The Mayfair on Jasper in Edmonton is for sale by owner ProCura Real Estate Services. (Image courtesy ProCura)

The Mayfair on Jasper, one of Edmonton’s top apartment buildings, has been put on the market by owner ProCura Real Estate Services.

“It’s a pleasure to own, but everything has its time,” ProCura chief executive officer and president George Schluessel told RENX.

“If the deal’s right, we’ll sell it.”

The Mayfair on Jasper was completed in December 2016 and was one of the first completions in Edmonton’s ongoing wave of downtown development and redevelopment projects. The 10-storey mixed-use building features 118 one-bedroom and 120 two-bedroom rental residential units and 24,901 square feet of commercial space at the southeast corner of 109th Street and Jasper Avenue.

The Mayfair on Jasper’s environmentally conscious design includes solar and cogeneration power that converts natural gas to electricity, creating enough for tenant consumption and surplus power which is sold back to the grid. Suites have open-concept layouts with expansive triple-pane windows and high-end interior finishes.

Tenant conveniences include: built-in Telus high-speed Internet; Weiser Kevo smart key entry, which provides touch-to-open technology programmable to smartphones; and a Parcel Pending package management system.

The Mayfair on Jasper is pet-friendly, and its amenities include two rooftop parks, a fitness centre and a concierge service.

The Mayfair on Jasper’s place in the market

The location provides residents with immediate access to dining, entertainment and retailers on Jasper Avenue, Edmonton’s main street. The Government District, Central Business District and the ICE District, a $2.5-billion sports and entertainment area, are within walking distance.

The Corona light rail transit station is within steps of the property, and the University of Alberta and MacEwan University are a few stops away.

“We think it’s the best building in the city,” said Schluessel. “It’s the type of product that the industry wants more than anything.”

Today’s renters want condominium-quality apartments, Schluessel said, and there aren’t many meeting that demand in Edmonton. Despite the amount of new construction, much of the city’s inventory is still comprised of buildings erected in the 1970s.

The residential suites are more than 98 per cent occupied, while the retail component has one empty bay. The commercial tenants are Orangetheory Fitness, Kanu Café, Splash Poke, Freshii, ZenQ, Cinnaholic, Edible Arrangements, Curry Vibes and La Carraia.

The Mayfair on Jasper and ProCura are being represented by Bradley Gingerich, Paul Chaput and Bradyn Arth of Institutional Property Advisors, a division of Calabasas, Calif.-based real estate brokerage and advisory firm Marcus & Millichap. There’s an open bidding process for the property.

Schluessel expects a “very positive response” from potential purchasers.

“We think it will most likely go to a pension fund because it’s a pension-grade product,” he said.

Schluessel wouldn’t reveal what it cost to develop The Mayfair on Jasper, but said: “It wasn’t cheap to build because the LRT line runs right underneath the building, which adds to the cost of the building.”

ProCura’s other properties

ProCura was established in 1979 and has since become one of Alberta’s leading property development and management companies.

It has a future project pipeline of multiple urban locations in Edmonton and Calgary encompassing more than 1.4 million square feet of land holdings. This translates to more than 4.4 million square feet of developable space and 6,900-plus multi-family units.

ProCura also owns:

* Edmonton’s 12-storey WSP Place office and retail complex, which has 184,000 square feet of leasable space and 173 parking stalls. It was built in 1979 and renovated in 2017;

* Edmonton’s 11-storey Intact Insurance Building, which has more than 235,000 square feet of leasable space and 209 parking stalls. It was built in 1961 and renovated and expanded in 2009;

* and Edmonton’s six-storey Kingsway Professional Centre, which has more than 77,000 square feet of leasable space and 231 parking stalls. It was built in 1980.

ProCura is developing Stables at Mayfair not far from The Mayfair on Jasper. It will feature a multi-level parking structure with 287 stalls, 18 loft-style residential units on the roof, and more than 10,000 square feet of street level retail space.

ProCura also owns Edmonton’s 32-acre Century Park mixed-use development site, which is on a light rail transit line south of the University of Alberta.

It will include: 3,995 residences; 250,000 square feet of retail; restaurants, lounges and cafes; office space; a boutique hotel and conference facility; more than 4,000 parking stalls; athletic facilities; and community garden plots.