The former Salvation Army hospital in Calgary’s Hillhurst neighbourhood sold for redevelopment on January 14 following a sale process that attracted just one offer.
Bankside Properties of Calgary and Sumus Property Group of Lethbridge joined forces to acquire the six-acre site for $38.1 million.
Owned since 2007 by Northwest REIT, which transformed it into 75,000 square feet of medical offices, the site has zoning in place for more than a million square feet of space, including up to 1,300 residential units.
Bankside managing principal Cole Richardson had been eyeing the property well before it hit the market last summer, and was quick to respond to the listing. Together with Sumus managing director Kendal Hachkowski, the team put the property under contract within weeks.
“We were early to the table and comfortable with the asset and the underwriting, and what we could do with it,” Hachkowski explained.
Sumus is the designated manager of the property, which will continue to operate during the initial phase of development.
“We can help from an asset management perspective, to operate the existing building until redevelopment plans are fully underway,” he said.
Harvey Russell of Calgary brokerage NAI Advent, which held the listing and marketed it in partnership with Goodman Commercial Inc. of Vancouver, described the Bankside-Sumus team as “a very impressive group,” noting that the site represents a development program in the range of $500 million. Construction is set to get underway in 2026.
“These guys came in right from Day One and put it under contract within a few weeks of the listing going out, and made it happen,” he said. “This is going to be an iconic development.”
Situated between the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), and the Kensington district, the property will evolve into “an urban village,” that Russell believes will do exceptionally well given the lack of similar developments in the market.
“This is an A-quality site,” Russell said last summer, expecting residential units on the site to command upwards of $800 a square foot, pricing close to the top end of the Calgary market.
The project marks the second collaboration between Bankside and Sumus, which partnered to acquire a 160-unit site in Calgary’s East Village last November.
Sumus also has multi-family holdings in its hometown of Lethbridge, with three sites poised for approval on Jan. 21.
The in-fill sites, all located within key transit corridors, will have about 40 residential units each with commercial at grade.
“That will be some of the first urban multi-family development in Lethbridge in 40 years,” Hachkowski said. “We’re continuing to look for growth in Lethbridge, Calgary, and really, across Alberta.”
