Crestpoint Real Estate Investments Ltd. and Anthem Properties are continuing to expand their relationship, with Anthem announcing it is acquiring a management and development stake in a major, master-planned Crestpoint redevelopment at “the Boot” in Burnaby, B.C.
The 6.6-acre property is located at 3777/3791 The Kingsway, at the corner of Boundary Road in Metro Vancouver. It is anchored by the Boot, a 677,555-square-foot, 22-storey tower, which is to remain on the property as part of the redevelopment proposal.
Crestpoint had acquired a 50 per cent stake in the property from its previous ownership partner H&R REIT for $86.5 million in 2014. It then acquired the other 50 per cent stake from H&R earlier this year for $82.5 million.
H&R had held an ownership stake in the property since 2006, when it bought the property outright for $150 million. It had valued its remaining 50 per cent stake at $81.4 million at the end of 2023, prior to selling to Crestpoint.
No financial details of this most recent sale have been released.
About the Boot and the redevelopment
Also known as the Telus Boot (after telecom firm Telus, its long-time anchor tenant) and the Bryan Canfield Centre, the existing office tower and its surrounding lands are the subject of a redevelopment proposal which has been submitted to the city.
The redevelopment plan includes a restoration of the distinctive Boot building, which was completed in 1976 and stands 22 storeys at one side of the building before sloping down to a podium at the other side. The proposal also includes more than 2,500 homes in five new towers; a mix of strata condominiums, market rental homes, affordable rental homes and retail space.
Located across from Burnaby’s Central Park, on major transportation corridors and with proximity to both Joyce and Patterson SkyTrain stations, the area is highly walkable with an abundance of shops and services nearby.
“Partnering with Crestpoint to capitalize on near-term demand for rental units in one of the fastest growing neighbourhoods in the Lower Mainland presents an excellent opportunity to create a sought-after, destination-based community,” Anthem CEO and founder Eric Carlson said in a Tuesday-afternoon release. “This project is another example of thinking differently about how to leverage opportunities as we navigate challenging market conditions.”
A rezoning application for the entire site is underway.
Anthem states the current focus is on Phase 1 of the proposal, which includes building more than 700 market rental units in two structures over a connecting podium, supported by retail, on the south side of the site. Pending the outcome of the city process, site preparation is anticipated to begin this fall.
1318 Thurlow partnership
Crestpoint and Anthem are also partners on another Vancouver development site, at 1318 Thurlow St., which they acquired just a couple of months ago. The companies plan to construct a 32-storey, purpose-built rental tower containing 300 apartments.
“This project allows us to both expand our relationship with a great existing partner, Crestpoint, and continue building a purpose-built rental portfolio, with the community benefiting from the addition of critically needed rental housing in the constrained Vancouver market,” Carlson said in a statement at the time of that announcement in June.
About Crestpoint and Anthem
Crestpoint Real Estate Investments Ltd. is a Toronto-based commercial real estate investment manager providing investors access to a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate equity and debt investments.
With over $10 billion under management, Crestpoint is an affiliate of the Connor, Clark & Lunn Financial Group, one of Canada’s largest private, independently held multi-boutique asset management firms, with offices throughout the country and in the U.S., the U.K. and India.
CC&L Financial Group and its affiliates collectively manage over $133 billion in assets across a broad range of traditional and alternative investment products and solutions for institutional, high-net-worth and retail clients.
Founded in 1991, Vancouver-based Anthem is a real estate development, investment and management company. It is invested in, has developed or managed – alone or in partnership – over 385 residential, commercial and retail projects across North America.
Anthem’s growing residential portfolio includes 31,500 homes that are complete, in design or under construction, from master-planned mixed-use residential and multifamily, to townhome, rental and single-family communities.
The firm owns, co-owns, manages or has previously owned over 10 million square feet of retail, industrial and office space and has developed over 60 communities across 9,000 acres of land in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and California.
