Inside one of Amazon's new Vancouver office buildings, under new ownership

Inside one of Amazon's largest new Vancouver office buildings, now under new ownership

Amazon YVR14 at 402 Dunsmuir Street (foreground) and 401 West Georgia Street (background) in downtown Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Canadian real estate firm Canderel is the new operator of the office building complex in downtown Vancouver that includes one of Amazon’s largest office spaces.

The Montreal-based company was named this week as the operator of the two-building complex at 401 West Georgia Street and 402 Dunsmuir Street, located at the northwest corner of the intersection of Homer Street and West Georgia Street — just across the street from the newly built The Post complex.

The south building of 401 West Georgia Street is a 1984-built, 23-storey tower with 264,000 sq ft of Class A office space, while the north building of 402 Dunsmuir Street is a 2020-built, nine-storey building with 152,000 sq ft of space entirely leased to Amazon. The multinational giant has named the new building Amazon YVR14, where there is workspace for up to 1,000 Amazon tech employees.

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401 West Georgia Street, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

amazon yvr14 402 dunsmuir street vancouver

Amazon YVR14 at 402 Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Both buildings combined have a total of 416,000 sq ft of office space, with the 2020 improvements also providing new public realm upgrades, including an upgraded north plaza with a restaurant pavilion building tenanted to Michellin Guide-recommended Italian restaurant Acquafarina.

The operational agreement with Candarel follows the recent sale of the complex to Germany-based real estate firm Deka Immobilien Investment GmbH. According to a Bloomberg report, the complex — previously owned by Oxford Properties — was sold for C$300 million (US$223 million). Oxford Properties, owned by Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, also recently completed The Stack at 1133 Melville Street — Vancouver’s new tallest office tower, with the 530-ft-tall, 37-storey structure containing 550,000 sq ft of Class AAA office space.

“We are delighted to continue our partnership with Deka as their trusted service providers with their 2nd major acquisition in Canada,” said Bryce Margetts, senior vice president of Western Canada for Canderel, in a statement.

“With the support of existing and new team members working out of our Vancouver office, we will be able to continue to provide a superior level of service to our tenants and partners, while delivering on Deka’s long-term investment strategy.”

Amazon YVR14 at 402 Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

This is the second recent major new-build office property transaction in the immediate area. Just to the south, across the street, Allied Properties REIT acquired the 2022-built Deloitte Summit office tower from Westbank in a deal earlier this year by converting $130.5 million of its existing loan to equity. The total value of the 24-storey tower with 355,000 sq ft of Class AAA office space — visually distinct for its stacked cube design — is estimated at $395 million. Of that, $250 million is subject to secured financing.

The overall office building of Amazon YVR14 was designed by B+H Architects, which conceived an architectural concept that provides a scale that respects and complements the adjacent historic Holy Rosary Cathedral.

Amazon YVR14 at 402 Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Employees began using their new spaces at Amazon YVR14 in 2022, and since then, it has seen relatively high utility in the post-pandemic context, with the company requiring its office employees around the world to come to their office workspace at least three days per week.

Amazon YVR14 builds on the company’s latest workspace design standards, concepts, and amenities, including open spaces, hot desks, meeting rooms, a wide range of breakout spaces, lounge and kitchen areas, and art carrying a flair of the local community.

This dog-friendly building also features various upper terrace levels with seating areas and a large cafe — called Java Haus — within an upper level with both expansive indoor and outdoor seating areas.

“Amazon’s Vancouver Tech Hub has created such a great centre of energy in downtown Vancouver, and YVR14 offers the ideal space and amenities for our teams to collaborate on behalf of customers,” Kristin Gable, a spokesperson for Amazon, told Daily Hive Urbanized this week.

“YVR14 is also part of Amazon’s Dogs at Work program, so it’s not unusual to see a four-legged colleague taking a power nap under a desk. Or, they can go across the street and enjoy the rooftop dog park at The Post’s South Tower.”

Amazon YVR14 at 402 Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Immediately to the east, The Post, owned by Quadreal Property Group, serves as Amazon’s newest and largest office space in Vancouver. Amazon has leased the entirety of The Post’s 1.1 million sq ft of office space, with the southern half of the office complex fully opened to Amazon employees earlier this year. The interior spaces of the northern half of the office complex are still in the process of being outfitted to Amazon’s specifications, with a completion and move-in date yet to be established.

Retail, restaurants, and other businesses within the 185,000 sq ft of commercial retail space in The Post’s lower levels have been progressively opening, beginning with Loblaws City Market this past February.

There are a handful of other Amazon office locations in downtown Vancouver, including the company’s first Vancouver office location at the nearby Telus Garden, and the 2017-built The Exchange tower.

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