The landmark Westcoast Transmission office building — considered by architects to be one of Vancouver‘s most earthquake-resistant structures because of its unique design — will undergo a $20-million redevelopment to convert it into an upscale residential tower.

Spurred by the current hot demand for luxury condominium living along the city’s Coal Harbour waterfront, building owner Anthem Properties announced Wednesday it plans to replace the office space inside the existing 12-storey facility with 180 state-of-the-art condos.

Anthem president and CEO Eric Carlson said when his Vancouver-based company purchased the Westcoast building, at 1333 West Georgia, in 1998, it originally intended to keep it as rental office space.

Explaining his company’s business plan change, Carlson said: “We bought it as a revenue property, and it came with a blue-chip, long-term tenant — Westcoast Energy — occupying most of the building.

“When Westcoast merged with Duke Energy and restructured, we lost our major tenant. Our initial reaction was, ‘Let’s go find another one.’

“Then our market research told us the building is too far from the [city’s] core business district, and it would be a tough sell. In a [downtown Vancouver] market with 13-per-cent vacant office space, Coal Harbour just isn’t a good location for renting [premium] office space.”

Cognizant of the area’s attraction as a high-end residential community — in the past year, Coal Harbour condos have been selling at prices ranging from $400,000 to $6 million — Carlson said Anthem decided to transform the location from a drawback into a marketing opportunity.

“Just look at the quality of life,” Carlson noted. “An area that used to be railway tracks and welding sheds is now seaside bistros and bike paths.”

So Anthem brought in two marketing specialists, MAC Real Estate Solutions’ Cameron McNeill and Jason Craik, to evaluate potential for converting the building to condos.

“Our research tells us that it will be a very desirable place to live, and we expect demand for the new condos to be overwhelming,” McNeill said in an interview.

“It’s a landmark building, it’s got all the Coal Harbour amenities and Stanley Park nearby. This is the kind of project that sells out before you even begin construction.”

Said Craik: “The project does not make sense as a commercial building. The (Coal Harbour) neighbourhood has grown up around this landmark and today, it will be extremely valuable as residential space.”

While neither the design of the strata units nor the pricing has been finalized, McNeill and Craik expect to be offering studios, one bedrooms, one-bedroom-and-den, and two-bedrooms, all with nine-to-10-foot ceilings.

Prices are projected in the range of $450 to $600 per square foot, meaning a 1,000-square-foot unit would cost about $600,000.

Marketing is scheduled to launch in mid-March.

Anthem estimates 400 new jobs will be created when it begins construction on the conversion this fall, right after the last business tenants vacate their premises. Condo owners would take occupancy in mid-2005.

Carlson said the building is to be renamed “QUBE” to reflect its unique “cube on a pedestal” shape. The over-all appearance of the building will remain unchanged.

Designed by architects, William Rhone and Randle Iredale, and structural engineer Bogue Babicki, the Westcoast Transmission Building opened in 1969 as Westcoast’s head office.

The structure they adapted was that of a suspension bridge, hanging the floors from aluminum-clad steel cables draped over the top of the concrete core. This design provided greater earthquake resistance and column-free floor space.

Anthem’s decision to maintain the building’s exterior was applauded by Vancouver architect Robert Lemon, who is among the founders of a local group dedicated to preserving what it considers B.C.’s modern architectural treasures.

“The hanging pedestal design made it a modern classic from the day construction began,” Lemon said. “There are less than half-a-dozen like it around the world. Now the classic is being rejuvenated; the investment in this conversion will keep it modern and keep it vital.”

Anthem, which controls more than $600 million worth of residential, commercial or industrial real estate assets around North America, is owned by senior management and its parent, Anthem Works Ltd., a publicly traded investment company.

Its share price closed Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange unchanged at $11.70.

© The Vancouver Sun 2004