Referral – Item 4 Downtown Towers

In this instance, an ODP amendment is required to reflect the proposed height. The proposed designation is of mixed-use high-rise 1, contemplates buildings up to 26 stories. Surrounding sites are designated mixed-use mid-rise and mixed-use high-rise 1.

As the proposal includes an amendment to the ODP, consultation with local nations, Vancouver School Board, or VSB, and Conseil Scolaire Francophone were undertaken. VSB noted that catchment elementary schools for both sites are running at capacity, while the catchment high school for the Georgia Street site is over capacity, and the catchment high school for the Abbott Street site is under.

All right, now we'll take a closer look at the Georgia Street site. Again, the site is located in the city center and includes 36 parcels comprising the majority of the city block bounded by Georgia, Seymour, Dunsmuir, and Richard Street. The site is bisected by a city-owned lane running north and south and is zoned DD, or downtown district, and is currently developed with a series of single to three-story commercial buildings, including the municipally designated heritage building known as the Randall Building. The site also houses the former Bay Parkade, which is a four-story parking structure.

The site is the former location of the Dunsmuir Hotel. That was a designated single-room accommodation or SRA building. The Dunsmuir Hotel was demolished in 2025. The surrounding neighborhood consists of namely commercial buildings ranging from a single-story to approximately 40 stories. Granville Station is located across Seymour Street, and the city center station is located approximately 100 meters away.

There are a number of city policies that are applicable to the site in the application. The site is located within the downtown rezoning policy, which contemplates non-residential uses up to a maximum of seven FSR and a height the applicable view corridor. Under this policy, residential uses are contemplated for large sites, providing the minimum amount of anticipated non-residential floor area is provided. Heritage policies are applicable to the Randall Building fronting West Georgia Street. The former Dunsmuir Hotel was also located on the northeast corner of the site and was relatively recently demolished. The single-room accommodation by-law would also apply to the parcel. Finally, a significant amount of hotel floor area is proposed, addressing the hotel development policies. And because of the size of the site, the rezoning policy for sustainable large sites is also applicable.

Though the proposed buildings would be the largest in the city, the subject site is outside the bounds of the higher buildings policy in that the subject site is not contemplated as a candidate for height above the Queen Elizabeth View corridor within this policy.

The yellow star on the screen identifies the subject site just across Seymour Street from the policy boundary. The higher buildings policy establishes parameters for buildings proposing significant height and or entering into the Queen Elizabeth view corridor or other approved view corridors. The intention of the policy is to mark the prominence of the central business district in the downtown skyline while providing for opportunities for strategic locations including gateways to the downtown. The maximum height contemplated in the higher buildings policy is located at the intersection of Burrard and Georgia, two blocks west of the site. The height in this location is contemplated to be up to 213 meters or 700 feet. The area across Seymour Street from the site, so just on the other side of the boundary, contemplates buildings up to 185 meters or 600 feet. The current tallest building in the city is the 62-story building commonly known as the Shangri-La Tower at the intersection of Thurlow and West Georgia. This building is 201 meters or 659 feet and was completed in 2008. In April of this year, staff initiated a higher buildings policy review to explore with the public the fit of the current policy with collective aspirations for the city. The review explores the questions of where, how high, and what our city's tallest buildings should deliver. To date, the review has attracted significant interest from the public with over 7,900 touch points since its launch. While staff continue to review the qualitative feedback shared, early findings suggest that the issue is of great importance to the public and is seen as influential in shaping the identity of the city. Through early engagement, support or opposition to tall buildings appears to be evenly split. There has been general willingness to contemplate the details of how tall buildings can be realized in a way that benefits the broader city. Staff anticipate bringing proposed policy changes to the public in early 2027 with a subsequent policy to Council for consideration in Q2 of 2027.

Okay, the proposal on the Georgia site is for consolidation of the site, including the city lane, to allow for a mixed-use development. The eastern portion of the site includes two residential towers identified as the north and south towers located in the foreground of the image. At 68 and 79 stories, the buildings include 1,270 strata 10-year residential units and 276 secured rental units. These two towers measure at 239 meters, or 784 feet, and 271 meters, or 889 feet, respectively.

