800 Granville Street | 137.5m | 42, 38 fl | Proposed

[logan5]

Are they actually going to re-do the sidewalk, which looks way wider in the pictures. Anyways, keep these Granville street projects coming, before it turns into another East Hastings. A large project at the Bay would be a huge step in the right direction as well, along with de-centralizing social housing out of the downtown core and Mt. Pleasant.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by logan5

Are they actually going to re-do the sidewalk, which looks way wider in the pictures.

ABC want to close Granville to traffic, and reroute the buses.

[Repthe250]

Granville Street is THE entertainment street in Vancouver if not all of B.C. These should be hotel towers not residential! Nobody needs to live ON Granville Street, and tourism would greatly benefit if it were hotels, which would be largely used specifically for visiting Granville Street.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by logan5

Are they actually going to re-do the sidewalk, which looks way wider in the pictures. Anyways, keep these Granville street projects coming, before it turns into another East Hastings. A large project at the Bay would be a huge step in the right direction as well, along with de-centralizing social housing out of the downtown core and Mt. Pleasant.

The render shows a really wide Robson sidewalk but that doesn't match the site plans.

Redeveloping the Best Buy building will also help change the dynamics of the area.

[giallo]

Originally Posted by csbvan

Project seems great, so of course everyone on here is complaining.

My one ask would be a skybar. Like, why is this impossible in Vancouver?!

We should have half a dozen of them at this point. Vancouver looks incredible from up high, and not everyone lives in a high-rise, so yeah, it's kind of a no-brainer at this point. Asian cities do this really well. They're usually incorporated into hotels.

[GenWhy?]

Originally Posted by csbvan

Project seems great, so of course everyone on here is complaining.

My one ask would be a skybar. Like, why is this impossible in Vancouver?!

These are both rental towers so it's quite inconvenient (from a property manager POV) to have commercial patrons use the residential lobby and elevator to access a single CRU on the roof.

The Davie / Granville hotel has a rooftop bar proposed.

[Spr0ckets]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

The render shows a really wide Robson sidewalk but that doesn't match the site plans.

Redeveloping the Best Buy building will also help change the dynamics of the area.

Doesn't Bonnis also own that building/lot as well?

I don't believe they have any plans to redevelop it any time soon if I recall correctly.

At least, I don't imagine they would want to get into trying to redevelop it any time soon with this on their plate for possibly the next several years.

It would be great if they did, though.
That stretch of Granville between Smithe and Dunsmuir or W. Pender could really be the anchor of their "entertainment district" with the right additions/upgrades to some of the buildings in need of redevelopment love along that run.

The Rec Room across the street and this could be a good start for the south side, and if the Bay building can actually still get redeveloped (their current financial predicament notwithstanding) with some decent ground level retail improvements - it could all go a long way in helping the city achieve an actual true 'entertainment district' for the area.

[Spr0ckets]

Originally Posted by Repthe250

Granville Street is THE entertainment street in Vancouver if not all of B.C. These should be hotel towers not residential! Nobody needs to live ON Granville Street, and tourism would greatly benefit if it were hotels, which would be largely used specifically for visiting Granville Street.

There is some hotel component proposed for the podium of the north tower - for which I imagine Bonnis will partner with a Hotelier company to run them.

Kerry Bonnis said hospitality and hoteliering is not their speciality or forte hence the reason they opted not to go for a full hotel tower for either of the towers
(it's also the reason they sold the neighbouring lot to the east to a hotelier to have it redeveloped as a hotel rather than the office building they had originally wanted to build there).

If they'd had their way (i.e. if the market could allow it), these towers would most likely be office towers, if anything.

[griswold]

More sky bars would be great. Downtown needs a project like that future 700 footer in Metrotown with the viewing deck on the top. I remember seeing a render for something like that downtown but I'm sure it got shot down. The only public viewing area now is Harbour Center and it's not even the tallest building.

This city does not know how to market itself in the age of social media and in fact seems hostile to doing anything that would improve it's standing on the global stage.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by Spr0ckets

Doesn't Bonnis also own that building/lot as well?

I don't believe they have any plans to redevelop it any time soon if I recall correctly.

