On Wednesday, Vancouver-based developer Anthem Properties and Toronto-based commercial real estate investment firm Crestpoint Real Estate Investments announced a joint venture that would see the partners develop a high-rise tower in Vancouver.
The subject site of the tower is 1068-1090 Burnaby Street and 1318 Thurlow Street, one block away from Burrard Street and two blocks away from St. Paul's Hospital, in the West End of Vancouver.
The new partners are replacing a previous partnership between Vancouver-based developers Strand and Intracorp Homes, who acquired the site seven years ago this month for $49,657,000, in a deal brokered by Colliers, and owned the property through Thurlow Street Project Nominee Inc.
In their announcements on Wednesday, Anthem and Crestpoint did not disclose the price they paid for the property, but BC Assessment currently values it at $35,417,000. Anthem will have a 23% ownership interest while Crestpoint — on behalf of its newly created fund called Crestpoint Opportunistic Real Estate Strategy — will own the remaining 77%, according to Crestpoint's press release.
The 1068-1090 Burnaby Street and 1318 Thurlow Street site in Vancouver.(BOP Architects)
Plans for the site have now gone through several rounds of changes. After acquiring the site in 2017, Strand and Intracorp submitted a rezoning application to develop a 30-storey tower with 82 strata units and 39 social housing units. However, the developers did not commence with that plan and eventually submitted a new application for a 34-storey tower with 287 rental units and 10% of the residential floor area provided as social housing, as previously outlined by STOREYS.
According to the City of Vancouver's rezoning application webpage, a revised submission was made in June 2024 and the proposal is now for a 32-storey tower with 300 rental units, with 20% of the residential floor area (58 units) provided as below-market rental units. The density has increased from 12.25 FSR to 12.63 FSR, but the height of the building under the new design is actually two feet shorter. Application documents indicate that the tower floorplate has been increased from 6,600 sq. ft to 7,260 sq. ft.
"The change of housing tenure from 90% Market Rental with 10% Social Housing to 80% Market Rental with 20% Below Market Rental rates creates significantly more below market suites within the overall mix, yielding in a total of 58 Below Market Rental units, as opposed to the previous provision of 24 Social Housing units," the developers said in their application booklet. "The single tenure allows for a more efficient delivery of rental housing by eliminating parallel spaces and systems for the two housing types. Mechanical systems like heating, cooling, ventilation, and domestic hot water, duplication of indoor amenity spaces and lobbies can now be devoted to more generous shared amenities and living space for suites. It also lowers the embodied carbon of the project by eliminating redundant equipment and materials."
According to the revised application, the developers are planning to provide 4,796 sq. ft of amenity space, which is significantly more than the 1,107 sq. ft of amenity space that was previously planned. Under the new proposal, a total of 122 vehicle parking spaces and 529 bicycle parking spaces will be provided, compared to 125 and 515 under the previous plan.
The suite mix under the previous proposal versus under the current proposal.(BOP Architects)
Anthem Properties says they are expecting the project to reach the public hearing stage this fall, with construction anticipated to begin in Fall 2025.
"This project allows us to both expand our relationship with a great existing partner, Crestpoint, and continue building a purpose-built rental portfolio, with the community benefiting from the addition of critically needed rental housing in the constrained Vancouver market," said Anthem Properties Founder & CEO Eric Carlson in a press release. "Despite challenging capital markets, and a difficult regulatory environment, Anthem continues to doggedly pursue its real estate strategy to the benefit of all."
Anthem and Crestpoint previously partnered in 2019 to acquire the Tillicum Centre in Victoria for $110M, after reaching a larger partnership in 2016 regarding 11 other shopping centres in British Columbia and Alberta.
Elsewhere in the West End, Anthem is also currently constructing Park, a 33-storey strata tower planned for 1616-1698 W Georgia Street. For Crestpoint, they recently completed an $82.5M purchase for a 50% ownership interest in the Central Park Commons project in Burnaby.
