Earlier in 2024, City of Vancouver staff revealed three potential preliminary mixed-use Vancouver City Hall redevelopment concepts for public input.
As part of Vancouver City Council’s deliberations before the end of December 2024 on making Broadway Plan policy amendments, which would introduce added building height and density allowances across the area plan, City staff have also included a refined concept of what the future City Hall redevelopment could look like.
Based on the newly outlined details and artistic renderings, the refined concept for the “Civic District” precinct master plan is a blend of the three options.
As well, it takes into consideration both the input received during the public consultation process and City Council’s recent decision to make sweeping changes to the northward view cone policies that protect mountain views and the southward view cone policies that protect views of the heritage 1936-built heritage City Hall tower from the downtown Vancouver peninsula and False Creek South seawall.
Specific relaxations to both View Cone 3.0, emanating from the peak of Queen Elizabeth Park, and View Cone 9.0, emanating next to City Hall from Cambie Street at the intersections with West 10th Avenue and West 12th Avenue, greatly improve the development possibilities of the site.
Relaxations to View Cone 3.0 enable greater overall height across the site, while the narrowing and repositioning of View Cone 9.0 allows for additional high-rise towers along the western side of the Civic District fronting Cambie Street. This was not previously contemplated in the three options due to the harsh height restrictions of View Cone 9.0, with the early options only positioning new high-rise towers along the eastern side fronting Yukon Street.
2024 changes to View Cone 9.0 emanating from Cambie Street next to Vancouver City Hall. (City of Vancouver)
Altogether, the entire redevelopment on the 8.6-acre site — framed by West Broadway to the north, Cambie Street to the west, West 12th Avenue to the south, and Yukon Street to the east — would span a total building floor area of approximately 1.152 million sq ft. This does not include the building floor area of the existing heritage City Hall tower at the southern end of the Civic District fronting West 12th Avenue.
It is noted that some residential uses could be permitted within the new building developments, but the overwhelming use of the site would be non-residential, including office, hotel, institutional, cultural/museum spaces, new music/entertainment venues, and significant retail, restaurant, and possibly pubs/bars on the ground levels — all to fully activate the site’s street frontages and the internal public plaza areas.
Some of the largest uses in terms of floor area are expected to be office space, including the possibility of new replacement and expanded City Hall space, and hotel uses.
Overall, the master plan configuration retains the north-south public space concept — a continuous linear plaza space between West Broadway and the heritage City Hall building, with multiple large event-friendly plaza areas, grand terraces, and grand amphitheatre-like staircases that address the site’s slope.
Existing condition of the Vancouver City Hall campus, including the use of the north parcel (fronting West Broadway) for subway construction staging:
Existing condition of the Vancouver City Hall campus. (City of Vancouver)
Future condition of the “Civic District” transformation of the Vancouver City Hall campus:
December 2024 refined concept of the master plan for redeveloping the Vancouver City Hall campus into “Civic District.” (City of Vancouver)
According to the new artistic renderings, a key change involves further improving some of the largest new plaza areas into covered outdoor spaces, including the major north plaza fronting West Broadway, which is nestled between two towers at the centre of the site. This redesign establishes the “Civic Gateway” to the precinct.
This north plaza at the Civic Gateway would also provide a new secondary entrance into Broadway-City Hall Station, which will become one of the SkyTrain network’s busiest stations in 2027 when the Millennium Line’s Broadway extension opens and creates a new regional interchange hub with the Canada Line.
West 10th Avenue, which currently cuts east-west through the site and divides the Civic District into its north and south parcels, would be fully closed to vehicle traffic — converted into a purpose-built segment of the 10th Avenue greenway route for cyclists, and a portion of the mid-site public plaza area.
December 2024 refined concept of the master plan for redeveloping the Vancouver City Hall campus into “Civic District.” (City of Vancouver)
December 2024 refined concept of the master plan for redeveloping the Vancouver City Hall campus into “Civic District.” Click on the image for an expanded version. (City of Vancouver)
It is noted that the north parcel between West Broadway and West 10th Avenue would be developed first, given that it would otherwise remain vacant following its use for the Broadway extension’s subway station construction staging and storage needs.
This north parcel would have a total building floor area of about 700,000 sq ft for all uses combined, including a minimum of 510,000 sq ft of non-residential uses. Hotel uses would be “encouraged” for the north parcel to support “economic and tourism goals,” with overall commercial uses required for the upper levels above the base podiums of the buildings to “strengthen Uptown’s primary office and retail/service character.”
Furthermore, it is noted that there should be an “overbuild of the airspace” above the 2009-built pavilion entrance building into Broadway-City Hall Station, which would integrate the new building development with the station.
As for the south parcel between West 10th Avenue and West 12th Avenue, the new building developments would have a total building floor area of about 452,000 sq ft for all uses. This includes a new mixed-use tower on the former footprint of the demolished East Wing building fronting Yukon Street, which would see primarily City Hall office and institutional uses, plus ground-level retail/restaurant uses.
The rezoning and redevelopment of the south parcel is expected to take place over a longer timeline, possibly exceeding a decade. However, starting with the north parcel allows the municipal government to carry out much-needed seismic upgrades to the heritage City Hall tower.
December 2024 refined concept of the master plan for redeveloping the Vancouver City Hall campus into “Civic District.” (City of Vancouver)
December 2024 refined concept of the master plan for redeveloping the Vancouver City Hall campus into “Civic District.” (City of Vancouver)
During the public consultation process, some community advocates urged the City to preserve and enhance the site’s landscaped spaces — specifically the north lawn of City Hall — as a traditional public park, citing a shortage of such spaces in the Broadway Plan area and the anticipated growing demand due to increased residential and employment density.
In response, City staff’s master plan preserves and improves portions of the landscaped area north of the heritage City Hall building. Additionally, the existing Japanese garden is relocated, and a potential replacement location for the community garden has been identified.
The linear plaza cutting through the site would become one of Vancouver’s largest public plaza spaces. While there is currently an abundance of traditional park spaces, there are few large public plazas in the city. Moreover, large covered outdoor plazas are exceptionally rare.
“Civic District is an opportunity to reimagine the civic heart of Vancouver. The site represents a significant opportunity to meet the evolving municipal government needs to support Vancouver’s residents and businesses and optimize the use of these public lands at the intersection of the Canada Line and new Broadway Subway,” state City staff.
North lawn of Vancouver City Hall. (Shawn.ccf/Shutterstock)
Entrance into the north lawn of Vancouver City Hall. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Additionally, the significant commercial uses could provide the municipal government with a new significant revenue source, and some of the new City-owned office space could enable the municipal government to consolidate some of its privately leased office spaces across Vancouver, producing cost savings over time by not paying market-rate office leases.
Earlier this year, Daily Hive Urbanized reported the City will spend $22 million in 2024 on private market-rate office leases on 378,000 sq ft of office space.
As well, some of the new office spaces could potentially be leased to businesses and other organizations, with the option for the City to reclaim the space as needed to meet its own office workspace requirements.
If a secondary entrance is realized for Broadway-City Hall Station as a part of the north parcel’s development, it would be the third Broadway subway station to see a secondary entrance following the Millennium Line extension’s completion. Secondary station entrances are also planned for Arbutus Station within TransLink and PCI Developments’ future rental housing tower at 2096 West Broadway, and PCI Developments’ future rental housing tower at 1470-1476 West Broadway.
Diagram showing the interchange hub between SkyTrain Millennium Line and SkyTrain Canada Line at Broadway-City Hall Station, upon the 2027 opening of the Broadway extension. (Government of BC)