Mr. Toby Chu reports

GECC SUBSIDIARY COMPLETES LAND PURCHASE FOR GEC LANGARA

Global Education Communities Corp.'s subsidiary, GEC Langara LP, has completed the purchase of two parcels of land at 6428 Cambie St., Vancouver.

The property is situated at the corner of Cambie Street and West 48th Avenue, only a few metres from the Canada Line's Langara-49th subway station in the heart of central Vancouver. The Langara-49th Canada Line station is less than a 15-minute subway ride to downtown Vancouver, where there are hundreds of public and private colleges and universities, including the University of British Columbia (Robson campus), Simon Fraser University (downtown campus), British Columbia Institute of Technology (downtown campus), Sprott Shaw College and Sprott Shaw Language College. The Vancouver International Airport and the city of Richmond are within an eight-minute subway ride. Only four blocks away is the Oakridge Centre Mall, dubbed the largest urban redevelopment project in Vancouver's history (1).

The property received rezoning approval as a 10-storey concrete high-rise tower with 64,000 gross buildable square feet. GECC has initiated plans to apply for higher-density zoning according to the Province of British Columbia's transit-oriented areas (TOA) plan (2), announced on Dec. 7, 2023, to allow the height of TOA developments to be increased to a minimum of 20 floors and the waiver of parking requirements. Other new development incentives have also been announced by the federal (3) and municipal (4) governments, including the GST (goods and services tax) waiver and development cost levy (DCL) waiver.

"We are excited to move forward with the Langara development supported by the various incentives, which will reduce the development cost and increase the potential capacity for all GEC projects under development," commented Toby Chu, president, chief executive officer and chairman of Global Education Communities. "According to the government of Canada, over 280,000 new study permits were issued to international students (5) as of June, 2023, which is 77 per cent higher than the same period in 2022 despite the shortage of rental inventory in Metro Vancouver and the current expensive rental rates."

Mr. Chu added: "We are eager to deploy more projects in response to the high demand for rental properties. Over the years, [Global Education] has operated 15 GEC-branded buildings, including:

• "Seven fully operational buildings, namely GEC Burnaby, GEC Viva, GEC King Edward, GEC Pearson north and south towers, and GEC Marine Gateway north and south towers, which accommodated over 3,200 students in 2023, and GEC Kingsway, which will accommodate 284 students upon completion, with the possession date expected to be in May, 2024;
• "Seven buildings at different stages of development and rezoning, including GEC Oakridge, GEC Langara, GEC Education Mega Centre, GEC Kingsway and GEC CyberCity, which have a projected capacity of over 2,300 students once completed.

"With the recent sale of GEC Granville Suites (the 15th GEC-branded building), [Global Education] aims to replenish its inventory with the launch of GEC Kingsway in May, 2024, and expedite the completion of more rental projects to provide additional facilities to the student housing community."

About Global Education Communities Corp.

Global Education is one of Canada's largest education and student housing investment companies focused on the domestic and global education market since 1994. Global Education owns business and language colleges, student-centric rental apartments, recruitment centres, and corporate offices at 41 locations in Canada and abroad. Its education subsidiaries include Sprott Shaw College Corp. (SSCC) (established in 1903), Sprott Shaw Language College (SSLC), Vancouver International College Career Campus (VIC), and CIBT School of Business & Technology Corp. (CIBT China). Global Education offers over 150 educational programs in health care, business management, e-commerce, cybersecurity, hotel management and language training through these schools. In 2022, Global Education serviced over 14,277 domestic and international students through its educational, rental housing and recruitment subsidiaries.

Global Education owns Global Education City Holdings Inc. (GECH), an investment holding and development company focused on education-related real estate such as student-centric rental apartments, a hotel and education supercentres. Under the GEC brand, GECH provides accommodation services to 92 schools in Metro Vancouver, serving 3,200 students from 71 countries. The total portfolio and development budget under the GEC brand is nearly $1.2-billion.

Global Education also owns Global Education Alliance Inc. (GEA) and Irix Design Group Inc. GEA recruits international students for elite kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, colleges, and universities in North America. Irix Design is a leading design and advertising company based in Vancouver, Canada.

(1) See ConstructConnect Canada Inc. website.

(2) See B.C. government website.

(3) See Canadian Broadcasting Corp. website.

(4) See City of Vancouver website.

(5) See CIC News website.

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