Vancouver approves floatel on Vancouver's Coal Harbour waterfront

Rendering of proposed floating hotel looking Northwest at 1055-1085 Canada Place and 1001-1045 West Waterfront Road, Vancouver.

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A proposal to install a 250-room floating hotel on a Coal Harbour water lot north of the Vancouver Convention Centre’s west building has been approved by Vancouver’s city council.

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The 131-metre long and 18-metre wide, six-level vessel, called a floatel, will feature a hotel-bar, shops, restaurant, a spa, and viewing areas on the north and west sides, and will connect to the shore with a series of pedestrian bridges.

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The Floatel is a joint venture between the Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre and Sunborn International Holding, a Finnish developer that specializes in luxury floating hotels, with two open already — in London and Gibraltar.

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In a news release, Sunborn said the approval marked a major milestone for the project.

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The council’s decision clears the way for the project to move into its next phase of development and is “an exciting addition” to the company’s group of landmark floating hotels, the company said.

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Sunborn will now continue to advance the project timetable, implementation structure and financing arrangements in collaboration with its local partners and stakeholders, it added.

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Several concerns were raised at Tuesday night’s public hearing, including that the flotel would block public access views from the seawall, that it was “tacky” and that the developers aren’t proving any meaningful public benefits except for access to the dock, primarily just to serve their bar and cafe.

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Another issue was that it is being built at a time when there is a housing affordability crisis for Vancouver residents and that a luxury hotel isn’t going to serve the people who live and work here.

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“I recognize this is a luxury hotel and it won’t necessarily be affordable to a lot of folks and there are disconnects there from issues of affordability but hotel development is about economic development,” said councillor Pete Fry.

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“And when I look at the need for new hotel rooms I also consider the strain that short term rentals have put on rental stock so even if this is a luxury hotel I know it will contribute on the whole to more hotel rooms and take away from that short term rental stock which I do think is a problem for long term tenants in our city.”

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Councillor Lenny Zhou said he thinks the floatel would be good because it will support the local economy, and that it will make Vancouver a leader in innovative solutions when it comes to accommodation.

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Another councillor, Lucy Maloney also supported the development, saying the view that would be partially blocked had already been done so by the Convention Centre but voiced some concern that the developer has not offered to pay at least some of the contributions, given how strongly the public feels about the deficit in public amenities.

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No outline for when the hotel would arrive in Vancouver has been set.

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With files from Denise Ryan

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