Half a block of Robson Street's retail strip sold in landmark deal

Centreplace retail building at 818 Thurlow Street (on Robson Street) in downtown Vancouver. (Google Maps)

A very significant tract of the most prominent area of the Robson Street retail strip in downtown Vancouver has changed hands.

Last week, commercial real estate firm Marcus & Millichap confirmed the sale of the Robson Centreplace building at 818 Thurlow Street, which is currently home to one of the retail strip’s largest cluster of globally renowned clothing and apparel brands.

The building is located at the southeast corner of the prominent intersection of Robson and Thurlow streets, and it stretches to the middle of the block.

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Its tenants currently include the longstanding three-storey Banana Republic flagship store at the intersection corner, as well as Herschel Supply, H&M’s COS, Browns, and the Zara flagship store. Later in 2024, Esprit will open within J.Crew’s former space.

Within one-, two-, and three-storey spaces, Robson Centreplace features a total of 53,300 sq ft of leasable retail floor area, plus underground pay parking with 70 vehicle stalls, accessible from the rear laneway. The building commands some of the highest streetfront retail rents in Canada.

robson centreplace 818 thurlow street vancouver

Robson Centreplace at 818 Thurlow Street (1000 block of Robson Street) in downtown Vancouver. (BC Assessment)

Robson Centreplace at 818 Thurlow Street (1000 block of Robson Street) in downtown Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Robson Centreplace, a relatively newer building on the retail strip, boasts a frontage length of 264 ft along the retail strip. When it was constructed in 1996, careful attention was paid to varying the facade design significantly, creating the illusion of six distinct buildings. This approach aligns with the municipal government’s longstanding goal of preserving Robson Street’s village character within the West End. The facade also features several large clocks, a wind direction indicator, and other devices, but it is unclear if the equipment is still in working order.

Marcus & Millichap and CBRE worked with property owner Hartleywood Holdings on the major transaction.

The value of the deal was not disclosed; however, according to BC Assessment, as of the latest roll in July 2023, Robson Centreplace has an assessed value of $105.3 million, including $72.7 million for the land value and $32.6 million for the building structure value. The property’s value fluctuated over the past decade, reaching an all-time high of $135 million in July 2018.

Robson Centreplace at 818 Thurlow Street (1000 block of Robson Street) in downtown Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Under the City of Vancouver’s West End Plan, there is relatively limited redevelopment potential for Robson Centreplace due to the area plan’s unambitious prescriptions and stipulations for Robson Village to maintain its village character. The area plan limits building heights on the site to up to 70 ft, but it also prescribes sculpting the built form of any new buildings to maximize sunlight on Robson Street’s pedestrian sidewalks.

For this reason, there are more considerations and restrictions for the south-facing side. Recent high-rise tower development proposals in the immediate area south of Robson Street have seen their height curbed and upper volume sculpted to reduce shadowing impacts on the north sidewalk of Robson Village.

The area plan also prescribes buildings that provide “visual interest and a comfortable atmosphere with large transparent windows, narrow frontages, and canopies or awnings.”

While notable redevelopments over the past decade have generated brand new modern retail buildings on the south side of the 1000 block of Robson Street (e.g. Sephora and Foot Locker), the majority of the buildings within Robson Village are older, generally built between the 1960s and 1990s.

The existing Roots flagship store at 1001 Robson Street, Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Future Adidas flagship store at 750 Burrard Street, Vancouver, replacing Victoria’s Secret. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

In June 2024, Daily Hive Urbanized reported Roots’ decision to leave its longtime iconic flagship store location at 1001 Robson Street (the northwest corner of Burrard and Robson streets) in Fall 2024 for a nearby new replacement location. The existing store building was constructed in 1911, but it has been renovated on several occasions.

There are other major retail changeovers in the immediate area, including the sudden January 2024 permanent closure of Victoria’s Secret 35,000 sq ft flagship store just across the street at 750 Burrard Street. Daily Hive Urbanized previously reported that an Adidas flagship store will occupy the entirety of the Victoria’s Secret space, with Adidas-branded graphics covering the ongoing construction work as of this week.

Just to the west, across the street, JD Sports is currently in the process of turning Club Monaco’s former 8,600 sq ft, two-storey space into its first store location within the city of Vancouver.

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