After unveiling the Mayfair West project planned for the Oakridge neighbourhood of Vancouver last year, UK-based real estate giant Grosvenor is now seeking significant delivery deadline extensions on several key components of the project.
The Mayfair West project is being planned for 949 West 41st Avenue and 5469-5507 Willow Street, the 14-acre site known as the Oakridge Transit Centre, which had been used as a bus depot between 1948 and 2006. The site is located just a few blocks west of the ongoing Oakridge Park project.
In 2016, TransLink sold the site to Vancouver-based developer Intergulf Development Corporation and Modern Green Canada Corp (MOMC) for $440 million — one of the largest real estate transactions in British Columbia's history. Intergulf later exited the project and sold its share to MOMC. Grosvenor then announced in June 2022 that it and a partner, Transca Real Estate Development, had acquired the property and woud be leading the development, with MOMC staying on as a capital partner.
For the site, Grosvenor has planned 17 buildings with heights up to 26 storeys that would provide approximately 1,120 strata units, 180 rental units, 330 social housing units, 24,000 sq. ft of commercial space, and a 69-space childcare facility, in addition to a two-acre public park.
According to the City of Vancouver, the rezoning application was approved in December 2020, but the CD-1 rezoning bylaw has not yet been enacted and Grosvenor has been working on the enactment conditions. A component of that is finalizing the community amenity contributions (CACs) to be delivered to the City, which the City levies on development projects that involve rezoning. Developers have the option of delivering a physical amenity, making a cash contribution, or a mix of both.
In the case of the Oakridge Transit Centre project, the CACs agreed upon for the project by the previous owner were, according to a report to council published last week:
- Transfer of parcel E to the City for social housing, allowing a minimum floor space of 25,788.9 sq. m (277,589 sq. ft.) which is equivalent to approximately 330 units, including the construction and delivery of two turnkey social housing buildings of 13,607.4 sq. m (146,469 sq. ft.), which is equivalent to approximately 175 units;
- Construction and delivery of a turnkey purpose-built 69-space childcare facility;
- Construction and delivery of a two-acre parcel of public park; and
- $1,800,000 allocated to public realm and transportation improvements in the area.
However, Grosvenor is now seeking a deadline extension on everything except the $1.8 million cash contribution.
"The applicant has requested additional time to deliver the in-kind CAC package to better align with the overall project timing," said City staff. "The extension was requested due to the change of ownership, the lack of progress made by the original developer and the current economic climate."
Although Grosvenor is the party who sought out an extension, it's unclear if they specifically asked for five additional years. Staff say that they are recommending the five-year extension "following negotiation with the application." In some previous instances where developers have sought out similar extensions, it was City staff that settled on the length of the extension before it was brought to Council for approval.
The two social housing buildings were not expected to be delivered until 2026 and 2028, and the deadline for their delivery would be extended to 2031 and 2033 if the extensions are granted. The 69-space childcare facility and two-acre public park were previously expected to be delivered by 2028 and the deferral would extend that deadline to December 31, 2033.
The community amenity contributions and the completion dates with the the five-year delays. / City of Vancouver
"Grosvenor has a long track record of proudly delivering meaningful amenities in all the communities in which we develop, on time and as expected by that community," said Grosvenor in a statement. "In this instance, the overall development, including the market strata and rental, has experienced delays compared with what was assumed before our involvement. Unfortunately, those timelines were never feasible. This is due to the usual issues affecting our industry: market conditions, approval timelines, evolving government housing policies, and significant cost escalations across the board. This is especially true for developments of this scope and scale."
As part of the extension requests, the amount of the letters of credit would also be increased.
For the E-3 social housing building expected to be delivered in Phase Two of Mayfair West, the letter of credit amount has been increased from $34,056,000 to $43,465,000, according to proposed amendments to the rezoning by-law enactment conditions. For the E-2 social housing building that's expected to be delivered in Phase Three, the amount has been increased from $31,855,050 to $40,656,000. The amount has also been increased from $8,000,000 to $10,210,000 for the childcare space and $5,000,000 to $6,381,250 for the park.
Additionally, City staff are also recommending that amendments be made to the environmental remediation standards for the project site, changing the standard from "numeric" to "numeric or risk-based."
Vancouver City Council will consider the extension request on Tuesday, October 22.
BC Assessment values 949 W 41st Avenue, legally known as 929 W 41st Avenue, at $311,015,000. The three Willow Street properties — 5469, 5489, and 5507 — are then valued at $3,473,700, $3,140,200, and $3,921,000, for a total valuation of $321,549,900. The properties are held under OTC Project BT Limited and controlled by Oakridge Transit Centre GP Ltd.
Late last year, Grosvenor submitted their development application for Phase One. Earlier this year, it then submitted a development application for a replacement rectifier electrical substation for TransLink trolley buses.
Grosvenor is an international real estate company with a history that dates back to 1677 and is owned by the Duke of Westminster. Elsewhere in British Columbia, Grosvenor is undertaking the Brentwood Block master plan project in Burnaby, the first phase of which Grosvenor said this month would cost $1.5 billion.
[Editor's Note: This article was updated on October 21 to include a statement from Grosvenor.]
