Old Plaza 500 Hotel may turn into rental suites.

The former Plaza 500 Hotel and Convention Centre on West 12th will likely be converted to rental apartments. In an email to the Courier, Nancy Eng, communications coordinator for the City of Vancouver, confirmed an application by development consultant Brook Pooni Associates to convert floors three to 17 into rental units has been approved by the city subject to conditions. If approved, the second floor will also be converted — from hotel use to office space.

The iconic property, kitty corner to city hall, was home to the Plaza 500 for decades but closed several years ago. It was later announced the property would become part of the Indigo chain, operated by InterContinental Hotels Group, which also manages Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza hotels.

Apartment building market remains strong in Vancouver.

Prices and total sales are up, but the number of transactions is falling. That’s the picture of Vancouver’s apartment building market, according to the Goodman Report, produced by David and Mark Goodman.

In 2012, both overall dollar volume and the average price per suite hit record highs, David Goodman said in the report. The number of building sales is down 17 per cent in 2012 from 2011, but Goodman said this is not for a lack of buyers.

Scott Brown, senior vice-president of residential project marketing at Colliers International, said potential buyers outnumber sellers for many types of property.

“Vancouver certainly has more prospective buyers for A-Class locations than sellers,” Brown said. “This is true for land and development sites in great locations too.”

We are pleased to have acted on behalf of the buyer in the sale of 1016 West 13th Avenue, an 11-unit apartment building in the South Granville area. The purchase price was $3,200,000 or $290,000 per unit, and a 3.0% cap rate.

The buyer was a local private investor.