential towers connected by a podium bridge with:

• 481 market strata units – including:
  • 40 studios, 167 one-bedrooms, 215 two-bedrooms, 37 three-beds, 12 penthouse units and 10 townhouses;
• 162 social housing units – including:
  • 25 studios, 52 one-bedrooms, 52 two-bedrooms and 33 three-bedrooms;
• a total density of 15.42 FSR;
• eight levels of underground parking with 626 vehicle parking stalls and 810 Class A bicycle parking spaces;
• building heights of 458 ft. (East Tower) and 449 ft. (West Tower);
• 4,500 SF of retail space located along Thurlow Street; and
• a 5,894 SF City-owned childcare facility.

The concept architect, Ole Scheeren describes the design rationale: “Located at the corner of Barclay and Thurlow Streets, the project is situated in close proximity to the greenery of Nelson Park, the liveliness of Robson and Davie Villages, and the bustle of the Central Business District, making it an appealing location for downtown living. The design takes its inspiration from the grain and scale of the horizontal villages and transforms it into a vertical village.

The architectural and urban composition reflects the smaller scale blocks and elements of the urban context, which are replicated into cubic modules and assembled to form two sculptural residential towers. With neighbouring buildings indicating a tendency towards singular vertical towers, the design of 1040-1080 Barclay generates a more articulated massing with moments of volumetric interest that brings small scale pockets of nature to urban residents. The articulated silhouette of the two towers engages the space of the city and stand as distinct landmarks that activate the skyline.”

This application is being considered under the West End Community Plan.

The architects for the project are Buro Ole Scheeren in partnership with Francl Architecture.

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.

To put the year we’ve had into perspective, the total land transaction value for 2016 almost matches the previous two years combined ($2.5B for 2015, $2.4B for 2014).

Here is a brief look at each of the 10 largest land deals of 2016:

#1 – Oakridge Transit Centre, 949 West 41st Avenue, Vancouver

Price:                   $440 Million

Site Area:            13.8 acres

Vendor:                Translink

Purchaser:          Intergulf Developments / Modern Green Development

The goods:         This was by far the biggest land deal of the year – though the deal is structured to be paid over five years. The former bus barn site was declared surplus land several years ago by Translink and the City of Vancouver initiated a planning policy for the site and surrounding area in 2014. The planning policy was approved in December 2015 to allow for over 1,265,000 SF of density in several low and midrise buildings.  

Shortly thereafter the “OTC” site was marketed by Cushman Wakefield. The site secured offers from 14 potential buyers in the spring of 2016 and was ultimately sold to a partnership between Intergulf and Modern Green Development.

A listing video overview can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/GILwlBuOBRQ

#2 – Pearson Dogwood Lands, 650 West 57^th Avenue, Vancouver

Price:                  $299.6 Million

Site Area:            25.4 acres

Vendor:                Vancouver Coastal Health

Purchaser:          Onni

The goods:          This prime site at Cambie and 57^th was sold by Vancouver Coastal Health in 2014 as part of a phased deal with Onni. The bulk of the sale formally completed in March. A formal rezoning application has now been submitted which contemplates over 3 Million SF of density, to be completed in five phases with over 10 towers, several mid-rises and a future Canada Line Station. The deal includes replacement of existing VCH facilities on-site.

#3 – Molson Brewery Lands, 1550 Burrard Street & 1655 West 1st Avenue, Vancouver

Price:                  $185 Million

Site Area:            7.7 acres

Vendor:                Molson Coors

Purchaser:          Concord Pacific

The goods:          Though not the largest deal of the year, this one certainly generated a lot of buzz in the marketplace, and is the only sale on this list that is not a residential land sale – at least based on current zoning policy. The sale closed on March 31 after being listed by Simon Lim of Colliers in 2015. The site is currently zoned M-2 which only allows for manufacturing/industrial uses and is still occupied by Molson on a leaseback basis until their eventual move. Details remain scarce on Concord’s future plans for the site, though it will almost certainly include a substantial commercial component.

#4 – 1444 Alberni Street & 740 Nicola Street

Price:                  $170.1 Million

Site Area:            43,300 SF

Vendor:               Wall Financial

Purchaser:          Landa Global/Asia Standard

The goods:          This full city-block located in the West End of Downtown Vancouver was redesignated as part of the West End Community Plan, adopted in early 2014. The site is currently improved with an office and apartment tower built in the 1970’s. Wall had acquired the site in March 2014 for $83.5 Million and subsequently sold through Simon Lim of Colliers after a bid process in late 2015. The sale closed in April 2016. It is expected that the property will be completely redeveloped with two 40+ storey condo towers.

