CBC considers selling Vancouver building

[radiofan]

CBC considers selling Vancouver building to free up money for programming
FRANCES BULA
VANCOUVER — Special to The Globe and Mail
Published Tuesday, May. 26 2015, 8:44 PM EDT

The CBC is exploring whether to sell its $57-million downtown Vancouver broadcast centre as part of a national plan to reduce its real-estate holdings.

The 2.1-acre site may have “developable density” that could make it attractive as more than just another office building for sale, said Fred Mattocks, the CBC’s manager of media operations and technology for CBC English services.

The building, which underwent a $65-million renovation in 2009 after the CBC sold off part of the site for two Concord Pacific condo towers, is in an increasingly lively part of the city’s eastern downtown. The former main Canada Post office on the next block is about to redeveloped, the refurbished Queen Elizabeth Theatre is across the street and a potential new art gallery is being talked about on another neighbouring block.

Mr. Mattocks said no firm decision has been made about whether to sell the building, which is the second-largest CBC English-language production centre in the country.

The CBC has recently asked local brokers to investigate possibilities, just as it did with its headquarters in downtown Toronto earlier this year.

“The building is not on the market yet because we’re exploring,” Mr. Mattocks said. “We’re told there is a probability there is developable density.”

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