West Georgia Chevron gas station sold for $72 million
An acquisition for a gas station in downtown Vancouver’s Coal Harbour neighbourhood could go down as one of the largest real estate transactions in Vancouver history.
Real estate developer Anthem Properties says it has purchased the now-closed Chevron gas station on the southeast corner of Bidwell and West Georgia streets.
See also
The company did not disclose the sale price, but according to Colliers Vice President David Taylor, RealNet’s data tracking on prices and sales indicates the prominent 16,369-square-foot property – occupying approximately one-third of the city block – was sold for a staggering $72 million. In contrast, the property’s latest assessed value by BC Assessment was $29.5 million.
It is anticipated the site will be redeveloped into high-end residential. Under the West End Community Plan’s designation for Area A of the Georgia Corridor between Cardero and Denman streets, a 385-foot-tall building can be constructed on the site, which falls under the Queen Elizabeth Park view cone.
“The Anthem team, its consultants and its financial partners are enthusiastically looking forward to creating a stunning residential project on this high profile site in conjunction with the planning department of the City of Vancouver,” said Anthem CEO Eric Carlson in a statement.
Possible land assembly with White Spot
Image: Google Maps screenshot
A commercial real estate broker who requested anonymity told Daily Hive that a land assembly of the entire city block is being attempted.
The Chevron gas station occupies approximately one-third of the city block while the adjacent mid-block White Spot restaurant and its ground-level parking lot takes up two-fifths of the city block area. It is assessed for $52.2 million.
A property on the southern end of the city block, owned by the City of Vancouver and assessed for $26 million, also accounts for roughly a third of the block.
As well, there are two smaller parcel sites between the gas station and the White Spot, assessed at $4.1 million and $5 million, respectively.
Using the gas station sale price as the benchmark, a potential land assembly of the entire city block could go for as much as $300 million.
A cluster of architecturally unique major towers are already planned or approved for the northern end of West Georgia Street, between Broughton and Bidwell streets. This includes James Cheng and Brilliant Circle Group’s 46-storey ‘Flat Iron’ tower at 1445 West Georgia Street, Westbank Projects Corporation and Kengo Kuma’s 40-storey ‘carved’ tower at 1550 Alberni Street, Bosa Properties and Ole Scheeren’s 43-storey ‘jenga’ tower at 1500 West Georgia Street, and Bosa Properties and Henriquez Partners Architects’ 26-storey ‘scaly’ tower at 1500 West Georgia Street.
One remaining gas station in downtown Vancouver
The Chevron gas station permanently closed last week, leaving drivers with just one location to fill up their tanks within the downtown Vancouver peninsula. The only gas station remaining is the Esso station on the southwest corner of Burrard and Davie streets.
Chevron also recently sold its station at the corner of West 39th Avenue and Dunbar Street to real estate developer Wesgroup Properties for $19 million. The property’s assessed value was $14.44 million.
Another station on the corner of East 1st Avenue and Clark Drive is closed as well and worth $5.56 million.
Follow Channels and Categories