The year 2021 is in the books and it was a big one for Burnaby real estate.
The list of stories included the announcement that the 40-acre Willingdon Lands property would be turned into 5,000 housing units and a film studio.
Burnaby also set a record for sales. For Burnaby, from January to December 2021, 5,644 resident units were sold, soaring past the 2020 total of 3,372. But the average price for a detached house also soared to $1,790,000 from the 2020 mark of $1,525,000.
Some heady, heady stuff.
But what really blew the doors off the year in Burnaby real estate were two mega-deals that rank in the top-10 biggest deals of 2021 in B.C., according to David Taylor of Colliers in an article in the Western Investor, a Glacier Media publication.
“2021 was a bounce back year for land transactions in Metro Vancouver,” Taylor writes. “Following two years of declining transaction value, a renewed interest in development across all asset classes fuelled a significant number of sales throughout the region.”
Coming in at number 2 on the list was the sale of the old Telus property in the Bainbridge area after some messy legal action that the NOW documented recently.
Here are the details:
7000 Lougheed Highway, Burnaby
- Price: $151 million
- Site Area: 14 acres
- Vendor: Pension Fund
- Purchaser: Create Properties
Brokered by David Taylor and Simon Lim of Colliers Canada, Vancouver. The land is in the Bainbridge area of Burnaby. Create Properties is currently working with the City of Burnaby on a large-scale multi-phase development as part of the Bainbridge Urban Village Plan.
Coming in at number five on the list was a property in the Brentwood area:
2300 Madison Avenue, Burnaby
- Price: $88 million
- Site Area: 6.5 acres
- Vendor: BC Hydro
- Purchaser: Polygon Homes
Polygon acquired this BC Hydro site in November 2021. The site comprises two lots, 2300 Madison Avenue, which is currently occupied with an older industrial warehouse building; and a BC Hydro Right-of-Way. The site is located within the Brentwood Town Centre Development Plan, and is designated for medium to high-density multiple-family development. A preliminary application calls for three towers and 975 units including condos and rentals.
By comparison, this was the number 1 real estate deal in B.C.:
5900 No. 2 Road & 6191, 6311 & 6751 Westminster Highway, Richmond
- Price: $300+ million
- Site Area: 27 acres
- Vendor: Quadreal
- Purchaser: Keltic Development
For the second year in a row, the largest land deal in Metro Vancouver is in Richmond, . A press release from Keltic describes this deal: “Currently, the property is occupied by light industrial / commercial tenants. The company plans to create a vibrant multi-use destination including residential, commercial and industrial spaces that will add richness and vitality to the city. Twenty-three per cent of the land, or 6.4 acres, will be developed into green space and contributed back to the city for community use.”
