Burnaby Updates

[Spr0ckets]

The seemingly never ending saga of the Metrotown Place towers reaches some sort of interim resolution as the City of Burnaby will become the new landlords/owners.

Source:-
https://storeys.com/slate-metrotown-...rship-burnaby/

City Of Burnaby Pays $65M For Metrotown Place Office Towers Under Receivership

"The City of Burnaby has agreed to acquire the Metrotown Place office towers in Burnaby, according to court filings in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, bringing a receivership proceeding that began just four months ago to a quick and tidy conclusion.

The Metrotown Place property consists of the 19-storey Tower I at 4330 Kingsway and the 10-storey Tower III at 5945 Kathleen Avenue, located along Kingsway between Kathleen Avenue and Wilson Avenue, in the Metrotown neighbourhood of Burnaby.

The property was previously owned by Toronto-based Slate Asset Management — founded by UBC alum Blair Welch and his brother Brady Welch in 2005 — under SCREO I Metrotown Inc.

The two office buildings, which are adjacent to a two-storey commercial building at the intersection of Kingsway and Kathleen Avenue that was not included in the receivership proceeding, were originally constructed in 1983 and were unofficially known as the "Golden Towers" due to the building's unique golden sheen.

For the site, Slate Asset Management was planning on converting the property into a new strata office complex called Capital Point Metrotown, before the project was cancelled, as first reported by STOREYS in May 2023. The property has been vacant since Slate commenced with the project and marketing material for the Capital Point project was still present on the site as recently as this July despite the cancellation...."

They bought the tower towers and the land they sit on for some $22 Million less than assessed market value, so ostensibly (depending on what they do with it), it seems like a deal for Burnabians(?)


As to what they plan to, or might do with the site...

"The City regularly uses its Corporate & Tax Sale Land Reserve Fund to make acquisitions that meet various short and long-term community objectives," said Manager of Public Affairs Chris Bryan. "City staff will prepare a report for City Council outlining potential uses for the new property."

Time will tell what the City plans to do with the property, but Metrotown Place has a history with governments, as it was formerly home to the Metro Vancouver Regional District before it relocated to the nearby Metrotower III, after it concluded that the Metrotown Place property was nearing the end of its life and would be too costly to renovate. The City of Burnaby is currently in the process of launching its municipal housing corporation, the Burnaby Housing Authority, and has said that it will be leasing office space outside of City Hall, although, at 350,000 sq. ft, the Metrotown Place complex is significantly larger than the 3,000 sq. ft the City says it needs."

Sooo,........

....just spitballin' here,.......so hear me out.......

....about that new City Hall they were planning on building/renovating at Deer Lake.......

[mcj]

Originally Posted by Spr0ckets

As to what they plan to, or might do with the site...

I remember Dailyhive had reported they were going to switch to incorporate some residential in the project

They add that they have now deemed the “best use” for the property is a mix of residential and commercial uses, and will be returning to the municipal government this year with a new rezoning application outlining a revised redevelopment strategy.

Guess the city liked what they saw (if they saw anything at all). Great deal on what is very likely to become the new city hall and/or the first municipality owned residential project in Burnaby. Here's hoping they've got something spectacular in mind, although they'll probably play it relatively safe for their first project.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by Spr0ckets

As to what they plan to, or might do with the site...

Sooo,........

....just spitballin' here,.......so hear me out.......

....about that new City Hall they were planning on building/renovating at Deer Lake.......

My thoughts too!

[officedweller]

Daily Hive also mentions:

The regional district sold their old headquarters complex at 4330 Kingsway to Slate Asset Management in 2018 for $86 million.

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/4330...-office-towers

[WBC]

Originally Posted by Spr0ckets

The seemingly never ending saga of the Metrotown Place towers reaches some sort of interim resolution as the City of Burnaby will become the new landlords/owners.

Source:-
https://storeys.com/slate-metrotown-...rship-burnaby/

City Of Burnaby Pays $65M For Metrotown Place Office Towers Under Receivership




They bought the tower towers and the land they sit on for some $22 Million less than assessed market value, so ostensibly (depending on what they do with it), it seems like a deal for Burnabians(?)


As to what they plan to, or might do with the site...




Sooo,........

....just spitballin' here,.......so hear me out.......

....about that new City Hall they were planning on building/renovating at Deer Lake.......

This would be a great deal for City of Burnaby. If they want to move the city hall here that would be a win-win. No need to spend obscene amounts of money renovating city hall buildings or building new ones. Similar to how city bought Fortius - that now looks like an amazing bargain. Love playing basketball at that place...

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by WBC

This would be a great deal for City of Burnaby. If they want to move the city hall here that would be a win-win. No need to spend obscene amounts of money renovating city hall buildings or building new ones. Similar to how city bought Fortius - that now looks like an amazing bargain. Love playing basketball at that place...

