DRIVER KILLED IN STEWARDSON CRASH
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WEDNESDAY
MARCH 5 2014 www.newwestnewsleader.com
Has Pink Shirt Day run its course? See Page A6
Bailey bridge shut down again Grant Granger and Gary McKenna Black Press
MARIO BARTEL/NEWSLEADER
The crane came down late last month for the office tower above the Anvil Centre. The tower, named Merchant Square has been sold.
OFFICE TOWER SOLD FOR $36.5M Grant Granger
ggranger@newwestnewsleader.com
The city has sold the Merchant Square office tower to a company owned in part by two Vancouver tycoons, including well-known philanthropist Joe Segal. The eight-storey building is under construction at the corner of Columbia and Eighth streets. It sits atop Anvil Centre civic facility. The tower has fetched $36.5 million for the city, and the price does not include the three levels of parking or the “tenant improvements” needed to lease the space.
The building’s new owner is 777 Columbia, a company jointly owned by Segal’s Kingswood Capital Corporation and CRS Group of Companies. Developer Suki Sekhon runs CRS. “We’ve been looking at it for a few years. It’s a growing area and we think it’s got great potential,” said Sekhon, who said the building has no tenants confirmed. “For now it’s vacant. It’s a bit of a risk, but we feel it will be leased up because of its location and all of its amenities. It’s close to SkyTrain, New Westminster is central. We just
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felt it was good value with the civic centre going in and all the changes going on there.” Sekhon said CRS will be patient waiting for the right tenant, although he wouldn’t say what type of business it would be. “That’s the million dollar question at this point. You never know what comes along. It could be an accounting firm, a legal firm, you don’t know at this point,” said Sekhon. Since it would take a while to get permits to fit it out for a tenant, Sekhon doesn’t expect any leasees in
the building until early 2015. The sale price is for the office tower shell only, according to the city. The purchaser will pay for tenant improvements and leasing the 137,000 square feet of space. The city had budgeted for $9.5 million in case the office tower needed to be finished for tenants. New Westminster retains ownership of the Anvil Centre as well as three levels of underground parking. The project budget for the parkade was $12.5 million. Please see OFFICE TOWER SOLD, A3
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The Bailey Bridge is closed again, after new cracks were found during a routine inspection on Sunday. And the single-lane Bailey bridge between New Westminster and Coquitlam will stay shut until repairs are done. The bridge was supposed to be reopened Sunday evening. This is the second go-round of lengthy closures for the bridge in a year. Last February, structural assessments found two of the bridge’s trusses had been split. The bridge was shut for almost two weeks. The repairs meant the bridge could carry traffic again, but not heavy truck traffic. The maximum weight load changed from 48 tonnes to 15. Coquitlam has consistently called for construction of a new two-lane bridge. But New West is firm, saying a bigger bridge would just make a bad traffic situation at the intersection of Braid Street and Brunette Avenue worse. The latest closure has reignited the debate over the crossing’s future. twitter.com/ lonegrangerbnw