Amazon’s Vancouver office building put up for sale by pension funds

An Amazon.com Inc. office building in Vancouver, along with a neighboring tower, are up for sale by two of Canada’s largest pension funds, according to people familiar with the sales process.

After last year’s sharp rise in borrowing costs froze the market for Canadian office buildings, the sale of the two Vancouver properties would be the first significant office transaction in the country since April last year, when a tower in downtown Toronto traded hands for about $380 million, according to data from CBRE Group Inc. that analyzed deals of more than C$200 million.

Oxford Properties, the real estate arm of the pension fund representing Ontario’s municipal workers, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board expect to get about $350 million for the buildings at 402 Dunsmuir St. and 401 West Georgia St., according to the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private.

Office owners have been grappling with even higher borrowing costs since that sale last year, as well as changing appetite from tenants given the rise in remote work and layoffs.