But isn't that building at end of life? Seems more likely they spend obscene amounts of money to rebuild that site.

[officedweller]

It was built in the 80s I think - so probably not the most efficient, etc., but nothing that renos can't fix.
It shouldn't be crumbling.
The previous renos were likely to help an old building in a poor location compete in the office market - factors that don't apply to a municipal building.

[phesto]

I've heard it will take considerable work to modernize these buildings. At $200/SF that is $50 Million.

Still considerably cheaper than the City building from the ground up.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by officedweller

It was built in the 80s I think - so probably not the most efficient, etc., but nothing that renos can't fix.
It shouldn't be crumbling.
The previous renos were likely to help an old building in a poor location compete in the office market - factors that don't apply to a municipal building.

Didn't realize the Slate project was a recladding/renovation.

Before closing the purchase for $205 million in December 2015, Metro commissioned three reviews by two different companies, and had two commercial real-estate agencies compare property values, look at available office space and provide support. Metro had previously asked Morrison Hershfield to do two assessments of its current properties in 2011 and 2013.

The business case for purchasing the new building included a comparison of three scenarios: staying in the existing buildings and renovating, relocating to Metrotower, or building new head offices. Detailed forecasting was done for a 20-year period.

It found that renovating the old offices would have cost slightly more than moving to Metrotower. The older buildings required extensive work, including replacing all of the exterior windows, and upgrading mechanical elements such as the heat pumps and elevators.

https://vancouversun.com/business/co...rotown-offices

[Spr0ckets]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Didn't realize the Slate project was a recladding/renovation.



https://vancouversun.com/business/co...rotown-offices

So we know it's probably going to cost north of $210 Million to renovate and refurbish and bring them up to modern standards and code (if that's the route they choose to go).

(Inflation factored in from 2015 along with labor and construction cost increases in the time since, then it might even be upwards of $300 Million)


Metro found it more cost effective to purchase a new tower than renovate those two office towers.
Slate couldn't make the business case work for completely refurbishing them (granted, the collapsed office market since the pandemic probably had a lot to do with that).

Putting all these things together seems to point to the City of Burnaby heading toward demolishing these two towers and putting up some sort of a new construction there.

As it turns out,.....(and if memory serves correctly),... the estimated cost for a Deer Lake City Hall upgrade to a new "campus-style" complex was going to be in the neighbourhood of $300 Million or more.
Refurbishment/renovation is not an option there either as that current building is also at 'end-of-life' status and renovation would be more costly than constructing anew.

A third option obviously is to partner with a development partner to demolish those two towers and put up a mixed use development with residential rental and some commercial component for that Kingsway location.
(This was also one of the options considered in between the initial Slate office redevelopment/refurbishment plan and the current sale to the city)

[WBC]

Originally Posted by Spr0ckets

So we know it's probably going to cost north of $210 Million to renovate and refurbish and bring them up to modern standards and code (if that's the route they choose to go).

(Inflation factored in from 2015 along with labor and construction cost increases in the time since, then it might even be upwards of $300 Million)


Metro found it more cost effective to purchase a new tower than renovate those two office towers.
Slate couldn't make the business case work for completely refurbishing them (granted, the collapsed office market since the pandemic probably had a lot to do with that).

Putting all these things together seems to point to the City of Burnaby heading toward demolishing these two towers and putting up some sort of a new construction there.

As it turns out,.....(and if memory serves correctly),... the estimated cost for a Deer Lake City Hall upgrade to a new "campus-style" complex was going to be in the neighbourhood of $300 Million or more.
Refurbishment/renovation is not an option there either as that current building is also at 'end-of-life' status and renovation would be more costly than constructing anew.

A third option obviously is to partner with a development partner to demolish those two towers and put up a mixed use development with residential rental and some commercial component for that Kingsway location.
(This was also one of the options considered in between the initial Slate office redevelopment/refurbishment plan and the current sale to the city)

What exactly is wrong with Gold towers? Is there a real problem or has the RDH done one of their classis reviews and concluded that every single piece needs to be replaced to bring it up to the "current standards"...

[sitchensis]

Originally Posted by Spr0ckets

Sooo,........

....just spitballin' here,.......so hear me out.......

....about that new City Hall they were planning on building/renovating at Deer Lake.......

This would be the ideal outcome IMO. I still can't believe Burnaby would double down on building a new administrative centre at Deer Lake with thousands of employees in a suburban wasteland (with zero hope for rapid transit within the next half-century), when the nexus of social, cultural and business life in the city is quite *clearly* at Metrotown.

[Spr0ckets]

Originally Posted by WBC

What exactly is wrong with Gold towers? Is there a real problem or has the RDH done one of their classis reviews and concluded that every single piece needs to be replaced to bring it up to the "current standards"...

You'd have to read the various reports from the assessments they did of them to get the specifics, I suppose.

