Don’t let this year’s list of the Top 10 land deals in Metro Vancouver fool you; there were still some large sales deals completed, but 2024 was a very challenging year to put land deals together. Overall transaction activity and dollar volume were down significantly.

For deals of scale, the market was driven primarily by distress on the residential side, and users on the commercial/industrial side.

A cooling condo pre-sales market, the high cost of debt, stubbornly high construction costs and ever-increasing development fees continue to pose significant challenges for developers across Metro Vancouver. Our capital constrained market environment is leading many developers to sit on the sidelines, while larger well capitalized developers are content to work through their existing inventory rather than take on more projects.

Court ordered sales, particularly for larger scale residential development sites, continue to permeate the market. Notably, 3 of the 4 residential land sales on this list were court ordered sales. Foreclosure sales will almost certainly make up a bigger portion of this list as we look ahead to 2025.

Moreso than at any time in the past decade, there is a marked scarcity of buyers for land deals above the $30-40 Million range.

Of the 6 commercial/industrial land sales on the list, 4 were bought by users, two of these government users that might have difficulty outbidding private buyers in a more competitive market.

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

1. 100 Forester Street, North Vancouver

• Price:                  $145 Million
• Site Area:            21 acres
• Vendor:               ERCO Worldwide
• Purchaser:          HTEC

The goods:        This industrial property near the Second Narrows Bridge in North Vancouver changed hands in April 2024. The transaction was originally announced in 2022 by Vancouver based Hydrogen Technology & Enerygy Corp. (HTEC)

HTEC has a development in the works for a $900 Million hydrogen liquefaction plant on the southwest portion of the site. The new facility will liquefy 15 tonnes per day of vented by-product hydrogen from ERCO Worldwide’s sodium chlorate plant in the area.

Ryan Kerr, Ian Whitchelo, Amir Pourmina and Terry Thies of Avison Young represented the Buyer. Chris MacCauley and Travis Blanleil of CBRE represented the Seller.

2. 1891 164^th Street, Surrey

• Price:                  $90 Million
• Site Area:           33 Acres
• Vendor:              Private
• Purchaser:          Costco

The goods:          Costco completed on the acquisition of this sizeable site in the Grandview area of Surrey, near the intersection of Highway 99 and 16 Avenue.

Preliminary plans for the site include a new 165,000 SF store as well as a gas station, and 989 surface parking stalls. The rezoning application process is ongoing.

3. West 4th Safeway Site, Vancouver

• Price:                   $90 Million
• Site Area:            2.2 acres
• Vendor:               Sobeys
• Purchaser:           PCI & Low Tide Properties

The goods:        Completed in June, this sale marks the beginning of an eventual redevelopment of the Safeway on West 4^th & Vine and Kitsilano to include 385 lowrise rental units and a new Safeway store on site under the Property’s existing C-2 zoning

The sale is the largest residential land transaction in Metro Vancouver in 2024.

4. 7678 132^nd Street, Surrey

• Price:                   $86 Million
• Site Area:            10 acres
• Vendor:            Belkorp
• Purchaser:           Translink

The goods:        Translink acquired two parcels in the Newton area of Surrey for the expansion of the Surrey Transit Centre, operated by Coast Mountain Bus Company.

5. 1045 Haro Street, Vancouver

• Price:                   $85 Million
• Site Area:            43,230 SF
• Vendor:              Harlow Holdings
• Purchaser:           Chard

The goods:        This well publicized court ordered sale was approved by the Supreme Court of BC in August 2024.

Amazingly, this site made #3 on the list of Top Land Deals in 2018, when it originally traded for $173 Million.  The site is currently occupied by a 7-storey, 160-unit apartment building and a 3-storey commercial building.

The deal was brokered by Jim Szabo, Tony Quattrin and Carter Kerzner of CBRE.

6. 1085 Tanaka Court, New Westminster

• Price:                  $74 Million
• Site Area:           13 acres
• Vendor:              Sycamore Partners
• Purchaser:          Beedie

The goods:          Beedie acquired this large-scale commercial/industrial property in Queensborough in June 2024. The property, formerly occupied by a Lowe’s Home Improvement store, is prime for redevelopment. No applications have yet been filed.

Darren Cannon, Stu Morrison and Sean Bagan from Colliers brokered the deal.

