Iconic Toronto Property
Finds Vancouver Buyer

The announcement of the deal yesterday has people buzzing. The sale has generated national media coverage. David Mirvish (with architect Frank Gehry at a news conference for their King Street multi-tower project) is the only child of Ed and Anne Mirvish, founders of Honest Ed's. He owns the store and says the deal will close later this year. The approvals process with the City of Toronto will take between two and three years, during which the discount shopping emporium will keep its doors open. Westbank is the developer behind the luxe Shangri-La hotels in Toronto and Vancouver.

Colliers SVP Milton Lamb, who led the team that brokered the deal, says, "David Mirvish is extremely happy to have Westbank as the future owner as they have demonstrated a great history of working with communities to provide legacy projects." Milton and others point to Westbank's partnership with Ivanhoe Cambridge in the redevelopment of the 53-year-old Oakridge Town Centre (creating a virtual mini city) as another example of one of those legacy projects. Milton could not reveal further details of the Honest Ed's transaction.

It's been a busy week for Westbank. The company's 52-storey mixed-use tower at the north end of the Granville bridge has been approved by city council. (The council understands good timing; we suggest getting them involved in all your surprise parties.) The building--to be designed by world-renowned Danish architectural firm Bjarke Ingels Group--will be the fifth-tallest in the city and is a condo tower at Beach and Howe. It has a 10-storey podium with retail and residential, plus there will be two six-storey triangular-shaped buildings for offices and retail across the street (at Granville and Pacific).

In total, it will bring 80k SF of new retail to the area. The retail component will include a grocery store, liquor store, and drugstore. Strictly from a design perspective, the project is looked upon as a game-changer for the downtown core, far away from the cookie-cutter condo towers that dot the area. Westbank project manager Rhiannon Mabberly tells us the project is "next-generation architecture about place-making, creating a lasting, comprehensive development that will define a neighbourhood, and serve as a gateway to a vibrant downtown core." (And based on the look, confuse a few bees as to whether it's their home.)