The final two buildings of Pinnacle International’s development sites in the Capstan Village district of Richmond will see major hotel uses.
In fact, both of these hotel buildings are now well under construction immediately to the northeast of SkyTrain Canada Line’s brand new Capstan Station, which opened on December 20, 2024.
Both buildings are now rising at the southeast corner of the prominent intersection of No. 3 Road and Sea Island Way — immediately north of Capstan Neighbourhood Park.
Pascal Yammine, vice president of construction for Pinnacle International, told Daily Hive Urbanized that both buildings will see two different hotel brands operated under Marriott International.
Altogether, both hotel properties — which are physically attached together — will generate a net gain of 457 guest rooms for Metro Vancouver’s hotel room supply.
Pinnacle International already has a longstanding partnership with Marriott through the operation of Marriott Vancouver Pinnacle Downtown Hotel and Pinnacle Vancouver Harbourfront Hotel in downtown Vancouver. The developer is also known for the Pinnacle Hotel at The Pier on North Vancouver’s Lonsdale waterfront.
December 2024: SkyTrain’s Capstan Station, with the two construction cranes of Pinnacle International’s two new Marriott hotel buildings seen in the background. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
December 20, 2024, opening day of SkyTrain Canada Line’s Capstan Station. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
December 20, 2024, opening day of SkyTrain Canada Line’s Capstan Station. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
The north building fronting Sea Island Way, known as Building L, will be a 12-storey building with 100% hotel uses, containing 351 guest rooms. This will be the Elements by Westin hotel, which offers options that include long-term stays.
Building L was originally planned as 100% office space before being completely pivoted to hotel uses in 2024 due to the current weak office market conditions.
As well, there is a surging demand for new hotel rooms in the region; there is a growing shortage of hotel rooms, with Destination Vancouver projecting a need for 20,000 additional hotel rooms across Metro Vancouver, including 10,000 rooms within the city of Vancouver and 10,000 rooms elsewhere in the region, such as in Richmond. This hotel room shortage is now further exacerbated by the provincial government’s new policies curbing short-term rentals like Airbnb and Vrbo.
May 2024 construction condition of Building L and Building K at the southeast corner of the intersection of No. 3 Road and Sea Island Way, next to Capstan Station. (Google Maps)
Pinnacle International’s two hotel buildings will be located at the southeast corner of the intersection of No. 3 Road and Sea Island Way, next to Capstan Station. (Google Maps)
Location of Building L and Building K, which share a base podium, at the southeast corner of the intersection of No. 3 Road and Sea Island Way, next to Capstan Station. (Bingham Hill Architects/Pinnacle International)
“Since the original permit application there have been significant fluctuations in the demand for office space of the proposed capacity, paired with a growing need for hotel and long-stay accommodations due to provincial regulation changes,” Yammine told Daily Hive Urbanized.
“Considering our stage of construction at the time, we still had the opportunity to make the adjustments from office to hotel. The location of the site is ideal, with proximity to the airport alongside doorstep access to the SkyTrain, it is perfect for travellers looking to benefit from the excellent amenities and those seeking direct and rapid access to the Greater Vancouver area.”
Immediately to the south, Building K is a 14-storey mixed-use building, with hotel uses in the lower seven floors and strata market ownership condominium homes within the upper seven floors. Le Meridien Pinnacle Hotel, providing 142 guest rooms for traditional short-term stay, will operate Building K’s hotel volume below 115 condominium units.
Artistic rendering of Building K. (Bingham Hill Architects/Pinnacle International)
Artistic rendering of Building K. (Bingham Hill Architects/Pinnacle International)
He says Building K is expected to reach completion in late 2025, while Building L should be ready by late Spring 2026. However, the opening dates for both hotel properties have not been established at this time.
There is also a commercial space component on the ground level of the buildings, which will activate the public spaces that surround the buildings, including six retail units and one restaurant unit.
Revised schematics submitted to the City of Richmond in 2024 show Building L and Building K sit on top of a shared two-level underground parkade and share an interconnected single-storey base podium that contains a shared hotel lobby, hotel meeting space, and retail and restaurant spaces. On the rooftop of the podium, between the two towers, there will be a landscaped amenity space, including an outdoor swimming pool just for hotel guests and a separate outdoor amenity space only for residents.
Bingham Hill Architects is the design firm for both buildings.
2024 revised design for Building L (left) and Building K (right), which share a base podium and parkade. (Bingham Hill Architects/Pinnacle International)
Ground level floor plan; 2024 revised design for Building L (top) and Building K (bottom), which share a base podium. (Bingham Hill Architects/Pinnacle International)
2024 revised design for the outdoor amenity spaces for the hotel and residential uses on the second level, the rooftop of the base podium between Building L (top) and Building K (bottom). (Bingham Hill Architects/Pinnacle International)
The close proximity to Capstan Station — only about a three-minute walking distance — makes this an optimal location for hotel uses, given its convenient location to travel to the airport and downtown Vancouver. It also introduces new major active non-residential uses to an area that is now primarily residential.
“We expect it will help energize the rapidly growing area, providing exciting new amenities and services to residents, local businesses and travellers,” said Yammine.
Also in close proximity to Capstan Station is the 2010-opened, 176-room The Westin Wall Centre Vancouver Airport, situated just to the west on the Fraser River waterfront. The 2021-opened, 100-room Versante Hotel is also nearby but is closer to Bridgeport Station.
Along with Concord Pacific, Polygon, and Yuanheng, Pinnacle International is one of the four main developers of the new Capstan Village, which is now approaching full buildout of over 6,000 homes for more than 16,000 residents — all within a 10-minute walk from the new SkyTrain station.
All four developers partnered with the City of Richmond to help fund the construction of Capstan Station. A levy of $8,500 was applied to each new condominium home built by these developers in the Capstan Village area, which ultimately raised $32.2 million — covering just over half of the total station construction cost of $62.2 million.
December 20, 2024, opening day of SkyTrain Canada Line’s Capstan Station. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
December 20, 2024, opening day of SkyTrain Canada Line’s Capstan Station. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
At Capstan Village, Pinnacle International has a total of nine buildings, including nine mixed-use residential buildings, one mixed-use residential and hotel building, and one standalone hotel building. The number of homes totals 1,337 units, enough space for about 4,500 residents.
The residential building of Building J is expected to reach occupancy by the middle of 2025, which is the last building by the developer to reach completion before the two hotel buildings.
“The station has been a key component of the Capstan Village area and one that everyone has been eagerly awaiting since the development first started. We are thrilled to see it open and have it connect all the residents and businesses in the area to the transit network,” added Yammine.