7. 7280 River Road, Richmond

• Price:                  $68 Million
• Site Area:           5 acres
• Vendor:              Ebco Industries
• Purchaser:          City of Richmond

The goods:        This sale completed in June, and the Purchaser was revealed to be the City of Richmond. According to an article in Storeys, the City of Richmond has so far declined to comment on their plans for the site.

8. 6862 153^rd Street, Surrey

• Price:                 $60 Million
• Site Area:          8.5 acres
• Vendor:             Conwest
• Purchaser:    KIG Properties     

The goods:         This site is a vacant and unimproved development site in the East Newton Business Park area of Surrey. The sale price equates to $7 Million per acre.

9. 1555 Robson Street, Vancouver

• Price:                  $58 Million
• Site Area:           16,350 SF
• Vendor:              Vivagrand Developments
• Purchaser:      GWL Realty Advisors

The goods:        This is second largest distressed land sale in Metro Vancouver in 2024.

The acquisition by GWL is a logical expansion of their existing site next door. A rezoning application by GWL for the combined site includes two towers with 393 rental units above retail space.

The site was listed and sold by CBRE.

10. 5815-5888 Cambie Street, Vancouver

• Price:                 $53 Million
• Site Area:           31,206 SF
• Vendor:              Vivagrand Developments
• Purchaser:         Private Investor

The goods:       Another foreclosure sale for a development property previously owned by Vivagrand Developments (aka Align Properties).

The site was listed and sold by Simon Lim, James Lang and Jessica Hathaway of Colliers.

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

Happy Holidays!

Chard Development has applied to the City of Vancouver to revise their office project at 8 East Broadway to switch uses to rental residential.

The site is located at the southeast corner of East Broadway & Ontario Street in the ‘Broadway Shoulder Area East – Area B (MBSB)’ sub-area of the Broadway Plan.

A previous rezoning for the site was approved in 2020 for a 12-storey office building totaling 125,000 SF. Changing market conditions and the subsequent adoption of the Broadway Plan has prompted Chard to seek an alternate development scenario for the 16,100 SF site.

The new proposal is to permit a 14-storey rental residential building, including:

• 152 market rental units;
• 55 studios, 42 one-bedrooms, 38 two bedrooms & 17 three-bedrooms;
• 4,200 SF of retail space on the ground floor;
• Floorplates ranging from 7,300 to 11,700 SF;
• A total density of 7.5 FSR;
• A building height of 148 ft.;
• 74 vehicle parking spaces and 320 bicycle spaces; and
• A publicly accessible bike share station.

The Broadway Plan requires a minimum of one floor of ‘job space’ above the ground floor. The application by Chard is requesting consideration of market rental on the second floor, which is a deviation of policy.

The architect for the project is MCMP Architects.

The site was acquired in 2021 for $42,000,000, or $336 per buildable SF based on the revised application.

2021 was a bounce back year for land transactions in Metro Vancouver. Following two years of declining transaction value, a renewed interest in development across all asset classes fueled a significant number of sales throughout the region.

One of the emerging differences between the current activity and the previous hot market of 2016-2018 is the shift in focus toward suburban markets, and to asset classes including rental residential and arguably Metro Vancouver’s hottest asset class: industrial.

The days of speculative trades for Downtown luxury condo sites are largely gone for now; the pre-sales market for luxury has only recently started to thaw. Otherwise, the focus for many of the large local residential developers has been suburban markets and purpose built rental.

It is clear that both private and institutional investors continue to be bullish on the long-term fundamentals in Vancouver, and the expectation is that 2022 will be another active year in the market.

Here’s a look at each of the 10 largest land deals of 2021:

1. 5900 No. 2 Road & 6191, 6311 & 6751 Westminster Highway, Richmond

• Price:                  $300+ Million
• Site Area:           27 acres
• Vendor:             Quadreal
• Purchaser:         Keltic Development

The goods:        For the second year in a row, the largest land deal in Metro Vancouver is in Richmond, though the transaction is much larger than in 2020. A press release from Keltic describes this deal: “Currently, the property is occupied by light industrial / commercial tenants. The company plans to create a vibrant multi-use destination including residential, commercial and industrial spaces that will add richness and vitality to the city. Twenty-three per cent of the land, or 6.4 acres, will be developed into green space and contributed back to the city for community use.”

The off-market sale was brokered by Goran Bucan.

