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He said the closures are similar to the recent end to several Chevron gas stations in Vancouver. There is more money in the land than could ever be made selling groceries or gas, Lee said.

Last year, Anthem Properties’ bought the Chevron gas station site on West Georgia for $72 million. It was one of the largest property transactions of 2017 and was followed by Chevron’s divestment of five other filling stations in the City of Vancouver that are now giving way to redevelopment.

“Obviously, a gas station can’t go at the bottom of a condo building, but a grocery store can,” Lee said.

Businesses of many types and sizes are also being pushed out of the market due to the city’s property tax system.

“I could go on for hours about property taxes in this city,” he said. “You are basically pushing people to redevelop because you’re taxing them on the highest and best use on density that’s not being used. The city is saying, ‘I want you to redevelop’.

“It’s tough to operate when taxes are worth more than the revenue for a site.”

Lee added that the grocery world is changing. “It’s being affected by online like everything else,” he said. “And all of our grandparents would cringe at how much we eat out.”

Sobeys’ Thompson, though, said the grocery industry in Vancouver remains sustainable, if done right.

“We are focused on getting back to a position to thrill our customers and grow our stores so we can be the best place for our customers to shop and for our employees to work,” she said.

“We look forward to continuing to serve our customers in Metro Vancouver and across the province of British Columbia. We are committed to strengthening our business in this highly competitive grocery market.”

evan@evanduggan.com

twitter.com/EvanBDuggan

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