Downtown Vancouver student housing tower sold for $70 million

Downtown Vancouver student housing tower changes ownership in $70 million deal

GEC Granville Suites hotel at 718 Drake Street, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

One of the first major student housing properties under the portfolio of Global Education Communities Corporation (GECC) is now under new ownership.

The private education company has announced the sale of GEC Granville at 718 Drake Street, which is an 11-storey tower at the southwest corner of the intersection of Granville and Drake streets — near the northern end of the Granville Street Bridge in downtown Vancouver.

When GECC first acquired the property in 2015, it was the Best Western Plus Downtown Vancouver Hotel, built in 1997.

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The tourist hotel with 150 suites was subsequently converted into 940 student beds.

GECC acquired the property for $39 million in 2015, and it has now sold the property for about $70 million. The company’s annual revenues from market student rents grew from $4.9 million in 2015 to $8.75 million in the most recent year.

At the time of the November 2015 acquisition, when GECC was 18 months old, the company indicated its plan was to hold an equity interest in addition to managing the hotel for 10 years with an option to renew for another 10 years.

The White Spot restaurant on the ground level from the building’s Best Western past remains a staple feature of the property to this day.

GEC Granville Suites Hotel 718 Drake Street Vancouver 1

GEC Granville Suites hotel at 718 Drake Street, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Toby Chu, the Chairman, President, and CEO of GECC, was unable to disclose the buyer, but he told Daily Hive Urbanized the new owner has local hotel operations and development arms.

“We are pleased with the sale after eight years of operations,” said Chu. “With the sale of this asset, GECC management will focus on expanding our student-housing portfolio, allocating more resources to our GEC Living platform, supported by our significant educational operations, which includes Sprott Shaw College, Sprott Shaw Language College, and Vancouver International College.

“GECC’s share of the cash proceeds from the transaction will be deployed to other GEC projects. Recent real estate market conditions have presented many interesting opportunities for potential acquisitions below market value.”

Prior to the change in ownership, GECC’s existing portfolio spanned 1,500 beds across Metro Vancouver, including another location in downtown Vancouver, one location in Burnaby Heights, and three locations near SkyTrain Canada Line stations within Vancouver’s Cambie Corridor. The company also has a number of new-build projects in the pipeline.

GECC’s newest property opened this past summer near SkyTrain King Edward Station.

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