Western Canada's tallest skyscraper approved for downtown Vancouver

An illustration showing Holborn Group's proposed development that includes four towers at two different sites in downtown Vancouver. - Submitted image: Holborn Group / Henriquez Partners Architects Photo by Ian Kobylanski Holborn Group /

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Vancouver council approved a major multi-building project on Monday that will redevelop nearly two downtown blocks with what would be the three tallest buildings in the city, including Western Canada’s tallest skyscraper.

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Councillors with the majority ABC Vancouver party hailed the project as an ambitious, once-in-a-lifetime city-building opportunity that will transform the city’s skyline, create a destination attraction with its rooftop observation deck, and revitalize the downtown core. But the proposal also faced opposition, including from hundreds of people who spoke and wrote to council urging them to reject or at least delay it.

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The project, from local developer Holborn and Henriquez Partners Architects, will redevelop the blocks bounded by West Georgia, Seymour, Dunsmuir and Richards Streets, with a 68-storey building that will be Vancouver’s largest hotel and two residential towers, one of 68 storeys, the other with 79 storeys.

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At 315 metres, or more than 1,000 feet tall, the 79-storey building would be the tallest in Western Canada and B.C.’s first supertall, which is defined as a building between 300 and 599 metres in height. As part of Holborn’s pitch, the developer plans to build a 25-storey building at 388 Abbott St. with 237 units of social housing, to be turned over to the city upon completion.

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An illustration showing Holborn Group’s proposed development Photo by Ian Kobylanski /Holborn Group

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Addressing council Monday at city hall, Holborn CEO Joo Kim Tiah said the project will become “part of our city’s identity and legacy.”

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Speaking after the meeting, Tiah said council’s decision “sends a good signal to the business community that Vancouver is open for business and Vancouver has ambition.”

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The development is unlikely to break ground in the next couple of years, Tiah said, because the condo project will need to reach a certain number of presales before Holborn can obtain construction financing.

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But Monday’s decision is a big step in that process — and Holborn will be glad to have secured this approval before the October election, as it could produce a council less inclined to approve such a massive project that is outside of existing policy.

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At Monday’s meeting, COPE Coun. Sean Orr proposed putting off the decision on Holborn’s project until after staff complete a review the city’s policy on higher buildings, work that is underway and expected to continue into next year. Orr said Holborn’s plan offers significant public benefits, but he worried about “putting the cart before the horse” by approving it before the policy work is finished.

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This theme was also picked up by some of those who wrote to city council, including longtime planner and architect Michael Geller who wrote that, regardless of the project’s merits, it would be “totally inappropriate” to approve it before the policy review is complete.

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Geller wrote that city staff’s assertion that approving Holborn’s proposal will not “necessarily set a precedent for higher buildings elsewhere in the city is, in one word, preposterous. You all know that.”