Broadway Corridor Updates

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by logan5

It's a very rare opportunity to be able to build an office tower on top of, or only a few feet away from a subway station, so there will be developers who will want to build. An office tower with that kind of amenity will attract tenants away from other offices in a lesser location.

Rize Alliance had a site for an office building next to a SkyTrain station in 2018, and very close to the new St Paul's hospital. They marketed it for several years, gave up, and sold it to Great West Life. They changed the name, and the leasing agents, and tried to leaese it for a couple of years, and gave up. Now they're supposed to hace submitted a mostly residential rental project (with a grocery store, and some modest office space).

[logan5]

Originally Posted by Changing City

Rize Alliance had a site for an office building next to a SkyTrain station in 2018, and very close to the new St Paul's hospital. They marketed it for several years, gave up, and sold it to Great West Life. They changed the name, and the leasing agents, and tried to leaese it for a couple of years, and gave up. Now they're supposed to hace submitted a mostly residential rental project (with a grocery store, and some modest office space).

That's a shitty area. Companies like being in a "downtown" environment - subway, lots of restaurants, and clustering with other companies that give it prestige.

When the time comes to start a new cycle of office development, the first place they will go is Cambie and Broadway.

It's easy to imagine 4 or 5 office towers being developed in that immediate area in the next 15 years. It's guaranteed that a major office development, with multiple towers, will be built right above City Hall Station, where 2 subway lines intersect.

And it would be easy to make a direct underground connection at the southwest corner of Cambie and Broadway.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by logan5

That's a shitty area. Companies like being in a "downtown" environment - subway, lots of restaurants, and clustering with other companies that give it prestige.

When the time comes to start a new cycle of office development, the first place they will go is Cambie and Broadway.

It's easy to imagine 4 or 5 office towers being developed in that immediate area in the next 15 years. It's guaranteed that a major office development, with multiple towers, will be built right above City Hall Station, where 2 subway lines intersect.

And it would be easy to make a direct underground connection at the southwest corner of Cambie and Broadway.

That seems too optimistic and developers are more likely to just create more rental than even bother waiting for some office cycle to return. Are you including the COV's Civic District three towers in your 4-5 office towers?

Seems more likely you'll get a smattering of office space incorporated into some larger projects for some density bonuses than a huge influx of dedicated office towers.

[logan5]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

That seems too optimistic and developers are more likely to just create more rental than even bother waiting for some office cycle to return. Are you including the COV's Civic District three towers in your 4-5 office towers?

The Broadway Plan only allows commercial/office development for this area.

Yes, I'm including the 3 civic towers.

Having a direct underground connection to 2 subway lines for an office cluster is unprecedented in Vancouver. It's a certainty (imo) that at least the civic district towers will be built, and you have the possibly of a direct underground connection at the southwest corner.

Very similar set up to Bentall Centre.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by logan5

The Broadway Plan only allows commercial/office development for this area.

Yes, I'm including the 3 civic towers.

Having a direct underground connection to 2 subway lines for an office cluster is unprecedented in Vancouver. It's a certainty (imo) that at least the civic district towers will be built, and you have the possibly of a direct underground connection at the southwest corner.

Very similar set up to Bentall Centre.

Isn't the southwest corner a recently completed building? And doesn't the Canada Line get in the way of any direct connection under Cambie Street from the station on the southeast corner?

There was a 10 storey office building proposed for 2285 Cambie, just to the north of Broadway. That's recently been switched to a 30 storey rental tower with a 5 storey podium with a modest office component, and retail, exactly as Jollyburger suggested.

[logan5]

Originally Posted by Changing City

Isn't the southwest corner a recently completed building? And doesn't the Canada Line get in the way of any direct connection under Cambie Street from the station on the southeast corner?

The west escalator coming up from the Millennium Line to Canada Line lines up right beside the southwest corner of Cambie and Broadway. It's a very short distance to dig. There is some kind of utility pipe that you would have to dig underneath of, but it looks like there is plenty of clearance. You can easily see this on Google Earth.

