Donald Trump, who first found fame as a real-estate developer, has put his name on mens’ fragrance, mattresses and neckties in recent years. But there is one type of product he hasn’t licensed his name to since the beginning of the financial downturn: a U.S. building.

The last time Mr. Trump signed a deal licensing his name to a U.S. real-estate project was in 2007, when he agreed to put it on the Trump Soho, a hotel-condo project in downtown Manhattan. He also sold his name to a golf resort in Puerto Rico in 2008.

It isn’t that Mr. Trump has lost his taste for seeing his name stamped in capital letters on other developers’ undertakings. He is just doing it overseas instead. In recent years, Mr. Trump has licensed his name to more than a dozen real-estate developers in Turkey, the Caucuses, Brazil and other corners of the globe.

On Wednesday, Mr. Trump is expected to unveil plans for a Trump-branded hotel and condominium tower in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, according to executives familiar with the project.

Plans for Trump-branded condominiums, resorts and commercial centers also are under way in the Philippines and Azerbaijan. In March, Trump Organization opened an office in Shanghai to identify Chinese branding deals for the company.

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Two adjoining retail/office buildings at the corner of West 4th and Fir have sold for a reported $2,900,000. The buildings total 6,180 square feet, and include tenants such as The Right Shoe and Paris Orthotics.

Vancouver endorses plan for Oakridge redevelopment, including multiple highrises.

The City of Vancouver has endorsed a plan to radically redevelop the aging Oakridge Centre into a high-density retail and residential hub.

The massive project will now proceed to a public hearing, where area residents worried their quiet corner of Vancouver will be lost in a sea of glass towers and chic new shops and cafés will be able to voice their objections.

“I am sure you can imagine the shock when you learn that ‘downtown’ is going to (arrive in our) single-family neighbourhood,” said Tracey Moir, a representative of the neighbourhood group Oakridge Langara Area Residents, in an interview on Tuesday at Vancouver City Hall.

Earlier, Mayor Gregor Robertson and council agreed to endorse a proposal by property owner Ivanhoe Cambridge and developer Westbank Development to transform Oakridge into a new urban centre on par with Metrotown, Surrey City Centre and Coquitlam Centre.

The plan builds on a more modest redevelopment proposal approved by the city in 2007, with the addition of up to 13 highrise towers and double the existing retail space.

A 9-storey office building is proposed for the Southeast corner of West Pender and Seymour Streets in Downtown Vancouver. The building will contain approx. 77,000 SF of commercial space.

The property is currently for lease/sale with Colliers. Detail here.

Property Features for 538 West Pender Street

• Targeting LEED® Gold
• “A” Class building
• Latest technology in building systems
• Architect: Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership (MCM)
• Main floor retail
• Penthouse amenity area for use by tenants
• Efficient floor plates

First-quarter drop for Vancouver commercial real estate sales.

The value of commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland dropped 40 per cent in the first quarter of 2013 from the same time last year, and was the lowest seen since the first quarter of 2009, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reported Thursday.

There were 384 commercial real estate sales worth $886 million conducted in the first quarter of this year. Last year’s first quarter, the highest in five years, saw 480 sales.

“Commercial real estate activity eased in the Lower Mainland in the first three months of the year. This comes on the heels of a strong post-recession commercial market over the past few years,” said Sandra Wyant, the real estate board’s president.

A breakdown of the sales shows that there were 91 commercial land sales valued at $322 million, 159 office and retail sales valued at $253 million, 109 industrial land sales valued at $211 million, and 25 multi-family sales valued at $99 million.