Speculator under review for alleged crowdfunding to buy real estate snaps up more property in Vancouver

Real-estate investment company Sun Real estate just closed a share-sale deal to buy two low-rise apartment buildings in Vancouver’s West End. Located at 1075 Nelson and 1059 Nelson, they’re assessed at $16 million and sold for about $60 million, according to real estate sources.

The deal may be the latest by Sun, an aggressive new speculator within the Greater Vancouver market that’s been buying and selling properties it says in promotional materials is worth within the vast sums of dollars.

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The company is under review through the B.C. Securities Commission because of its alleged crowdfunding activities – soliciting investors to pool their cash and buy into expensive commercial, industrial and recreational real estate. Sun Commercial has issued media statements insisting it “complies with all laws governing its activities.”

The market continues to be rife with rumours whether or not Sun will even soon close an offer to purchase the Molson brewery site in Kitsilano. It’s assessed at approximately $44 million, but real estate insiders say it’s been sold for $190 million.

Sun, which has run Chinese-language ads on buses and transit stops, appeared weeks ago to become promoting the Molson site to potential investors.

An online post billed it as being a “high return, zero risk” property with development potential for “330,000 sq ft of great sea view apartments.”

The city has stated repeatedly that the Molson brewery is zoned for industrial only use.

Sun has said that the ad, which appeared on Chinese-language website “vansky.com,” was placed without its knowledge by a person agent using her own telephone number.

For some time, the apartment buildings on Nelson Street appeared on the Facebook site of a former realtor, Julia Lau, whose business card named her as a vice-president of Sun Commercial. Her post said she was looking for investors for a 58-storey tower development at that location.

The previous owners of the Nelson Street apartments are companies directed by developers Bruno and Peter Wall. They’d previously started the rezoning process and presented plans for a 60-storey residential skyscraper, however the application didn’t go through so there isn’t any rezoning in place that will allow for a tall tower to begin of these two apartments.

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Calls seeking comment made to Sun president David Guo’s cellphone weren’t returned by deadline. The company has previously declined to comment on its reference to Lau.

Crowdfunding is permitted in B.C. in an effort to raise money, but there’s a limit of $500,000 each year that companies or individuals can raise and no one investor can contribute more than $1,500.

In the run-up towards the Lunar New Year celebration, Sun ran advertising in certain local Chinese-language newspapers with Guo wishing clients a festive season.

According to land title documents, the organization bought one of its first properties in July 2008 at 5440 Hollybridge Means by Richmond for $26 million and sold it for $36 million in September 2012.

Since then, it has bought and sold commercial properties in Burnaby, the West End, as well as on free airline side, sometimes having a quick profit in a few months.

They include a commercial block on the 5800-block of Cambie, so it bought in July 2013 for $19 million and sold for $26 million three months later. It bought two buildings at 1332 Thurlow Street and 1065 Harwood Street in April 2015 for $25 million and sold them seven months later for a profit of $5 million.

jlee-young@postmedia.com

With research by Carolyn Soltau, staff librarian