But I imagine, evaluating whether and when to renovate/refit/refurbish older buildings such retrofits have to fit within modern building code requirements and standards and that's a much higher bar to reach, particularly the older the buildings in question.

Much like the current City hall at Deer Lake which is more or less at 'end-of-life' status and would cost prohibitively more to renovate and refit than just tear down and build anew. Most buildings are built with a fixed lifespan for optimal usability before they have to be upgraded or torn down.

From my reading of it, the long and short of it is that their assessment determined that to satisfactorally bring the two towers not just to the required modern standards but also to meet their expanded needs as regional district headquarters, it would have cost them more money than just outright buying a new tower. Which is what they did.

At the time Slate took over and submitted their proposal for redevelopment, it seemed like they could make the numbers work for what they wanted before their financials fell through and they had to sell up.

So again,....it depends.
It wasn't just simply renovating to bring them up to modern standards.
They also had to fulfill more functional roles than they likely were before.

[officedweller]

Remember that the Metro Vancouver option to stay in the buildings and renovate would probably have involved moving out, renting out swing space and moving back in - those costs would probably add up as well.
A straight move to a new space would be easier and cheaper in that regard.

In the case of Burnaby, it wouldn't have those transition costs since they do not occupy the gold towers (but would have to terminate any existing tenants).

[Spr0ckets]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Remember that the Metro Vancouver option to stay in the buildings and renovate would probably have involved moving out, renting out swing space and moving back in - those costs would probably add up as well.
A straight move to a new space would be easier and cheaper in that regard.

In the case of Burnaby, it wouldn't have those transition costs since they do not occupy the gold towers (but would have to terminate any existing tenants).

Not only that, but there's also the fact that in Metrotower III, which they bought from Ivanhoe Cambridge to move into, they don't occupy all the floors and lease out the rest to other businesses and tenants (some of which they inherited from Ivanhoe).

Depending on how those lease agreements are structured, this could represent a revenue stream that could potentially offset some of the cost of purchasing the tower in the long term.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by Spr0ckets

Not only that, but there's also the fact that in Metrotower III, which they bought from Ivanhoe Cambridge to move into, they don't occupy all the floors and lease out the rest to other businesses and tenants (some of which they inherited from Ivanhoe).

Depending on how those lease agreements are structured, this could represent a revenue stream that could potentially offset some of the cost of purchasing the tower in the long term.

I think they originally planned on occupying 13-14 floors with 12 leased out with 800 employees. When they moved in they were already taking 16 floors with 900 employees (so 9 floors left for lease) I know it's a 29 storey tower but all the news articles didn't have that many floors of office space.

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/metr...n-office-tower

Translink ended up back in Metrotown last year with 4 floors for their rail division at Central Park Place

https://www.biv.com/news/real-estate...-tower-8271691

Two floors are up for sublease 18/19

https://www.spacelist.ca/listings/91...tral_boulevard

Hemmera Envirochem is leaving they were an original tenant when Metro Vancouver bought the building. They moved there in 2015 relocating from Vancouver. Sublease expires in 2027.

https://www.biv.com/news/real-estate...arters-8242543

[ecbin]

Originally Posted by sitchensis

This would be the ideal outcome IMO. I still can't believe Burnaby would double down on building a new administrative centre at Deer Lake with thousands of employees in a suburban wasteland (with zero hope for rapid transit within the next half-century), when the nexus of social, cultural and business life in the city is quite *clearly* at Metrotown.

This is Burnaby though - making sense isn't part of how they operate. The total lack of leadership in the Mayor's office and the pandering to NIMBYs of the most senior council members is just incredible - completely pathetic levels of leadership.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Burnaby Council is currently attempting to get the Hastings bus lanes downgraded to bus bulges. So, par for the course, I guess.

[officedweller]

Keltic’s Plan for Rev’s Bowling Site Includes Three Towers, 1,665 Units
https://vancouvermarket.ca/2024/11/1...rs-1665-units/

The development proposal is for three residential towers (60-storeys, 54-storeys and 46-storeys) with common 5-storey podium that includes residential uses, live-work units, and commercial space on the ground floor, above a shared underground parkade. A two storey amenity building is proposed in the southeast corner of the site.

Details include:

• 1,667 total residential units;
• 1,432 condos;
• 235 affordable rental units;
• a total density of 7.17 FAR.

https://vancouvermarket.ca/2024/11/1...rs-1665-units/


https://vancouvermarket.ca/2024/11/1...rs-1665-units/

[ecbin]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Keltic’s Plan for Rev’s Bowling Site Includes Three Towers, 1,665 Units
https://vancouvermarket.ca/2024/11/1...rs-1665-units/

It looks like the west end of Holdom station doesn't have an entrance - any idea if there's provision to put an entrance in to support this development? Other than the noisy highway that area around Holdom does seem really well suited mixed use development - sure would be nice to see a real grocery store there soon.