Best Buy-Winners building at Robson and Granville listed for sale

Best Buy-Winners building at Robson and Granville in downtown Vancouver listed for sale

The Best Buy/Winners building at 798 Granville Street, Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

The major retail building complex at the northeast corner of the intersection of Robson Street and Granville Street in downtown Vancouver is up for sale.

The property was listed in late November 2023 by commercial real estate firm Marcus & Millichap.

This building of 798 Granville Street at the prominent intersection provides a visual anchor and a hub of activity for both the Granville Entertainment District and the Robson Street retail strip. It is known for being the longtime home to some of downtown Vancouver’s largest mid-size retailers, including Best Buy, which was previously Future Shop, and Winners.

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Best Buy occupies the entirety of the second level, while Winners is on the third level.

Other businesses situated on the ground level with direct street frontage include Sleep Country, Claire’s, Helly Hansen, Vans, Zennkai, The North Face, Cafe Crepe, Lids, Eyemaster, and City Cannabis. According to the firm, this property is 100% leased.

The building has a total of 90,500 sq ft of leasable commercial space, and the lot spans just over 32,000 sq ft, with a long Granville Street frontage of just over half a city block.

As of July 2022, according to BC Assessment, the property is worth $115.4 million, with $115.1 million coming from the value of the land and just $282,000 from the value of the 2002-built structure.

798 granville stret vancouver best buy winners bonnis properties

The Best Buy-Winners building at 798 Granville Street, Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

In Spring 2020, the property saw the installation of new replacement and larger LED advertising video screens between the second and third levels of the building’s exterior, directly facing the prominent intersection.

The property is owned by Bonnis Properties, which is best known for its multiple major holdings and property interests along and near Granville Street within downtown Vancouver.

Bonnis Properties is the proponent of the transformative 800 Granville Street redevelopment proposal immediately to the south, which would result in a 26-storey building incorporating heritage components — including the full preservation of the Commodore Ballroom and Commodore Billiards. There would be about 652,000 sq ft of space, including over 97,000 sq ft of retail/restaurant uses — in a stacked, multi-storey configuration similar to their Best Buy/Winners building — along with 86,200 sq ft of cultural and entertainment uses and 468,000 sq ft of office space, with large office floor plates suitable for tech and other larger businesses.

The rezoning application for 800 Granville Street is concurrently being considered by the municipal government with the Granville Street Planning Program, which is the City’s future master plan for guiding the revitalization of the entertainment district.

800 granville street vancouver bonnis properties

Artistic rendering of 800 Granville Street, Vancouver. (Perkins&Will/Bonnis Properties)

800 granville street vancouver redevelopment bonnis properties

Artistic rendering of the August 2021 revised design of the 800 Granville Street redevelopment proposal in downtown Vancouver. (Perkins&Will/Bonnis Properties)

Daily Hive Urbanized reached out to Bonnis Properties for further information on their sale of 798 Granville Street but did not hear back in time for publication. Marcus & Millichap also told Daily Hive Urbanized they currently have no additional details to share.

In early 2021, Kerry Bonnis, the president of Bonnis Properties, told Daily Hive Urbanized in an interview that he had a vision to redevelop 798 Granville Street into a far taller tower than what he was proposing to build at 800 Granville Street. At the time, he was looking into redeveloping the complex into a tower with office uses above and retail spaces on the lower floors.

The development potential of the site of 798 Granville Street has some limitations from the height restrictions due to protected mountain view cones, including View Cone 12.2 from the mid-span of the Granville Street Bridge.

Currently, Bonnis Properties is in the midst of building a large mid-block commercial building at 950 Granville Street, which is situated just one block to the south of 800 Granville Street. The 950 Granville Street project on the former location of Republic Nightclub, next to the 7-Eleven, will be a four-storey building with 17,000 sq ft of ground-level retail/restaurant uses and over 54,000 sq ft of office space in the upper levels. This building is expected to reach completion later in 2024, and this time, no tenants have been publicly announced.

950 granville street vancouver bonnis properties construction october 25, 2023

Construction progress on 950 Granville Street as of October 25, 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Artistic rendering of the 4-storey concept for 900-950 Granville Street, Vancouver. (B&TB/Perkins&Will/Bonnis Properties)

In June 2022, City Council approved Bonnis Properties’ rezoning application to redevelop 526 Granville Street — located mid-block, just south of West Pender Street — into a skinny 24-storey office building. It will be a visually striking building, with a street frontage of just 50 ft rising from the preserved and retained 1899-built, three-storey “Leckie Block” heritage building, which is currently occupied by Moore’s Clothing.

Prior to the pandemic, Bonnis Properties received approval to redevelop 809 Seymour Street — a small lot on the southwest corner of the intersection of Robson Street and Seymour Street — into a 13-storey building with about 62,000 sq ft of Class AAA office space for strata ownership.

The previous buildings at 809 Seymour Street were demolished about three years ago, leaving the site vacant. There has been no progress on this project, named The Seymour, ever since.

Immediately to the west of the Best Buy/Winners building, the former Nordstrom department store will remain vacant for the foreseeable future, with Cadillac Fairview yet to finalize and announce new tenants and a potential new retail concept for this major space within CF Pacific Centre shopping mall.

But just to the south, the area will see a bump starting in 2024, when Cineplex’s new flagship The Rec Room entertainment complex at 850 Granville Street finally reaches completion and opens.

Artistic rendering of 526 Granville Street, Vancouver. (Perkins&Will/Bonnis Properties)

524-526 Granville Street Vancouver office tower

Artistic rendering of 524-526 Granville Street, Vancouver. (Perkins & Will/Bonnis Properties)

809 Seymour Street 600 Robson Street Vancouver

Artistic rendering of The Seymour at 809 Seymour Street, Vancouver. (Perkins&Will/Bonnis Development)

The vacant site of 809 Seymour Street (on the left in the foreground) and 798 Granville Street (on the right in the background). (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

cineplex the rec room granville downtown vancouver construction october 25 2023

Construction progress on Cineplex’s The Rec Room at 850 Granville Street in downtown Vancouver as of October 25, 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

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