PC Urban in partnership with Quadreal have submitted a rezoning application for a 15,164 SF site at 534-550 Cambie St in the ‘Crosstown’ area of Downtown Vancouver.

The site is located mid block on Cambie Street between Dunsmuir
and Pender Streets in the Crosstown neighbourhood and within the
Central Business District (CBD) Extension area. Despite being located
mid-block, the site is bound on three sides by standard 20’ wide city
lanes.

The proposal is to allow for the development of a 22-storey office building that includes:

• 258,000 SF of office space;
• Office floorplates ranging from 9,250 sf to 15,132 SF;
• 5,800 SF of retail space at grade;
• A total density of 17.4 FSR;
• A building height of 302 ft.;
• Multiple private tenant decks as well as amenity decks;
• 128 vehicle parking spaces on 5 underground levels.

The application describes the design rationale which is in part influenced by view cones and the proximity to Victory Square Park:

“The massing of the building is informed by the heights of the site view cone parameters and the Victory Square shadow guidelines and makes for a meaningful contribution to the Vancouver skyline. The office tower is broken down into two masses — a high rise portion and a low rise portion which is gradually terraced to respect the shadows over Victory Square. The proposed building adds an integral unique quality to the surrounding streetscape while respecting and paying homage to the heritage and character of nearby Gastown.”

The application is being considered under the Downtown Official Development Plan and Rezoning Policy for the CBD & CBD Shoulder.

The architect for the project is MCMP Architects.

Here is a snapshot of current downtown office buildings at various stages of construction:

Deloitte Summit, 410 West Georgia Street (Westbank)

24-storeys, 355,000 SF

B6, 1090 West Pender Street (BentallGreenOak)

32-storeys, 534,000 square feet

The Stack, 1133 Melville Street (Oxford Properties)

36 storeys, 540,000 SF

Vancouver Centre II, 753 Seymour Street (GWL)

33-storeys, 371,000 SF

The Post, 349 West Georgia Street (Quadreal)

22 & 21 storeys, 1.3 Million SF

601 West Hastings Street (PCI Group)

25 storeys, 285,000 SF

Bosa Waterfront Centre, 320 Granville Street (Bosa Development)

30-storeys, 355,000 SF

TPMG Capital has acquired 2695 Granville Street, a 7-storey office building located at the Northwest corner of Granville and West 11th Avenue.

The 27,812 SF concrete office building was built in 1965 and sits on a 54 x 120′ C-3A zoned lot.

At the $28,600,000 price equates to $1,028 per SF of building area including ground floor retail.

The building had most recently been listed for sale for $29,900,000 following an initial asking price of $36,000,000 in early 2020.

A rezoning application has been submitted by Chard Development for a site at 750 SW Marine Drive, a block and a half West of Cambie Street. The I-2 zoned site is 18,100 SF in size and occupied by lowrise commercial buildings with tenants including Once a Tree Furniture.

The proposal is to allow for the development of an 8-storey building that includes office, light industrial and at-grade retail uses. The proposal includes:

• 6,100 SF of retail space at grade;
• 18,300 SF of light industrial space on levels 1 and 2;
• 65,000 SF of office space on levels 3 to 7;
• Amenity space on level 8;
• A total density of 4.94 FSR;
• A building height of 35 ft.;
• 99 vehicle parking spaces and 62 bicycle parking spaces.

The application is being considered under the Marpole Community Plan and the Employment Lands & Economy Review Phase 2 Report.

The architect for the project is Proscenium Architecture & Interiors Inc.

The City of Vancouver is proposing changes to the I-1 Zoning in Mt. Pleasant as part of a “quick start action” under a broader Employment Lands and Economy Review.

Allowing Medical Office Use in I-1

The first proposed change is to add ‘Health Care Office’ as a conditionally permitted use in the I-1 zone in response to a request from the development
industry who have identified Mount Pleasant as an attractive location for medical offices at the relative mid-point between VGH and the future new St. Paul’s Hospital. This amendment is mainly intended for Mount Pleasant, but also introduces this use to one block of I-1 at the southwest corner of 6th Avenue and Clark Drive.

New I-1C Zone Along South Side of West 2nd Avenue

The second and potentially more major proposed change is increased heights and densities along the South side of West 2nd Avenue via a new zone called I-1C. The new zoning would apply to 32 individual land parcels that would be consolidated into approximately 9 or 10 developments.

Details of the proposed new zone include:

• Allow double the density from 3 to 6 FSR (as long as a full 2 FSR is dedicated to light industrial uses such as production, distribution and repair);
• Maintain the same use provisions as the I-1 industrial zone, except that mini-storage and other low-intensity uses are not permitted;
• Allow a maximum height for up to 152.5 ft. to reflect the form and scale of SEFC across the street to the north and balance the 2nd Avenue streetscape;
• Limit shadowing on the north sidewalk of 2nd Avenue and secure a 5 ft. dedication along 2nd Avenue for public realm improvements including wider sidewalks;
• Introduce building setbacks above 4-storeys to ensure that new higher buildings are sculpted to relate to lower buildings;
• Permit a variety of new building forms, including terraced, tower and childcare forms.
• For developments proposing leasehold developments, the City will apply the commercial linkage target for non-stratified commercial development.
• For developments proposing strata, a negotiated CAC approach will be required to estimate the additional value that Council’s enactment of a rezoning would generate above the current land value.

The City estimates that the 32 individual parcels in the subject area could consolidate into approximately 9-10 rezoning projects in the proposed I-1C rezoning area.

As a result, redevelopment could help deliver
approximately:

• 1.07 million sq. ft. of new job space over the present condition;
• 685 thousand sq. ft. of job space above current zoned capacity;
• 3,500+ new jobs; and
• $7.2 million in public benefits (based on commercial linkage targets as described above) or more if developments are stratified.

The full City of Vancouver report can be viewed here: https://council.vancouver.ca/20201124/documents/rr1b.pdf