brookfield buys shangri-la hotel and retail space in downtown vancouver tower
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the shangri-la tower on alberni street in vancouver on july 2, 2025.
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a fund managed by brookfield asset management, a global investment firm, has bought the shangri-la hotel and retail space in downtown vancouver from westbank corp. and peterson group.
earlier this week, hyatt hotels corp. said it is planning a multi-million-dollar redesign of the hotel which will become part of its park hyatt brand.
“our acquisition of the former shangri-la in downtown vancouver reflects brookfield’s deep conviction in both the strength of the vancouver market and the enduring appeal of luxury hospitality,” shai zelering, managing partner of brookfield real estate, said in a statement.
westbank and peterson, and other investors, developed the 62-storey tower which houses the hotel through a b.c.-registered company, kbk no. 11 ventures ltd.
the shangri-la building was one of westbank’s first high-profile buildings, completed in 2008, before it went on to redevelop the woodward’s department store and later build the fairmont pacific rim hotel, moving from being a local developer to one of canada’s largest, known for some of the most striking designs.
it now has projects in seattle, san jose, toronto and tokyo. in vancouver, it is redeveloping oakridge centre and building the sen̓áḵw rental towers. it recently finished constructing a dramatic residential tower known as the butterfly in the west end, where units pre-sold for very high prices several years ago.
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in the last two years, it has also sold significant stakes in several properties, including ones in vancouver.
on wednesday, westbank acknowledged the sale of the properties to brookfield, adding that it “retains an interest and a co-asset management role alongside brookfield and we are thrilled to be entering a new partnership that will transition this property to its next chapter.”
it did not specify the size of its remaining interest.
peterson said in a statement tuesday that “westbank and peterson have jointly owned the shangri-la hotel vancouver lands for more than 20 years. in that time, we have developed, built and operated a world-class hotel and retail offering, which has become an important landmark and key part of the vancouver skyline.”
“we are pleased to confirm that the hotel property has been sold. we look forward to seeing its new incarnation as hyatt vancouver downtown alberni.”
the shangri-la is being rebranded under the hyatt brand and will soon be a luxury park hyatt
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westbank and peterson also own the shangri-la in toronto, but there are “no plans to transition ownership of the shangri-la hotel toronto,” the statement from peterson said.
peterson said most shangri-la hotel staff in vancouver have chosen to stay on with hyatt.
“reimagining this iconic luxury hotel will enable hyatt to thoughtfully expand our luxury portfolio in canada,” said scott richer, a hyatt vice-president, in a statement on tuesday.
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the shangri-la building at 1128 west georgia is one of vancouver’s tallest towers, standing at 197 metres tall. the hotel and offices occupy the first 15 storeys.
above these, westbank, peterson and others in the development group sold 307 housing units spread over two stratas, including some of the most expensive condos in the city.
there is a pending application for a mortgage document that has been filed with the new westminster land title office showing toronto-based brookfield properties and its bay street address for kbk no. 11 ventures ltd.
the document was signed on june 30 for kbk by lisa strauss, who is washington, d.c.-based senior vice-president of investments at brookfield asset management.
the price for the sale of the hotel and retail properties to brookfield was not disclosed.
they are, combined, assessed at around $105 million. brookfield is borrowing $95 million from montreal-based otera capital inc., according to the mortgage document.
brookfield properties manages real estate around the globe, according to its website. the new york-headquartered company develops and operates hospitality, logistics, multi-family, office and retail properties for brookfield asset management, one of the largest investment firms in the world with over us$1 trillion under management.
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its foray into vancouver comes as there are more rezoning applications and proposals for hotels to be built in downtown than there have been for many years.
the market had been quiet for years with just a few major projects adding hundreds of rooms, including when the shangri-la was added in 2008 and the paradox hotel vancouver (which opened as the trump international hotel vancouver) was completed in 2016.
westbank and peterson jointly completed the fairmont pacific rim hotel and condo tower in 2010, adding 367 hotel rooms in vancouver’s coal harbour downtown area. this is a 47-storey building. luxury condos occupy the higher floors. the hotel takes up the first 22-floors and is managed by fairmont, which is part of french hospitality group, accor sa.
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