The historic Hollywood Theatre and adjacent Hollywood Residences in Vancouver have been sold to Vancouver-based real estate company Dayhu Group.
The Hollywood Theatre is located at 3123 W Broadway in the Kitsilano neighbourhood of Vancouver and was constructed in 1935. The art deco-style theatre was designed by architect Harold Cullerne to evoke the glamour of the 1930s and was originally owned by Reginald Fairleigh.
In May 2011, the Hollywood Theatre was acquired by Bonnis Properties, the real estate developer that owns numerous high-profile properties on Granville Street in downtown Vancouver. The property remained vacant for about a year before Bonnis Properties leased it to the Point Grey Community Church in September 2012.
In 2013, Bonnis then made a proposal to redevelop the theatre into a two-storey fitness facility, a proposal that sparked significant opposition from locals, most notably from a group called the Save the Hollywood Theatre Coalition.
After a few years, the City of Vancouver ultimately reached an agreement with Bonnis Properties in 2018 that would allow Bonnis to develop a six-storey residential building next door, while recognizing and preserving the theatre as a heritage property. The property remains protected, according to the Vancouver Heritage Register.
The Hollywood Theatre.
Extensive renovations to the theatre, which is now primarily used as an event space rather than a movie theatre, were completed in 2020 and the residential building at 3137 W Broadway, known as the Hollywood Residences, was completed in 2022. The building consists of 40 stratified units that are being used as rental homes.
Since then, in late-2024, both the Hollywood Theatre and Hollywood Residences were sold by Bonnis Properties to Dayhu Group for a sale price of $47.5 million and the properties are now held under Dayhu Investments Ltd. The transaction was brokered by James Lang, Simon Lim, and Jessica Hathaway of Colliers.
Dayhu Group
According to the company, Dayhu Group was founded by Ben Dayson after he and his wife, Esther, moved to Vancouver in 1949. Together they bought the Western 5 & 10 Cent Store in Marpole, before developing their first apartment building in the West End of Vancouver in 1951. Dayhu Group was then founded in 1956.
"Mr. Dayson remained a formidable force in the real estate community his whole life, but made a name for himself by building the very first high-rise residential towers in Richmond that still stand today on Minoru Boulevard," the company's corporate website notes. "He also received acclaim for the award winning Worker's Compensation Building on Granville and No. 3 Road."
Originally named Baruch Deezik, Ben Dayson passed away at the age of 100, in 2007, after Esther previously passed away at the age of 97. The company is now led by their grandson, Jonathan Barnett, as President & CEO.
The company's portfolio consists of mixed-use properties in Vancouver and Richmond, plus industrial properties in Richmond and Delta. Notable properties include the mixed-use building at 460 Robson Street, 1085 Homer Street, and 3603 W 27th Avenue in Vancouver.
