After a record-breaking sale for the Chevron station property on West Georgia Street, the sole remaining gas bar in downtown Vancouver has been listed for sale.
The Esso at the corner of Burrard and Davie streets in the West End was just listed by Colliers International.
And although the listing for the 17,292-square-foot property does not have a price attached, you can be sure the owners are looking to clean up.
A similar 16,369-square-foot property that housed a Chevron station for the past 61 years just sold earlier this month for a staggering $72-million.
The prime property was purchased by developer Anthem Properties.
CEO Eric Carlson said his team is "enthusiastically looking forward to creating a stunning residential project" on the high-profile site, which is just a few blocks away from the Coal Harbour Seawall.
A spokesperson for Chevron said the gas station was one of the highest performing in the whole province of British Columbia, however, Vancouver's sky-high real estate prices enticed them to sell.
"There's intense demand for housing in the city. That's really the primary driver behind this decision," Adrien Byrne said.
The Burrard Street location is zoned for a maximum building height of 91 metres, although rezoning applications to increase density may be considered, according to Colliers.
Tsur Somerville of the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business said it's no surprise that stations are disappearing in a high-value area like Vancouver.
He says the same trend can be seen in other world-class cities.
"When you're in Manhattan, there are not a lot of gas stations, and you have to plan around that," Somerville said.