#5 – Brighouse Square, 6340-6390 No. 3 Road, Richmond

Price:                  $73,500,000

Site Area:            3.6 acres

Vendor:               Sanna Enterprises

Purchaser:          YYH Development Ltd.

The goods:         Brighouse Square is a retail strip plaza at No. 3 Road and Cook Road across from Richmond Centre. The site sold as a potential future residential development play in May 2016 to a Chinese development group. It had been designated as ‘Urban Core T6’ in Richmond’s City Centre Plan to allow for mixed residential and retail. Simon Lim of Colliers acted as the broker in the off-market deal.

#6 – 1745 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver

Price:                  $70,000,000

Site Area:           56,550 SF

Vendor:              CIBC

Purchaser:          Delta Land

The goods:         Our team marketed and sold this C-3A zoned, Fairview office building/development site on behalf of CIBC in late 2015, with the sale closing in February 2016. The site achieved 9 offers, with the successful buyer being Delta Land Development. CIBC is leasing the property back until mid-2017 after which time Delta will likely release plans for the property.

#7 – 1059-1075 Nelson Street, Vancouver

Price:                 $68,000,000

Site Area:          17,292 SF

Vendor:              Suncom

Purchaser:          Shan Gao

The goods:         In one of the more interesting sales in recent Vancouver history, this assembly of two non-descript walkup apartment buildings sold three times in just under two years in a series of events documented by Ian Young. Our team acted for Wall Financial in the original assembly and subsequent sale in January 2016. The site flipped in February 2016 for $68,000,000 to a Chinese buyer who remains generally unknown to the market.

#8 – 1070-1080 Barclay Street, Vancouver

Price:                  $59,000,000

Site Area:          17,292 SF

Vendor:              Two Private Local Investors

Purchaser:         Bosa Properties

The goods:        Just across the lane from #7 on this list, this assembly of two apartment buildings was listed by our team in late 2015 and sold after multiple offers to Bosa Properties. The site was also re-designated in the West End Community Plan to allow for towers up to 550 ft. (subject to shadowing). Bosa also secured the neighbouring strata building at 1060 Barclay. The deal closed in February 2016.

#9 – 1818-1862 West Broadway, Vancouver

Price:                 $56,250,000

Site Area:          37,500 SF

Vendor:              Private Local Investors

Purchaser:         Suncom

The goods:        This assembly of lots on West Broadway near Burrard Street was sold by our team in September 2016. The assembled site comprises 300 feet of frontage and the existing C-3A zoning allows for up to 3.0 FSR residential with retail.

#10 – 1810 Alberni Street & 703-751 Denman Street

Price:                 $55,000,000

Site Area:          17,292 SF

Vendor:              Local Investor

Purchaser:         Landa Global

The goods:        This West End development site was sold by the Simon Lim team in September 2016 after a listing process. The Property is currently zoned C-5A (West End Commercial), which provides for 2.20 FSR with potential to increase density to 7.00 FSR, and by heritage density increasing up to 7.70 FSR. It is situated in Lower Robson Area A of the West End Community Plan – designation consistent with the amended C-5A Zoning (no rezoning required).

Honourable Mentions:

Below are a couple of notable transactions that formally closed in 2016, but we are not including as they aren’t technically relevant sale deals for the purposes of this analysis.

• 508 Helmcken Street – this site, more commonly known by its project name “8X on the Park“, is part of a land exhange that was negotiated back in late 2012 with the City of Vancouver. The completion of the Jubilee House social housing replacement project triggered the land exchange so that Brenhill Development can move forward with the construction. The sale value was $83,500,000.

• 1166 West Pender Street – our team acted in this $71,400,000 sale, closing in April 2016. The site is currently improved with a 15-storey office building that the Purchaser, Reliance Properties, intends on redeveloping, though we have not considered it a pure land play as with the transactions above.

Some notes from the above list:

• 9 of the 10 largest land deals in Metro Vancouver took place in the City of Vancouver
• 8 of 10 were sold by market bid process (the other 2 were ‘off-market’)
• 3 of 10 were bought by well-established ‘local’ development groups, the other buyers were offshore or ‘new-entrant’ development companies
• 8 of 10 will require a rezoning process before development can occur