Downtown Vancouver office buildings see change of ownership | Daily Hive

Wyland Building (left) and the Telus Garden office tower (right) in downtown Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Due to the current challenges in the office market, activity in downtown Vancouver’s commercial real estate sector remains relatively subdued.

That said, from time to time, significant and noteworthy transactions still take place, standing out amidst the quieter market activity.

In December 2024, Casey Pollard, a senior vice president with CBRE Canada, shared that he had closed the sale of the Wyland Building at 1190 Melville Street.

This is a 1959-built, seven-storey office building with 48,000 sq ft of office space, situated at the southeast corner of the intersection of Melville Street and Bute Street.

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This property was previously owned by local developer Reliance Properties.

CBRE did not disclose the value of the deal. But according to Cushman & Wakefield’s Vancouver office market report for the fourth quarter of 2024, published earlier in January 2025, the property was sold for $24 million to a numbered company.

Based on BC Assessment’s most recent assessed values as of July 2024, this property is worth $22.1 million, with $17.6 million coming from the land and $4.5 million coming from the structure. This is down from the 10-year high of $30.2 million in July 2022, but up from $20.6 million in July 2023.

Between the July 2023 and July 2024 assessments, the land value dropped by over $3 million, but the value of the structure grew five-fold from $889,000 to $4.481 million, which could be attributed to the building’s recent renovations.

Pleased to announce the closed sale of 1190 Melville Street in Downtown Vancouver. Prime Coal Harbour location, with great cash flow, unbeatable location and potential future boutique development site. In a market that has been tough on office building transactions, this is… pic.twitter.com/sHefo6vQTH

— Casey Pollard (@casey_pollard) December 17, 2024

wyland building 1190 melville street vancouver

Wyland Building at 1190 Melville Street, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Another notable recent transaction in downtown Vancouver’s office market is Ontario-based Morguard Corporation’s Fall 2024 acquisition of a 20% interest in the 2016-built Telus Garden office tower. The 24-storey office tower at 510 West Georgia Street contains 524,000 sq ft of premium AAA-class office space — home to major office tenants such as Telus and Amazon — and 33,000 sq ft of retail and restaurant space, including the flagship Glowbal Restaurant.

The headquarters office of the building’s design firm, Henriquez Partners Architects, is located in an underground level, below the glass floor of the building’s West Georgia Street plaza, which is visually distinguished by not only the overhead wooden canopy but also the glass staircase and elevator that leads directly down to the underground office.

Telus originally partnered with Westbank to achieve the Telus Garden project for its headquarters office. The telecommunications giant sold their stake in the complex in 2018.

telus garden office tower downtown vancouver f

Telus Garden office tower in downtown Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

TELUS Garden Henriquez Partners Architects

The glass elevator and staircase at the Telus Garden office tower plaza that leads to the offices of Henriquez Partners Architects. (Henriquez Partners Architects)

Inside Henriquez Partners Architects’ underground office at Telus Garden in downtown Vancouver. (Henriquez Partners Architects)

According to BC Assessment, the Telus Garden office tower is assessed at $419 million as of July 2024, including $88.1 million for the land and $330.8 million for the structure. This is down from $451.5 million in July 2023 and the peak value of $537 million in July 2022, with the fluctuations largely due to the change in land value.

“We are thrilled to strengthen our presence in the heart of downtown Vancouver, one of Canada’s premier office investment markets with some of the lowest vacancy rates in North America,” said Angela Sahi, President and Chief Operating Officer of Morguard, in a previous statement.

“This acquisition offers strong growth potential and aligns with our commitment to a more sustainable Morguard with the building’s thoughtful design and environmental features.”

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