A new redevelopment opportunity has surfaced in Vancouver’s West End, just one block from Robson and Burrard streets.
Cushman & Wakefield is representing owners of the 1045 Haro Street “City View” strata condominium complex, a seven-storey building built in 1980, as well as the owners of a recently renovated (2016) commercial building at 842 Thurlow Street.
The two properties are being marketed as a package, with Cushman & Wakefield calling the property “one of the largest and most prominent redevelopment opportunities ever experienced in downtown Vancouver.”
These previously under-appreciated properties are suddenly some of downtown Vancouver’s hottest redevelopment opportunities due to changes introduced in the West End Community Plan, adopted by the city in 2013 but now just starting to have an impact on the area.
The plan allows buildings up to 60 storeys in some locations. This property falls under the “Burrard Corridor E” part of the West End Community Plan, where building heights up to 550 feet can be considered. (see page 50 of West End Community Plan)
Cushman & Wakefield says “it is estimated that 1045 Haro redevelopment presents the potential to redevelop the site to, likely, a two tower redevelopment scheme.”
The increase in allowable building heights has already caused a land rush in the area, with one run-down, three storey walk-up on Nelson Street being flipped for $68 million in a deal earlier this year.
Individual condo owners in strata buildings are cashing out, banding together to sell their buildings in the West End to developers, in some cases receiving double the market value for their units due to the higher building heights now allowed in the West End plan.
The property sale at 1045 Haro Street is subject to a bid process with no formal asking price. More details can be found in Cushman & Wakefield’s offering brochure here.
The realtor is not selling this as an opportunity to build two 550′ tall towers. There are two reasons why 550′ is not achievable here:
1) View cones. The applicable view cones restrict height on this block to about 265′. You can verify this by looking at the view cones on VanMap and doing the math.
2) Even at 265′, these new towers would shadow the Robson Village (as show in the WE plan), which the City will not allow. Same goes for Davie Village. This you wouldn’t know without talking to the City.
The City has told the realtor that the maximum height is somewhere between 15 – 20 stories, to be confirmed a later date.
Good to know – thanks for the info. Would like to update the story – who can I attribute this info to?
Thanks.
20 stories = +/- 200ft no?
Awesome. Owners will make serious cash. TONS of new supply. BUILD ‘EM TALL !!!!