Already with an extensive portfolio of projects in Burnaby, Vancouver-based real estate developer Bosa Properties will soon be adding two more properties to its pipeline, STOREYS has learned.
One property is located in the burgeoning Royal Oak neighbourhood and the other is in the well-established Metrotown neighbourhood, with the two sites a short six-minute drive away from each other.
Royal Oak
In November, Bosa Properties closed on its acquisition of 5367 and 5411 Kingsway, located two blocks east from Royal Oak Avenue.
The 5411 Kingsway property spans 2.7 acres and is currently occupied by the Best Western Plus Burnaby Hotel, which was originally constructed in 1977, according to BC Assessment, who values the property at $31,159,000. The transaction was completed via the sale and purchase of shares in the company that holds the property, 550235 BC Ltd. The numbered company was formerly controlled by the Hung family and is now controlled by Bosa Properties through 5411 Kingsway Limited Partnership. Bosa declined to share the purchase price.
Simultaneously, Bosa Properties also acquired the small adjacent parcel to the west at 5367 Kingsway, which BC Assessment values at $2,825,000. Bosa acquired the 0.17-acre property for $6,000,000 and the property is now also held under 550235 BC Ltd. and 5411 Kingsway Limited Partnership.
Although small and currently vacant, the site has a very interesting history. Formerly known as 3321 Kingsway, the site was once occupied by a small two-storey office building that was the first office of Beedie, the Burnaby-based real estate developer, who bought the building in 1956 for $12,000. Beedie later sold it in 2007 for $1.7 million to the BC NDP, which used it as its headquarters before selling it to a private buyer in May 2016 for $2.15 million. However, a fire destroyed the building in 2018 and the property has remained vacant ever since, despite changing hands once more for $3,000,000 in 2023.
The office building that used to occupy 5367 Kingsway (left) and the two parcels (right). / Google Maps | BC Assessment
In a statement provided to STOREYS, Bosa Properties confirmed the acquisition of 5367-5411 Kingsway and also provided some details about its plan for the Best Western, which is now being managed by Atlific Hotels.
"Our mid-term plan for the site is to continue to operate the Best Western Plus Burnaby Hotel with a significant renovation — anticipated to be completed by summer 2025 — to modernize the existing 137 hotel rooms and amenities, adding to our growing hotel pipeline. We are also considering the long-term redevelopment potential of the site, in alignment with the City of Burnaby's development of a new community plan for the Royal Oak neighbourhood."
As reported by STOREYS in July 2023, the Royal Oak neighbourhood is in line to become a new development hotspot in Burnaby, with the intersection of Kingsway and Royal Oak Avenue serving as one of two main nodes (the other being the area around Royal Oak Station). In July 2023, the City of Burnaby launched the process of establishing a new community plan for the neighbourhood and that new plan is scheduled to be finalized this year.
Metrotown
The second new project is set for 5978 Wilson Avenue, located at the intersection with Kemp Street and one block away from Kingsway. The property is currently occupied by a 38-unit rental building constructed in 1967, according to BC Assessment, which values the property at $20,763,000. This site also has an interesting history.
According to the Land Owner Transparency Registry, the 5978 Wilson Avenue property is owned by 1164708 BC Ltd. and beneficially owned by Yong Jin Yong and Mailin Chen, the latter of whom has previously been identified as the owner of Chunghwa Investment (Canada) Co.
The property was the subject of a failed appeal pertaining to a $6 million foreign buyer's tax bill. According to a 2023 court judgment, 1164708 BC Ltd. acquired 5978 Wilson Avenue in August 2018 for $30,000,000. Chen argued that he should not have been deemed a foreign buyer because he was a permanent resident of Canada. However, 1164708 BC Ltd. was beneficially owned by Global Dingye Capital Ltd., an entity that was registered in British Columbia, but whose sole shareholder was Nanjing Dingye Investment Real Estate Group Co. Ltd., a company incorporated in China. Because of this structure, the appeal was dismissed.
The 5978 Wilson Avenue property, in February 2022. / Google Maps
Although the Land Owner Transparency Registry does not indicate that they are a owner, Bosa Properties submitted a rezoning letter of intent to the City of Burnaby in September for the site.
Asked whether they were in the process of acquiring the property, Bosa Properties told STOREYS this week that they are undertaking a redevelopment project as part of a joint venture agreement with Chunghwa that the two parties entered into in August 2024. The formal rezoning application was submitted in December and the proposal is for a 40-storey rental building with 418 rental units — including 38 below-market rental units — and a childcare facility at grade.
The site of this new project is surrounded by several other ongoing projects by Bosa Properties. To the west, at 5987 Wilson Avenue, Bosa Properties is nearing completion on a 41-storey condo tower called Central Park House. Immediately adjacent to Central Park House, at 6035 Wilson Avenue, Bosa is now constructing a 50-storey condo tower called Solhouse 6035. To the east, at 5980 Kathleen Avenue, Bosa recently completed a 35-storey rental tower called Broadview.
Furthermore, Bosa formerly owned the large development site, currently occupied by an Esso gas station and Bosa's sales centre, at 4444-4488 Kingsway, before selling the property to Keltic Development for $145 million in 2022. However, it still owns the 45-storey Sovereign, a hotel and condo tower, diagonally across the street, as well as the 18-storey Central Park Place office tower right next door at 4555 Kingsway.
Elsewhere in Burnaby, Bosa recently put 7315 Edmonds Street on the market, the commercial podium of its 28-storey Esprit tower.
