PC Urban plans industrial condos
Brent Sawchyn, principal of Vancouver-based PC Urban Properties, has been involved in the Calgary real estate sector since 1992 with the development of Dalhousie Station.
He and his business partner, Garry Fawley, held senior executive roles with Anthem Properties on the development of Parkside at Waterfront, the downtown community along the Bow River.
At PC Urban, they have reimagined contaminated brownfield sites as revitalized commercial spaces, and continue to look for properties to acquire and develop.
To date they have concentrated in the greater Vancouver area, where PC Urban has been very successful with projects such as the conversion of the 12-acre former Western Steel site on the border of Richmond and Vancouver that now houses 265,000 square feet of modern industrial real estate, and in Kelowna, where a defunct Enterprise Steel Fabrication plant was turned into a strata commercial property.
Now Sawchyn and Fawley have returned to the Calgary market with the purchase of a 5.6-acre business park that they plan to renovate and convert into industrial condos.
Core Business Park is home to two fully-leased buildings totalling 55,000 square feet. They were acquired through Sean Ferguson and Marc Rosso of Cushman Wakefield from the vendor, Morguard, and they will continue as listing agents for the property.
Sawchyn says the location on Burbank Crescent S.E., at 58th Avenue and Blackfoot Trail with easy access to Macleod, Glenmore and Deerfoot trails, was key in acquiring the buildings.
Core Business Park will be one of the few commercial condo conversions in the city. “There’s a very limited supply of innercity resale condos,” says Ferguson, associate vice-president of industrial sales and leasing for Cushman Wakefield.
The buildings will be given a modern facade with architectural accent features, new office doors and windows, individualized entry portals, a consistent signage program and exterior lighting upgrades. The layout of each unit offers easy loading capabilities with large external manoeuvring areas and rear storage.
Sawchyn says, “This is a rare opportunity for businesses to invest in their own commercial property. As we’ve seen in our other projects in British Columbia, it’s a move many are ready to make. We are hearing from existing tenants that they are excited about the opportunity to buy.”
Now is an ideal time, according to Ferguson, citing low interest rates while leasing rates continue to climb. Many of the tenants are expected to convert to an ownership position while others will be sold to new businesses or purchased by investors attracted to the new opportunity.
NEWS AND NOTES
Barclay Street Real Estate is bringing what’s believed to be the first office rental property to the market in Alberta for clients who wish to pay rent using Bitcoin. “Blockchain technology is soon going to have a significant impact on many financial transactions, including real estate deals. We want to be at the forefront of the industry,” said Barclay Street vice-president Dan Harmsen. The company is working with one of its clients, Real Equity Centre on 16th Avenue N.W. across from the North Hill Shopping Centre, which will be the first office building on the market to accept several different crypto currencies for rent payments.