Amidst the selling spree that was ongoing as recently as two weeks ago, high-profile Vancouver-based developer Westbank also sold a prominent office building in Vancouver, STOREYS has learned.
The office building is known as M2 and is located at 114 E 4th Avenue, near the intersection with Main Street, in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood of Vancouver.
M2 is part of the ongoing Main Alley project being undertaken by Westbank, a mixed-use campus that the developer says "will create a physical foundation on which the creative economy in Mount Pleasant can grow." The Main Alley campus is also set to include a 25-storey rental tower known as M5 that's set to become one of the tallest mass timber buildings in British Columbia.
Rising eight storeys and housing around 169,000 sq. ft of office and light industrial space, M2 completed construction in 2020 and was sold by Westbank to San Francisco-based Spear Street Capital for $115 million in a deal that closed in July. The transaction was confirmed to STOREYS by Spear Street Chairman & CEO John Grassi.
BC Assessment values 114 E 4th Avenue at $122,187,000, a decrease from the $129,705,000 valuation a year ago, with both the land value and building value decreasing. The property is legally owned under 130 E 4th Property Inc.
It's unclear who brokered the deal, but leasing in the M2, where the entire third floor is currently available, is being handled by CBRE Vancouver's High Technology Facilities Group led by Blair Quinn and Kevin Nelson.
For Spear Street Capital, who focuses on office assets, this is their third property in British Columbia.
In addition to M2, they also own 510 W Hastings Street, the heritage 15-storey office building constructed in 1912 — across the street from SFU's Vancouver campus — that's currently undergoing a revitalization. Spear Street also owns 929 Granville Street (also known as 939 Granville Street), a six-storey office building located directly across the street from the Roxy Cabaret and Vogue Theatre.
Westbank's Selling Spree
Aerial view of M2 in the Mount Pleasant area of Vancouver. / CBRE
The sale of the M2 is yet another entry in the list of transactions Westbank has been involved in this year.
In November 2023, STOREYS reported that contractors on eight Westbank projects in Vancouver, Toronto, and Seattle had filed construction liens, claiming unpaid fees. Westbank denied that it was facing insolvency and none of its properties have been placed under receivership or foreclosure. Shortly after the calendar flipped, however, Westbank began making moves.
In February, Westbank, Allied Properties REIT, and Telus restructured their ownership stakes in the Telus Sky mixed-use development in Calgary, which saw Westbank and Allied sell their 1/3 interests in the commercial component of the project and acquire Telus' 1/3 interest in the residential component. Dollar values were not disclosed.
Shortly after, in March, Westbank then sold significant ownership stakes in both the Deloitte Summit office tower at 400 W Georgia Street in Vancouver and the 19 Duncan mixed-use tower at 19 Duncan Street in Toronto to its partner on the projects, Allied Properties REIT. The transaction, which was made possible through Allied converting an $130.5 million loan into equity, left Westbank with just a 10% ownership stake in Deloitte Summit and a 5% stake in 19 Duncan.
In May, Westbank then sold 8588 Cornish Street and 8475 Granville Street, two airspace parcels located around its Granville at 70th project in Vancouver, to a private buyer for $12.5 million, as first reported by STOREYS.
Over the summer, in July, Westbank then sold The Pendrell, a 21-storey rental building located at 1770 Pendrell Street in the West End of Vancouver, as first reported by STOREYS. That transaction saw the property sold to CAPREIT for $137 million, with CAPREIT also assuming a $64.1 million mortgage.
Then, in late-September, Westbank sold its remaining 50% ownership interest in The Zephyr, a mixed-use development with two residential towers atop a large commercial space located at 1661 Davie Street in Vancouver, to Crombie REIT for $133 million. In that transaction, Crombie REIT also assumed an existing mortgage, which it said totalled to around $89 million.
The above sales amount to just under $400 million in sales proceeds for Westbank, not including the three restructuring transactions involving Allied Properties REIT and the amount of debt now off the books.
As first reported by STOREYS in August, Westbank also no longer owns The Lauren, a 22-storey rental tower located at 1051 Broughton Street in Vancouver. The Lauren was developed and co-owned by Westbank and Peterson, but was then fully sold by Peterson to Starlight Investments in June for around $120 million, indicating that Westbank had previously sold its stake.
This week, Morguard also announced that it had acquired a 20% stake in Telus Garden, an office tower located at 510 W Georgia Street in Vancouver. Telus Garden was developed by Westbank and Telus, who sold the property in 2018 for $600 million to Forgestone Capital and Greystone Managed Investments, the latter of whom was acquired by TD Bank later that same year.