At a proposed height of 315 meters, or 1,034 feet, the tallest tower of the proposal, labeled the West Tower, includes a 68-story hotel building with an observation deck at the uppermost levels.

and includes approximately 920 hotel rooms, a 6,500-square-meter or nearly 70,000-square-foot conference center, and a 1,500-square-meter or 16,000-square-foot privately-owned public plaza fronting Georgia Street.

At the height proposed, the building would be the tallest in Western Canada, and all three buildings on the site would be the tallest in the city. A total floor area of 281,000 square meters or just over 3 million square feet or approximately 27.4 FSR is proposed. Seven levels of underground parking are to be accessed from the lane and Richard Street. An underground pedestrian connection from the western portion of the site to Granville Station under Seymour Street is also proposed. Finally, despite the Randall Building's designation as a protected heritage property, the applicant is proposing to remove the existing designation in order to only retain its street facade and partial laneway return. I will note before moving on from the proposal that this week, NAV Canada, the not-for-profit agency who operates Canada's civil air navigation system, did provide commentary to the applicant indicating that additional design development may be needed, including potential reduction of approximately 88 feet from the tallest building in order to comply with air path regulations. Any forthcoming development permit and or building permit application is required to comply with regulations set out by senior levels of government, including agencies such as Transport Canada.

All right, we'll dive a little bit deeper into the Randall Building and Dunsmuir Hotel. So in 1991, Council approved the voluntary designation of the Randall Building as part of a major seismic and code upgrading that included facade restoration and interior rehabilitation. A heritage bonus density of 734 square meters, or nearly 8,000 square feet, was granted as compensation for this designation, subsequently used to construct a modest rooftop addition. In proposing substantial demolition of the existing structure, the applicant is asking council to consider the removal of its existing designation as a protected heritage property. The proposal includes designation of the retained Georgia Street facade to provide permanent legal protection. Staff have included conditions to protect the building until issuance of future building permits. Now, regarding the Dunsmuir Hotel, the 167-room residential hotel was demolished in 2025 after council declared the building a danger to public safety pursuant to the Vancouver Charter. The proposal includes replacement of the 167 SRA designated rooms as self-contained studio and one-bedroom units secured as social housing to be delivered on the Abbott Street site.

Sorry, I'm just going to take a hydration break.

We're about halfway through.

All right, continuing. So we'll turn our attention to the Abbott Street site now. The site is comprised of one parcel located on the northeast corner of the intersection of West Hastings and Abbott in the downtown Eastside neighborhood. The site was rezoned in 2018 to CD1732, which allows for a mixed-use building up to 32 meters or approximately 10 stories and an FSR of 7.2. The rezoning secured market rental housing tenure. However, the site is currently a service parking lot. The surrounding neighborhood consists of commercial and residential buildings ranging from five stories to an excess of 40 stories, with the Woodwards development across Abbott Street and the recently approved Army and Navy development further east on the same block. The stadium Chinatown station is located 200 meters away.

The 2014 Downtown Eastside Plan is applicable to the proposal. The plan provides a vision, policies, and strategies for the Downtown Eastside, and the plan prioritizes actions and strategies related to social housing, community health and well-being, heritage conservation, and local economic development. The site's located in the Victory Square area of the plan, and the current CD1732 provisions meet the anticipated height and density of the plan.

This component of the proposal includes a 25-story social housing building containing 237 units. A 37-space child care facility is proposed on the podium, and commercial and or cultural space is located on the ground level. A maximum building height of 85 meters or 279 feet is proposed, and the floor space ratio of 16.2. Seven levels of underground parking are proposed to be accessed from the lane. And again, the building is proposed to be transferred to city ownership upon completion. A standard public notification and input opportunities were provided for the application review process, including an application webpage, online Q&A, site signs, and project notification by mail. Approximately 223 pieces of correspondence were received through the application review process as well as a petition. Generally, comments supported the new housing, the revitalization of the West Georgia block, and potential community benefits in the form of housing and public spaces. Concerns included the impacts on the neighborhood character, particularly in the downtown east side, housing affordability, safety, crime, and that the project would cause overburden on the infrastructure.