Canadian real estate firm Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust is planning to develop a new data center in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The company’s partner in that project, Westbank, is separately planning to convert an existing office building into a dedicated data center.

Allied targets AI data center

Allied Properties this week said that 150 West Georgia, a municipally approved downtown Vancouver site, is set for a 10-story AI data center.

As part of its most recent quarterly earnings, Allied said that local utility BC Hydro has committed to providing 39MW of power with a “clear path to 50MW and potential for up to 100MW.”

Full details of the planned project haven’t been shared, but the company said the site could be integrated with Creative Energy’s district heating network.

At the same time, Allied said it had extended Vancouver-based real estate developer Westbank’s loan on 150 West Georgia to the end of December 2026, with additional security, as the project shifted from office to data center.

Once complete, Allied and Westbank aim to sell a major portion of the site to a Canadian operator, partially repaying Allied’s loan while retaining a minority interest. It’s unclear if the companies have an operator in place.

Westbank had previously planned to develop a 17-storey commercial building and six-story entertainment complex on the site (previously addressed as 720 Beatty Street and 701 Expo Boulevard). Part of the site is currently a natural gas heating plant dating back to the 1970s that is being replaced and upgraded.

Work had started on the underground portion of the project tied to Creative Energy’s heating network some two years ago, but vertical construction seemingly never got underway.

DH Urbanized recently reported that the site would be developed into a 48-story mixed-use hotel and residential tower with a data center component. It’s unclear if the plans have changed from that 700,000 sq ft (65,030 sqm) development or include Allied’s newly announced 10-story data center.

Allied is an owner and developer of urban office space across Canada. The company previously operated a portfolio of three carrier hotel data centers around Toronto, but sold them to KDDI in 2023.

Westbank eyes Vancouver office conversion to data center

Less than two miles south, Westbank is also looking to convert an existing office building into a data center. The company has filed to convert the 111 E 5th Avenue site to a data center within the existing building.

Known as M3, the three-story office building was built in 1977. Social media management software provider Hootsuite had previously occupied the building.

Westbank wants to convert almost the entire building towards data center use, with the underground parking area converted into support space for the data center. The site would include a restaurant on the ground floor.

The data center would total 83,245 sq ft (7,735 sqm) within the 133,125 sq ft (12,365 sqm)) building.

Westbank is a mixed-use real estate development company. Its portfolio has included residential, hotels, retail, workspaces, district energy, housing, exhibitions, and public art.

Vancouver, in western Canada, is one of the country’s main data center hubs alongside Toronto and Montreal. Operators present in the city include Cologix, eStruxture, Hut 8, Equinix, and several local players.