MNP Tower in Vancouver by Oxford Properties has been named the winner of the Project of the Year award by NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association.
Designed by architects Kohn Pedersen Fox of New York, MNP Tower rises as a striking glass office tower in Vancouver’s Coal Harbour district. The mission of the project was to create a landmark, sustainable ‘AAA’ boutique office building that capitalized on its central location, spectacular mountain and water views and sensitive contextual relationship to the Marine Building, considered one of Vancouver’s most significant heritage buildings.
“We are incredibly proud of MNP Tower and are honored to be recognized with the NAIOP Project of the Year award – an honor we share with all those who played a role in bringing this project to life,” said Mark Cote, development lead at Oxford. “We would like to thank the City of Vancouver, our investment partner CPPIB, our incredible design team, and of course, our many customers who shared our vision and passion for this project.”
The 35-storey, 270,000 square foot MNP Tower completes the four-building, 1.1 million square foot Oxford Place commercial complex on the Vancouver waterfront. The building was the first to be launched in the most recent development cycle in downtown Vancouver, which ultimately added almost 10 per cent to the city’s existing stock. Despite this rapid influx of new developments, MNP Tower outperformed Oxford’s underwriting and return expectations.
Launched on a speculative basis in late 2011 by Oxford and investment partner CPPIB, the development quickly attracted interest in the market, with the first lease deal completed with Myers Norris Penny (MNP) in mid-2012 for 56,000 square feet on seven floors. The project opened in mid- 2015 and is now 100 per cent leased to a total of 25 tenants, six of which are multi-floor tenants.
Through efficient functional planning, material reduction and use of technologies, the project achieves a high degree of energy efficiency and sustainability, with virtually zero greenhouse gas emissions and a LEED Gold Core and Shell designation. The building will also become the first WELL Certified project in Western Canada, and the rest of the complex also boasts LEED EBOM Gold certification.
The award will be presented November 1 at NAIOP’s O.CON: The Office Conference in Los Angeles.