At least, I don't imagine they would want to get into trying to redevelop it any time soon with this on their plate for possibly the next several years.

They have been trying to sell it, and some of their other Granville property, for a while. Although significantly underbuilt (in terms of zoning, let alone rezoning policy), it's hard to see anybody buying it for redevelopment unless there's a lot more demand for office space.

[Spr0ckets]

Originally Posted by Changing City

They have been trying to sell it, and some of their other Granville property, for a while. Although significantly underbuilt (in terms of zoning, let alone rezoning policy), it's hard to see anybody buying it for redevelopment unless there's a lot more demand for office space.

I would imagine if the demand for office space climbs up again back to pre-pandemic levels, they would redevelop it themselves rather than sell or offload it.

Maybe the reason they're trying to sell it (along with some of those other property on Granville) is that outside of hotel and commercial retail tenancy improvement, there aren't really many alternative options for what to redevelop a property into, along the Granville strip.

The city isn't likely to make that many more exceptions to allow (even) more residential on Granville, and Bonnis' position is that the hotel business is just not their thing.

So if the market isn't accommodating more office space, and you're not willing to do hotels (which the market could conceivably accommodate) then selling off is probably the only thing that makes sense.

Maybe they find another Hotelier to sell it to,... to redevelop it into a hotel much like they did their lot on the Robson and Seymour corner next door (the 809 Seymour Street/ 600 Robson Street lot).

It would certainly be an ideal location for one, smack dab in the middle of the entertainment district.

[giallo]

Originally Posted by Spr0ckets

The Rec Room across the street and this could be a good start for the south side, and if the Bay building can actually still get redeveloped (their current financial predicament notwithstanding) with some decent ground level retail improvements - it could all go a long way in helping the city achieve an actual true 'entertainment district' for the area.

The Rec Room is a fantastic addition to Granville. I saw a massive line-up to get in a week ago, so it's definitely a draw.

Granville has some cool little bars that deserve better. I used to avoid Granville like the plague, but since returning to Vancouver in 2022, I find myself enjoying some of the establishments along the strip.

Oh, and Commodore Ballroom remains the GOAT. It's still the best 1000 person venue I've ever been to. I love it there.

[WarrenC12]

As soon as Taco Bell opens, all will be well with the Granville strip.

[jollyburger]

Principal Kerry Bonnis told BIV that it is very important for the street that city staff move fast to approve the proposal and get it ready for council to consider a rezoning by summer if not fall.

"What is important from our view is that things get approved and announced so that the public at large can know that things are improving," he said. "With new, bigger projects, there will be greater density that further will drive positive activity."

https://www.biv.com/news/real-estate/bon...roject-above-commodore-ballroom-10403991

[GenWhy?]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

https://www.biv.com/news/real-estate/bon...roject-above-commodore-ballroom-10403991

That's a weird way to say "in time before the next election"

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by GenWhy?

That's a weird way to say "in time before the next election"

Isn't that October 17, 2026?

[phesto]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

https://www.biv.com/news/real-estate/bon...roject-above-commodore-ballroom-10403991

Every developer wants quick approvals, but I'm guessing in this case Bonnis is likely to try to sell the site quickly after it's approved. They've had to sell almost all of their properties.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by phesto

Every developer wants quick approvals, but I'm guessing in this case Bonnis is likely to try to sell the site quickly after it's approved. They've had to sell almost all of their properties.

I thought they were selling off a lot of property so they could have some capital to build here? They're also looking for CMHC funding, according to the new rezoning. Presumably that coulod change too, depending on the outcome of the election that's about to be announced.

[djh]

Originally Posted by Changing City

I thought they were selling off a lot of property so they could have some capital to build here? They're also looking for CMHC funding, according to the new rezoning. Presumably that coulod change too, depending on the outcome of the election that's about to be announced.

Funny you should say that...brand new update

EDIT: I see @ChangingCity that you just commented on this update in another thread!

[GenWhy?]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Isn't that October 17, 2026?

It is but you'd want to get your rezoning Hearing in the queue this year to avoid bad publicity for the summer of 2026