A major redevelopment project may be in the cards on the northeast corner of Granville and Robson streets in Vancouver.
Bonnis Properties Inc. has sold the site, known as 798 Granville St., to The GJ Group for $140 million, according to a report from Storeys.
The site includes Best Buy, Marshalls and Cafe Crepe as tenants on the taller corner side of the site, but the 23-year-old building with 90,000 square feet of leasable space stretches along Granville Street to the north up to the Vancouver Block building, which was completed in 1912. Tenants in that strip include brands such as North Face, Vans and Sleep Country Canada.
No one at GJ Group immediately responded to BIV's request for an interview to discuss plans for the site.
Bonnis principal Kerry Bonnis told BIV in 2021 that he would likely demolish the building within five to 10 years and rebuild something taller because the site is far below what he said was the maximum allowable height of 600 feet. One thing that he said may complicate that redevelopment would be a view cone that crosses the site.
He put the site up for sale in 2023.
While Bonnis originally had envisioned rebuilding an office building on the site, retail real-estate watchers say a hotel may be a wiser decision.
"They have to get their money back and make the return," Vamos Development Advisors principal Michael Penalosa said of The GJ Group. "They are going to go for the density, and a hotel is one of the likely considerations given that we have such a shortage of hotels in the city and that would probably fast track [approval for] that type of use more than others."
He told BIV that he thinks the ground floor of the site would remain as retail and that its large size means that it could be perfect for tenants that seek substantial floorplates for their brands' concepts.
"It could be a Nike flagship store," Penalosa said.
Adidas took over the former Victoria's Secret store site three blocks west of 798 Granville Street, on the corner of Robson and Burrard streets in 2024. That site's size is estimated at about 35,000 square feet.
"You could have a larger flagship store there over two or three levels," Penalosa said. "This has been done before in Vancouver. Because of its high-profile location, the new owner may consider chopping some of the space up and dividing it into multiple retailers."
Other retailers that might be interested in the site include IKEA and Uniqlo, he said. Tadashi Yanai, president of Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing, told BIV in 2017 that he wanted to open a Uniqlo store in downtown Vancouver but he could not find a large enough suitable site.
Penalosa noted that across Granville Street from The GJ Group's site is the vacant 230,000-square-foot former Nordstrom location at CF Pacific Centre. That site has been empty since mid-2023. It is also one block up from the newly vacant 637,000-square-foot space that for decades was home to the Hudson's Bay.
BIV last month asked Cadillac Fairview if there was any headway on its plans for the former Nordstrom site.
"We do have some exciting plans for the former Nordstrom space at CF Pacific Centre, but we're not ready to share details just yet. We'll keep you posted,” it said in an emailed response.
Bonnis has long been one of Granville Street's largest land owners. It also owns much of the street's 800 Block, and it has a proposal to build two towers, 43 and 39 storeys, with 500 rental homes, 100 hotel rooms, five levels of retail, restaurants and entertainment immediately south of the 798 Granville St. site. It has previously owned, redeveloped and sold other land on Granville Street.
Some other major retail real estate transactions so far this year include Shato Holdings buying Willowbrook Park in Langley for $137 million in February, and Finix Holdings buying Cottonwood Centre in Chilliwack for $115 million in May.
