A new major mixed-use office space addition for the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver complex in downtown Vancouver will not be going forward as planned.
The rezoning application by hotel owner Larco Hospitality, a division of Larco Enterprises, to build a 225-ft-tall, 12-storey office tower infill addition attached to the heritage hotel building was first submitted to the municipal government in December 2022.
However, this application for 900 West Georgia Street was withdrawn in June 2024. Daily Hive Urbanized reached out to Larco last month and last week for comment on their decision to cancel the application but did not receive a response.
It is not clear whether Larco is still pursuing any new building development or if they are in the process of changing the design and/or uses of the project, such as a reframed proposal that introduces a major expansion of the existing iconic four-star hotel property.
Of course, there is currently a weakened demand for office space. According to commercial real estate firm CBRE, as of the second quarter of 2024, the leased office space vacancy rate in downtown Vancouver is currently hovering at 10.8%, which still represents the lowest office vacancy rate amongst major urban centres in Canada and the United States.
CBRE also states there is growing interest in office conversions to some other uses, with some new developments shifting mid-construction to either residential or hotel.
Artistic rendering of the proposed office building as an expansion of Fairmont Hotel Vancouver at 900 West Georgia Street, Vancouver. (Architects-Alliance/Larco Hospitality)
According to the original 2022 rezoning application, the 12-storey office tower would have been built immediately south of the heritage hotel building — replacing the existing mid-block hotel annex structure and covered driveway entrance, situated between the heritage building and the adjacent Bell Media/future Adidas store building (former heritage library building).
There would be 179,000 sq ft of office space within the upper levels of the tower. The lower levels would include 5,500 sq ft of retail space fronting Burrard Street, as well as two restaurants with a combined floor area of 14,400 sq ft of restaurant space, 10,000 sq ft of hotel ballroom, and 5,400 sq ft of meeting space. The original concept did not boost the number of hotel rooms.
Artistic rendering of the proposed office building as an expansion of Fairmont Hotel Vancouver at 900 West Georgia Street, Vancouver. (Architects-Alliance/Larco Hospitality)
Artistic rendering of the proposed office building as an expansion of Fairmont Hotel Vancouver at 900 West Georgia Street, Vancouver. (Architects-Alliance/Larco Hospitality)
The expansion office tower and integration with the existing hotel building was designed by Toronto-based Architects-Alliance, which has prior experience with providing contemporary additions to heritage structures. Its design for Hotel Vancouver’s office tower provides a mirror-like, contemporary interpretation of the 1939-built chateau-esque-style building, made evident by the tower’s matching terraced form.
The original design concept was reviewed by the municipal government’s Urban Design Panel in June 2023, which supported the project with a number of recommendations.
The panel suggested changes that shift the building’s massing away from the existing hotel “could result in successful floor plate sizes and its uses,” and that further design work was needed on the details of the ground level and entrance, including a “celebration of the porte cochere experience.”
Artistic rendering of the proposed office building as an expansion of Fairmont Hotel Vancouver at 900 West Georgia Street, Vancouver. (Architects-Alliance/Larco Hospitality)
Office, restaurant, ballroom, and retail uses of the tower expansion of Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. (Architects-Alliance/Larco Hospitality)
Metro Vancouver is facing an immense shortage of hotel rooms over the coming decades, with a recent Destination Vancouver study estimating the need for 20,000 additional hotel rooms, including 10,000 rooms within the city of Vancouver and 10,000 elsewhere in the region outside of Vancouver. These estimates were made prior to the provincial government’s new rules curbing short-term rentals like Airbnb. Without added capacity, tourism and economic growth will suffer, hotel room prices will continue to steeply escalate, and the region’s ability to attract major conferences, concerts, and sporting events will be challenged.