The exterior of the iconic HBC building in downtown Vancouver. | Photo credit: Leonard Whistler
Hudson’s Bay Company’s (HBC) is inviting bids on its iconic flagship store on Granville Street, following news of the retailer’s Lord & Taylor Fifth Avenue sale in New York.
The Toronto-based HBC reported last week it would be selling its New York store in nearly $1.1-billion deal that would include leasing significant floor space to collaborative workspace company WeWork. As part of a new partnership, WeWork announced it would also be leasing space at the Granville Street’s Hudson’s Bay store.
“This partnership places HBC at the forefront of dynamic trends reshaping the way current and future generations live, work and shop: the sharing economy and urban and suburban mixed-use real estate planning,” said Richard Baker, HBC’s Governor, Executive Chairman and interim CEO, in a statement.
This week, HBC has gone a step further and revealed plans to sell the Vancouver store, according to a report by The Globe and Mail.
HBC has enlisted real estate advisors CBRE and Brookfield Finacial Corp. to find a buyer for the location, the report shows.
The six-storey Granville Street store built in 1927 is known for its iconic cream terra cotta exterior and Corinthian columns. The 650,000-square-foot building is one of the largest retail spaces in Vancouver and has an assessed value of nearly $59.7 million. However, the property is expected to sell for as much as $900 million.
HBC will continue to operate its downsized store through a lease-back arrangement.
