The opening of Cineplex’s The Rec Room Granville location in downtown Vancouver is now just months away, with an opening slated for early Fall 2024.
This will be Metro Vancouver’s second The Rec Room entertainment centre, following the 2021 opening of the location at The Amazing Brentwood mall in Burnaby.
Cineplex spokesperson Michelle Saba told Daily Hive Urbanized the downtown Vancouver location within the core of the Granville Entertainment District is expected to open in the third quarter of 2024.
Construction is progressing well, and they are now in the process of filling over 200 staff positions. A precise opening date will be formally announced closer to the fall.
Work on the building’s exterior almost entirely reached completion earlier this spring, and construction crews are now focusing on outfitting and furnishing the vast interior spaces.
Construction progress on The Rec Room Granville at 855 Granville Street, Vancouver, as of June 17, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Construction progress on The Rec Room Granville at 855 Granville Street, Vancouver, as of June 17, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Construction progress on Cineplex’s The Rec Room at 850 Granville Street in downtown Vancouver, as of March 12, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Situated at 855 Granville Street, opposite from the Commodore Ballroom and the Orpheum Theatre’s Granville Street entrance, The Rec Room Granville will span 45,000 sq ft of indoor floor area across three levels, including a basement level.
This site was previously home to the Empire Granville 7, up until 2012 when the theatre complex of seven auditoriums permanently closed.
Cineplex’s The Rec Room construction project completely demolished the previous theatre complex structure, but fully retained and restored the property’s two heritage building facades — the south brick facade dating back to 1893 and the north brick facade dating back to 1913. Out of The Rec Room’s three distinct building facades, only the centre facade is brand new.
The building’s exterior already features completed nighttime lighting, including the full restoration and reillumination of the heritage theatre marquee.
The project’s architectural firm is Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership.
Before (top) and after (bottom): Artistic rendering of 855 Granville Street, Vancouver, for Cineplex’s The Rec Room Granville. (Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership/Cineplex)
Construction progress on The Rec Room Granville at 855 Granville Street, Vancouver, as of June 17, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Based on Daily Hive Urbanized’s previous project update in October 2023, when a liquor license application showed revised interior uses, The Rec Room Granville’s offerings will be highly consistent with other locations and amongst the largest of Cineplex’s chain of entertainment centres.
The second (top) level will contain The Yard — the name of The Rec Room’s area for arcade games, video games, simulators, sports/interactive games, virtuality realty, and redemption games, as well as axe throwing and ping pong. Roughly 100 game machines/experiences will be found on this level, along with quick-service food and beverage outlet The Yard.
The main level will contain a live performance stage, situated next to a lounge and dining area with a capacity for over 400 people, and complete with an attached bar. As well, the main level will feature a yet-to-be-named sit-down restaurant concept.
The basement level will be a bar and lounge with a capacity for over 200 people, with a retractable wall opening up to a flex seating space for 138 additional people. A large area of the basement level is dedicated as a mini-golf course, with a capacity for 108 people. When the project was first approved by the municipal government over five years ago, the intention was to primarily use the basement level for an 11,500 sq ft performance venue with a capacity for about 640 people, but that is no longer the case. Cineplex previously acquired the liquor primary license of the nearby former Republic Nightclub.
The entire entertainment centre will have a maximum capacity for nearly 1,600 people, plus an outdoor patio on the Granville Street sidewalk for up to 64 people.
Cineplex’s The Rec Room at The Amazing Brentwood. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Cineplex’s The Rec Room at The Amazing Brentwood. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Cineplex’s The Rec Room at The Amazing Brentwood. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Construction on The Rec Room Granville first began in early 2020, just weeks before the onset of the pandemic. The pandemic severely impacted Cineplex’s original timeline of opening the location in late 2021.
Another major improvement on the Granville Entertainment District this year is the completion of the new four-storey mixed-use building at 950 Granville Street, located just a block to the south — where Republic Nightclub was located. Confirmed tenants for the ground-level retail/restaurant units include Taco Bell, KFC, Rice and Noodle, Pizza Garden, and Parsley Berlin Style Doner-Kebab, while major tenants in the office levels above will include the Government of Canada’s new Passport Office for downtown Vancouver and a new space for Cornerstone International Education.