Two federal properties in Metro Vancouver identified for housing projects

Two under-utilized federal properties in Metro Vancouver identified for housing developments

The former Services Canada building at 125 East 10th Avenue, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

As part of its new “Public Lands for Homes Plan” strategy, the Government of Canada has identified the first two federal properties in British Columbia suitable for redevelopment into affordable housing.

The strategy, announced this past weekend, aims to enter into long-term nominal leases with non-profit and community organizations to redevelop under-utilized and surplus federal properties. The focus is on 99-year leases, which will retain the properties as publicly owned and better ensure that the developments are used for affordable housing.

So far, the federal government’s newly launched “Canada Public Land Bank” online dynamic tool has identified 56 properties across the country, totalling about 750 acres or 75% the size of Vancouver’s Stanley Park. The online list of properties identified for redevelopment will be updated regularly with additional properties.

The goal is to generate 250,000 new homes on such federal properties by 2031.

Both initial properties within BC are located in Metro Vancouver.

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This includes the former Services Canada office building in Vancouver at 125 East 10th Avenue, which is at the northeast corner of the intersection of Quebec Street and East 10th Avenue — a strategic high-density, transit-oriented development site immediately adjacent to SkyTrain’s future Mount Pleasant Station (at Main Street and East Broadway) on the Millennium Line’s Broadway Extension, which will open in 2027.

The East 10th Avenue property spans most of the length of the city block. The 33,300 sq ft lot is currently occupied by a three-storey, 38,000 sq ft office building constructed in 1962.

According to BC Assessment, as of the July 2023 roll, this federal property is worth $18 million, with $14.48 million coming from the land and $3.55 million coming from the structure.

125 East 10th Avenue Vancouver Services Canada

The former Services Canada building at 125 East 10th Avenue, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

The second site in the region is the former Canada Post building at 45 Mary Street in Port Moody.

It is at the southwest corner of the intersection of Clarke Street and Mary Street — located about three city blocks west of Moody Centre Station on SkyTrain and the West Coast Express.

The Port Moody site spans 17,400 sq ft and is currently occupied by a 1973-built building. It is worth $6.25 million — $6.23 million for the land and $19,000 for the structure — according to BC Assessment.

The former Canada Post building at 45 Mary Street, Port Moody. (Google Maps)

Over the past decade, the federal government has notably already undertaken such a process within Vancouver of repurposing under-utilized properties by having federal Crown corporation Canada Lands Company (CLC) partner with local First Nations to redevelop the 21-acre Heather Lands (former BC RCMP headquarters) and the 90-acre Jericho Lands (former military base) into new homes for tens of thousands of people.

In 2014, the federal government sold these properties to a joint partnership between MST Development Corporation and CLC for a combined total value of $307 million, including $237 million for the eastern half of Jericho Lands, $59 million for the Heather Lands, and $11 million for a five-acre former Department of Fisheries and Oceans property in West Vancouver.

This means the federal government has already disposed of some of its largest and most suitable under-utilized and surplus sites for housing developments in Metro Vancouver, especially within the City of Vancouver.

In 2013, in a deal worth about $160 million, the federal government sold the city block-sized Canada Post processing facility to BC Investment Management Corporation, which later created Quadreal Property Group to manage its growing portfolio of real estate and development opportunities. The Canada Post building was later redeveloped, with an initial concept consisting primarily of residential uses before pivoting to significant office space, now entirely leased to Amazon for its main hub in Vancouver.

heather lands vancouver mst development corporation 2022

Heather Lands redevelopment, Vancouver. (Dialog/Canada Lands Company/MST Development Corporation)

December 2023 conceptual artistic rendering of the Jericho Lands. (Canada Lands Company/MST Development Corporation)

As well, the federal government is in the process of planning a redevelopment of the heritage Sinclair Centre office complex in downtown Vancouver to consolidate its Metro Vancouver offices. When complete, the Sinclair Centre redevelopment will have a total floor area of up to about 1.1 million sq ft — up from the complex’s existing total floor area of about 390,000 sq ft across the four buildings. The estimated construction cost of the office complex is in excess of $500 million.

Prior to the pandemic, the federal government also indicated its plans to establish a new South of Fraser centralized office hub within Surrey City Centre.

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