2. 7000 Lougheed Highway, Burnaby

• Price:                  $151 Million
• Site Area:           14 acres
• Vendor:              Pension Fund
• Purchaser:         Create Properties

The goods:       I was honoured to have brokered this landmark sale with Simon Lim in the Bainbridge area of Burnaby. Create Properties is currently working with the City of Burnaby on a large-scale multi-phase development as part of the Bainbridge Urban Village Plan.

3. 1155 East 6^th Avenue, Vancouver

• Price:                   $118 Million
• Site Area:            2.1 Acres
• Vendor:              Shaw
• Purchaser:          Low Tide Properties

The goods:        This transit oriented development site is currently occupied by Shaw, but allows for potential rezoning and redevelopment under the False Creek Flats Plan, which could potentially allow up to 5.0 FSR of commercial and industrial space.

4. 13301 104^th Avenue, Surrey

• Price:                  $99 Million
• Site Area:           6.4 acres
• Vendor:             Private Investor
• Purchaser:         Private Investor

The goods:          This sale involved a 6.38-acre future multi-high-rise development site in Surrey City Centre Improved with 11 rental apartment buildings totaling 156 units. It was brokered by Dean Thomas of HQ Commercial. The asking price was $98 Million.

5. 2300 Madison Avenue, Burnaby

• Price:                  $88 Million
• Site Area:           6.5 acres
• Vendor:              BC Hydro
• Purchaser:         Polygon Homes

The goods:          Polygon acquired this BC Hydro site in November 2021. The site comprises two lots, 2300 Madison Avenue, which is currently occupied with an older industrial warehouse building; and a BC Hydro Right-of-Way. The site is located within the Brentwood Town Centre Development Plan, and is designated for medium to high-density multiple family residential development. A preliminary application calls for three towers and 975 units including condos and rentals.

6. 622-688 SW Marine Drive, Vancouver

• Price:                  $68 Million
• Site Area:           1.5 Acres
• Vendor:              Private Investor
• Purchaser:         Chard Development

The goods:         This 66,474 SF development site (the “Denny’s site”) was brokered by Simon Lim, James Lang and Jessica Hathaway. It is located one block from Marine Drive Skytrain Station and a current rezoning application by Chard contemplates two towers with 573 rental units.

7. 2111 Main Street, Vancouver

• Price:                 $60 Million
• Site Area:          35,000 SF
• Vendor:             Private Investor
• Purchaser:        Nicola Wealth Real Estate

The goods:         This site on the West side of Main Street known as the City Centre Motel, has long been a targe of many local buyers and was sold to Nicola in November. There is no word yet on redevelopment plans of the motor hotel, but the plan in the short-term is to rent the units to artists.

8. 5 West 4^th Avenue & 4-16 West 3^rd Avenue, Vancouver

• Price:                  $57 Million
• Site Area:           36,234 SF
• Vendor:              Alsco Canada
• Purchaser:        PCI Developments & HOOPP

The goods:        This sale involved an I-1 zoned site comprising two older industrial buildings in the burgeoning Mount Pleasant Light industrial/office district. No word yet on redevelopment plans. The deal was brokered by Blair Quinn of CBRE.

9. 2450 United Boulevard, Coquitlam

• Price:                 $45 Million
• Site Area:          9.5 acres
• Vendor:             Coca Cola Canada
• Purchaser:         Beedie

The goods:        This acquisition by Beedie was one of the larger industrial land transactions in 2021. The site is currently improved with a vending machine distribution centre. There is no word yet on future redevelopment plans.

10. 1290 Hornby Street, Vancouver

• Price:                 $45 Million
• Site Area:           15,000 SF
• Vendor:              Private Local Investor
• Purchaser:         Wall Financial

The goods:       Another sale brokered by Simon Lim, James Lang and Jessica Hathaway, 1290 Hornby Street is a high-density residential tower site located on the corner of Hornby and Drake Streets between Vancouver’s Beach District, Yaletown and the West End. The site has already started the rezoning process and has received support from the City of Vancouver. The proposed development is a 35-storey residential high-rise building to comprise of condominiums and cultural amenity space – no social housing required.

Some notes from the above list:

• 5 of the 10 largest land deals in Metro Vancouver took place in the City of Vancouver
• 4 of 10 were sold by market bid process (the other 6 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.