Avison Young grows locally
Toronto-based Avison Young (Canada) Inc. has bought Alcor Commercial Realty Inc. of Vancouver for an undisclosed sum.
The deal adds eight people to Avison Young’s team in Vancouver, with Alcor founder Aaron Burry now a principal with Avison Young. The deal also doubles Avison Young’s property management business in B.C. to 3.9 million square feet, placing it among the province’s top 20 commercial property managers.
The purchase is a first in Vancouver for Avison Young, which has made more than 30 acquisitions over the past decade. The deals have expanded its global operations into six countries with 2,600 staff. Vancouver is home to 119 staff, up from 35 in 2009.
Burry launched Alcor in 2006 with the financial backing of his father, Alberta property magnate Allan Burry. Burry fils built the company from scratch and bought out his father’s interest in 2015. The company has no ties to companies operating under the Alcor name in Alberta.
Avison Young’s managing director in Vancouver, Michael Keenan, described Aaron Burry as “arguably the most accomplished rising star in the property management business” in B.C., one who “embodies the highest levels of aptitude, skill, character and integrity.”
Burry’s qualities made Alcor a good fit with Avison Young, while Burry says the acquisition helps scale up Alcor’s operations in an environment where consolidation is a recurring theme.
“This industry is becoming a lot more competitive, and having greater depth and resources was a primary motivating factor for me,” he said. “Going with Avison was the best possible choice we could make, not only for us but for our clients.”
Burry describes Alcor’s clients as “high-net-worth entrepreneurs,” for whom Alcor provides property management, project management and acquisition due diligence services.
Organic development
With the city’s approval last May of the False Creek Flats area plan, the stage was set for densification of jobs space in the historic industrial area. While tech companies and Emily Carr University were the pioneers, Mountain Equipment Co-op and next-generation office space – led most recently by co-working space provider IWG PLC’s plans to offer 40,000 square feet in the area – lend a progressive new sheen to the vision.
Complementing the emerging mix are plans – yet to be finalized – for 2102 Keith Drive, which Ratana Stephens bought from the city in July 2016. Stephens, co-owner with husband Arran Stephens of Richmond-based Nature’s Path Foods Inc., paid $17.5 million for a site once tipped as a possible home for Planet Bingo.
“Ms. Stephens is exploring options for the property, including potentially leasing space for a new head office for Nature’s Path,” a statement from the company advised. “There are no new or further developments to share at this time.”
Zoning and the constraints of the narrow parcel adjacent to the SkyTrain line make additional density unlikely, but city documents indicate that any additional density built on the site will entail a $10 per square foot community amenity contribution to fund childcare facilities.
Desirable destination
Vancouver ended last year as the second most desirable market for hotel investors in Canada, according to Colliers International. There wasn’t much local product available, however, and trophy properties remain tough to find in 2018’s first quarter.
Colliers’ forthcoming outlook on the hotel market nevertheless indicates that hotel investors could spend $2.5 billion nationally in 2018. This is above the seven-year average of $2.2 billion.
It’s also consistent with a forecast from CBRE Ltd. that suggests national transaction volumes could run between $2 billion and $3 billion this year. Volume last year totalled $3.4 billion, just a fifth of it in B.C.
Assuming a similar proportion this year, $500 million worth of hotel properties in the province could change hands. •