And I honestly don't know what would stop redevelopment of that corner, just because it is a newer building. Not exactly a big building, but that's not my area of expertise. Is something like that not economically viable? Why would someone not want to redevelop a site with a newer building on it?

Originally Posted by Changing City

There was a 10 storey office building proposed for 2285 Cambie, just to the north of Broadway. That's recently been switched to a 30 storey rental tower with a 5 storey podium with a modest office component, and retail, exactly as Jollyburger suggested.

The site you are referring to allows residential. The site I was referring to does not, at least according to the Broadway Plan.

Anyways, just exploring the possibilities of the largest transit intersection in the city. Developers are going to want to be a part of that, even if it's a purely office tower.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Sounds more likely that a developer would apply for a spot rezoning to semi-residential (and get it), or just let it sit. This is very much a bear market for offices right now.

[officedweller]

More likely, in the longer term, is that the City moves out of its building at 10th & Cambie to its new campus and that building (to the south of the Jollibee's building), gets redeveloped and might be able to have a connection to the station.
... and that site may not block views of downtown like a redevelopment of the Wendy's site might do..

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by officedweller

More likely, in the longer term, is that the City moves out of its building at 10th & Cambie to its new campus and that building (to the south of the Jollibee's building), gets redeveloped and might be able to have a connection to the station.
... and that site may not block views of downtown like a redevelopment of the Wendy's site might do..

Might be issues with the Drake Street K City Hall viewcone



https://vancouver.ca/home-property-development/drake-street-public-view.aspx

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Might be issues with the Drake Street K City Hall viewcone

Yes, the City's west campus (ex VanCity building) is in the Drake St to City Hall viewcone. So is the new Jollibee building, and Crossroads (London Drugs / Whole Foods) across the street.

[kikin]

Originally Posted by Changing City

Rize Alliance had a site for an office building next to a SkyTrain station in 2018, and very close to the new St Paul's hospital. They marketed it for several years, gave up, and sold it to Great West Life. They changed the name, and the leasing agents, and tried to leaese it for a couple of years, and gave up. Now they're supposed to hace submitted a mostly residential rental project (with a grocery store, and some modest office space).

downtown seems far more desirable, with better access to North Vancouver and the major train stations

[GenWhy?]

I think "Foundation on 8th" was still going ahead, no? That's office/industrial

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by GenWhy?

I think "Foundation on 8th" was still going ahead, no? That's office/industrial

It's a PC Urban / Nicola Wealth six storey office/ industrial building, similar to several earlier projects in Mount Pleasant. They started marketing it as a strata building over a year ago, but the last time I saw the site about a week ago, it was still being offered, and no demo had started.

[jollyburger]

They said construction was supposed to start Jan 2025. I guess it'll be a few months if they still need their building permit. Website currently has a 2027 completion (it was 2026)

With a development permit approved, the company is “working through drawing and we’ll submit a building permit soon, with construction expected to begin in January 2025.”

The construction contract will be close to $33 million, he added, with total development costs approaching $60 million and a schedule forecasting a 21-month project.

https://canada.constructconnect.com/joc/...ales-new-heights-thanks-to-zoning-change

[whatnext]

A cautionary note about the likely pace of building Broadway Plan.

Residential land demand slows as macroeconomic uncertainties continue
Buyers play it safe with well-located sites that offer a clear route to development.
Peter Mitham
Sep 2, 2025 7:30 AM

With multiple policy changes at the local, provincial and federal level designed to spark new residential construction, Western Canada’s residential land market should be on fire.

But multi-family broker Mark Goodman of Goodman Commercial Inc. in Vancouver sees quite a different reality, with a surge in listings giving buyers the upper hand and putting downward pressure on prices. Often, a couple of price reductions are needed before offers start rolling in – and even then, it can be tough.

