Vancouver real estate agent Goran Bucan brokered two of the biggest real estate deals in Metro Vancouver this year, including the sale of an entire city block in Burnaby’s Metrotown that closed November 30.
The 1.8-acre site was purchased for “in excess of $100 million” under a share-sale agreement, according to Rachel Li Lei, CEO of Keltic Canada Development, the buyer.
The transaction of 4444 and 4488 Kingsway, Burnaby, includes an Esso gas station and a smaller adjacent lot, both of which had previously been purchased by Bosa Properties. Bosa acquired the Esso gas station from 7-Eleven Canada in 2018 for $24 million.
The entire 80,000-square-foot site is planned for a one-million-square foot residential and commercial development, which will now proceed under the new owner, Keltic Canada Development of Vancouver.
Bucan said the deal is linked to the earlier sale of Bristol Estates in Central Surrey, a 6.5-acre parcel purchased by Bosa Properties in July for $170 million and approved for approximately two million square feet of residential and commercial construction in five towers. Bucan facilitated the off-market deal during a five-hour meeting between Bosa and the vendor, Landmark Premiere Properties Ltd., which had spent four years getting the site rezoning and permits in place, the agent said.
In return, Bosa provided Bucan with the opportunity to sell its 1.8-acre Burnaby site, which Bosa had spent seven years on land assembly and planning.
“Bosa gave me 30 days to sell it, with an unconditional offer,” Bucan recalled.
He immediately pitched the site to Keltic Canada Development and two out-of-province developers. Less than a week later, Keltic accepted the offer and, after months of due diligence, the multimillion-dollar unconditional sale closed at midnight on November 30,
Bosa’s plan for the property, at the corner of Kingsway Avenue and Willingdon Street in the Metrotown area of Burnaby, included two towers, with one potentially as high as 70 storeys, covering approximately one million square feet with 553 condos, 385 rental housing units, a 160-room hotel and commercial square footage. The maximum allowable density is 14.3 floor-space ratio (FAR).
According to Lei, Keltic may change the configuration to replace the hotel with more office and other commercial space, including a small grocery outlet and upscale restaurants.
Bucan, of Sutton Group Vancouver, also brokered the single largest commercial transaction in Metro Vancouver in 2021. That transaction involved the sale of a 27-acre property in Richmond to Keltic Canada Development for $300 million.
