It was only three years ago that Telus completed its spiffy new national headquarters on West Georgia Street in downtown Vancouver.

Called the Telus Garden, the joint venture with Westbank Corp. cost roughly $750 million and came with a redevelopment of most of the block between Georgia and Robson streets and Seymour and Richards streets.

The Canadian telecommunications giant was obviously proud of the shiny building, which boasted solar panels on the roof, motion-sensor lighting, and other environmentally friendly architectural features. In September 2015, the company's president and CEO, Darren Entwistle, personally hosted a press conference there to celebrate the building's official opening.

Now Telus and Westbank have sold the development, which consists of a  22-storey office tower and 44-storey residential tower.

The deal was revealed quietly on Friday (August 3) with the release of Telus's latest quarterly earnings report.

Neither the buyer of 510 West Georgia Street nor the amount paid were disclosed there.

"In August, the Telus Garden real estate joint venture accepted an offer to purchase the income producing property and the related net assets; the sale is expected to be completed subsequent to August 3, 2018," reads a media release that accompanied the report.

"During the third quarter of 2018 we expect to record our share of the gain, which is estimated at approximately $170 million," it continues. "In 2011, we partnered, as equals, in a residential condominium, retail and commercial real estate redevelopment project, TELUS Garden, in Vancouver, British Columbia."

The property was never listed as for sale, and so the deal is very likely the result of an unsolicited offer that was simply too good for Telus Garden's owners to refuse.

With downtown Vancouver almost out of land that's not already developed and commercial real estate in increasingly short supply, Telus and Westbank probably received quite a bit for the property.

In December 2017, a lot just 10 blocks west of Telus Garden, at 1616 West Georgia Street, sold for $245 million.