“There’s been a monumental reset in the Metro Vancouver real estate market, in all asset classes,” he said.

“We have so much product, and we’ll hit the market with a price that is 25 or 30 per cent below where it was two and a half, three years ago – and it’s crickets!”...

....“The land market has been crushed. It’s the worst,” Goodman said. “We were selling Broadway Plan sites at $200 a foot buildable; we can’t even get anything done for $100 a foot buildable.”...

...“Probably 85 per cent of those developments along the Broadway Plan aren’t going to get built any time soon,” Goodman noted...(bold mine)

https://www.westerninvestor.com/british-...economic-uncertainties-continue-11135651

[AlessioSBT]

Originally Posted by whatnext

A cautionary note about the likely pace of building Broadway Plan.

Residential land demand slows as macroeconomic uncertainties continue
Buyers play it safe with well-located sites that offer a clear route to development.
Peter Mitham
Sep 2, 2025 7:30 AM

With multiple policy changes at the local, provincial and federal level designed to spark new residential construction, Western Canada’s residential land market should be on fire.

But multi-family broker Mark Goodman of Goodman Commercial Inc. in Vancouver sees quite a different reality, with a surge in listings giving buyers the upper hand and putting downward pressure on prices. Often, a couple of price reductions are needed before offers start rolling in – and even then, it can be tough.

“There’s been a monumental reset in the Metro Vancouver real estate market, in all asset classes,” he said.

“We have so much product, and we’ll hit the market with a price that is 25 or 30 per cent below where it was two and a half, three years ago – and it’s crickets!”...

....“The land market has been crushed. It’s the worst,” Goodman said. “We were selling Broadway Plan sites at $200 a foot buildable; we can’t even get anything done for $100 a foot buildable.”...

...“Probably 85 per cent of those developments along the Broadway Plan aren’t going to get built any time soon,” Goodman noted...(bold mine)

https://www.westerninvestor.com/british-...economic-uncertainties-continue-11135651

I keep saying this and people keep replying that is not true. If you ask me we will not see anything for at least 10 years.

[logan5]

Originally Posted by AlessioSBT

I keep saying this and people keep replying that is not true. If you ask me we will not see anything for at least 10 years.

The Broadway Corridor is ground zero for the development/construction industry. If nothing is happening there, nothing is happening anywhere else, and we would be in a huge prolonged recession. But given our always growing population, homes have to be built...

What I suspect is happening here is that for the first time that I have ever seen, almost every residential property in Metro Vancouver is eligible for more density, meaning that we have a huge supply of land/density available. There is an adjustment period here, that will resolve itself relatively quickly, imo.

[GenWhy?]

People were thinking they could get $6/psf rent out of some of these towers it was co co bananas.

There is plenty of demand, just not at the price some of these need or expected to go through at. Rental replacement, inclusionary zoning, and tenant buy-out packages are not cheap either

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by AlessioSBT

I keep saying this and people keep replying that is not true. If you ask me we will not see anything for at least 10 years.

I mean with the current economy it's easy to be bearish on the housing market.

[AlessioSBT]

Originally Posted by logan5

The Broadway Corridor is ground zero for the development/construction industry. If nothing is happening there, nothing is happening anywhere else, and we would be in a huge prolonged recession. But given our always growing population, homes have to be built...

What I suspect is happening here is that for the first time that I have ever seen, almost every residential property in Metro Vancouver is eligible for more density, meaning that we have a huge supply of land/density available. There is an adjustment period here, that will resolve itself relatively quickly, imo.

Demand doesn't matter, we cannot physically build at the price people can pay. We need 10 to build something that currently is valued at 5. That's the problem.

Originally Posted by GenWhy?

People were thinking they could get $6/psf rent out of some of these towers it was co co bananas.

There is plenty of demand, just not at the price some of these need or expected to go through at. Rental replacement, inclusionary zoning, and tenant buy-out packages are not cheap either

Exactly.