Vancouver’s Plaza of Nations has been quietly sold. Its new owner has big plans

The key False Creek property has sold for an undisclosed sum believed to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars to a group that has has no track record of development in Vancouver

Vancouver’s Plaza of Nations, a prominent but largely derelict waterfront parcel, has been sold for an undisclosed sum. The price is believed to be several hundreds of millions of dollars.

Now, a representative for the new owner says with city council’s relaxing of view cones, it plans to propose a new vision with condominiums, rental homes, commercial and retail space, a boutique hotel, marina, public amenities and waterfront access.

The new owner is called Northchild Group. It is little known here and has no track record of development in Vancouver.

Questions to Northchild Group were answered by Vancouver real estate veteran David Negrin, who the company has retained as a consultant.

“With the change in the view corridors, we are now looking at a redesign of the development which will continue to emphasize livability and an inclusive neighbourhood for Vancouverites to enjoy all year round,” Negrin said in an email.

The property at 750 Pacific Blvd. had been owned by Oei Hong Leong, a Singaporean billionaire, for more than 30 years. He bought it from Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-Shing in 1989 for $40 million.

The property — about the size of four city blocks — was the site of a concert venue and casino, both long closed.

In 2022, after Oei’s Canadian Metropolitan Properties Corp. finally won a seven-year legal battle with Concord Pacific over the Plaza of Nations property, Oei said he wanted to “build something iconic” there, to give back to “this city I love.”

But less than two months later, corporate filings show, Oei ceased to be a director of Canadian Metropolitan, as did his daughter, Theresa, and another associate, Moy Foong Lum. Three new directors joined the company: Jian Hong Hou of Delta, Miao Yang of West Vancouver and Qing Zhu of Vancouver.

In 2023, the remaining two longtime directors left, Vancouver lawyer James Henshall and Oei’s brother-in-law, Yow-Lin Chu.

That left the newcomers, Hou, Yang and Zhu, as the sole directors.

On paper, the property’s owner remained the same: Canadian Metropolitan Properties Corp. But the people behind that corporation, which owns no other real estate in B.C., had changed.

Large properties are often sold by selling the shares of the company that owns the asset, real estate experts say.

Canadian Metropolitan director Miao Yang is Weichang Yang’s daughter. Corporate records list Miao Yang as the only director of two other B.C. companies — Northchild Developments and Northchild Holdings.

The Plaza of Nations is valued by B.C. Assessment at $412 million, down from $513 million a year earlier, but real estate experts have long said the provincial assessor typically undervalues large development sites.

Local real estate experts suggest the Plaza property sale was in the ballpark of $500 million.

Negrin, a principal at Attollo Management Inc, has worked for Concord Pacific, Aqulini Development and Construction Inc., and MST Development Corporation. He said he does not know the property’s sale price, which he described as “private between Mr. Oei and the new owners.”

Negrin said Yang “comes across as a long-term player.”

“He was very interested in understanding what is missing and what is needed in the community,” Negrin said. “He knows it (the property) is in an entertainment area and that it’s one of the key pieces, a catalyst for more gathering spaces for the public.”

Northchild representatives have met with at least two Vancouver city councillors.

ABC Coun. Lenny Zhou met with Northchild in March 2024. Zhou said he met with Michael Zhu from the company, who said the landowner was “open-minded” about the property’s future, and wants “to contribute” to the city.

In April 2024, ABC Coun. Peter Meiszner met Zhu. Meiszner said he did not know Northchild’s plans for the Plaza, but said: “They told me they are planning to come forward with a new proposal.”

Former Vancouver Coun. Geoff Meggs, who worked on the Northeast False Creek plan from 2008 to 2017, said it’s “unsurprising but disappointing” that new owners might explore new designs instead of proceeding with the rezoning approved in 2018.

“Council has opened the door, with the removal of the view corridors, to enormous additional value, windfall profits, really, to the owners of those lands,” Meggs said. “And having seen what Concord Pacific has come forward with, which is an increase in the maximum building height … to 60 or 65 storeys, they would of course expect to get more height.”

“So it’s hard to insist on a developer just turning its back on that possibility.”

There are few sites that are more strategically located, Meggs said. The Plaza was the “heart and soul” of Expo 86. Now, it’s a “dust-blown old plaza with derelict buildings.”

“We need an owner there who will step forward and revitalize that spot, and not simply do calculations about how much incremental income could be generated by some kind of a redesign. So I hope that the new owners, whoever they are, move forward aggressively on this, not just to maximize their profits, but to do what was originally promised on that site, which is to restore it to a functioning part of our city.”

With research by Carolyn Soltau