New 5th office tower to be added to Bentall Centre in downtown Vancouver

Sep 27 2019, 1:02 am

Plans for a major office addition to the Bentall Centre office complex in the core of downtown Vancouver’s Central Business District were announced today.

Los Angeles-based Hudson Pacific Properties (HPP) made public its intent to add a Class AAA 450,000-sq-ft office tower to the existing four-tower complex, which would increase the combined total floor area to nearly two million sq. ft., effectively cementing it as the city’s largest integrated office complex.

The project is in the very early stages of planning; no formal application has been submitted.

According to a media backgrounder, the significant expansion and upgrades are intended to “reposition” Bentall Centre as “premier urban workspace.”

The improvements over the short- to mid-term include redesigned and modernized lobbies and corridors, new landscaping and furniture that better activate outdoor plazas, and enhanced on-site tenant retail, dining, fitness, and other amenities.

This specifically includes a major renovation of the complex’s 140,000-sq-ft of ground-level and underground shopping mall, which is mainly occupied by service-based businesses and food outlets.

Bentall Centre office complex

Bentall Centre office complex in downtown Vancouver. (Hudson Pacific Properties)

Bentall Centre office complex

Bentall Centre office complex in downtown Vancouver. (Hudson Pacific Properties)

When HPP announced its purchase of the property in March of this year, they noted the company had intentions to retrofit the retail component and provide the complex with a refresh, but plans for an additional office tower were uncertain at the time.

HPP partnered with New York City-based Blackstone Property Partners (BPP) to purchase the towers in a joint-venture arrangement, with HPP taking on a 20% minority stake and BPP with an 80% minority stake. The property was acquired from Beijing-based Anbang Insurance Group Co. Ltd., in a deal that was likely worth north of $1 billion.

The Class A office space complex, built from 1969 to 1981, entails 1.45 million-sq-ft of total floor area on a five-acre property.

The joint venture owns One Bentall Centre (86 metres, 22 storeys), Two Bentall Centre (70 metres, 18 storeys), Three Bentall Centre (122 metres, 32 storeys) and Four Bentall Centre (138 metres, 35 storeys). The 2001-built Five Bentall Centre, located across the street, physically separate from the other towers, is under different ownership.

Nearly all of the office space is leased, with major tenants entailing WeWork/Amazon, Bank of Montreal, CIBC World Markets, and Absolute Software.

Bentall Centre office complex

Bentall Centre office complex in downtown Vancouver. (Hudson Pacific Properties)

Kenneth ChanKenneth Chan

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