E&Y to anchor the new tallest office tower in Vancouver (RENDERINGS)

Artistic rendering of The Stack at 1133 Melville Street, Vancouver. (James Cheng Architects / Oxford Properties)

A 530-ft-tall office tower in downtown Vancouver has been dubbed ‘The Stack’ given its unique form of a twisting, stacked box design.

Oxford Properties announced today that its office tower at 1133 Melville Street is proceeding, with anchor tenants Erns & Young (E&Y) taking up 60,000-sq-ft, law firm Blakes taking up 80,000-sq-ft, and law firm DLA Piper taking up 67,000-sq-ft within the top two boxes of the building.

All three companies already have a major presence in downtown Vancouver: E&Y has an existing office at TD Tower, Blakes is at Three Bentall Centre, and DLA Piper is at Park Place. They have effectively leased the entirety of the top two boxes of the new building – between floors 19 and 36.

Existing condition

Existing site of 1133 Melville Street, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Future condition

The Stack 1133 Melville Street Vancouver

Artistic rendering of The Stack at 1133 Melville Street, Vancouver. (James Cheng Architects/Oxford Properties)

Artistic rendering of The Stack at 1133 Melville Street, Vancouver. (James Cheng Architects / Oxford Properties)

Space is available for the remaining two lower boxes, which feature additional ceiling heights and larger floor plates, ranging between 15,000-sq-ft and 20,000-sq-ft. These floors are designed to allow for open floor plates, making it ideal for tech, digital media, and creative companies.

Altogether, the tower boasts 540,000-sq-ft of AAA-class office space, plus retail and restaurant space within the ground level. A new public park will also be built on site next to the office lobby.

Office tenants also have private access to six outdoor decks and a large rooftop patio with views of the city, harbour, and mountains.

Artistic rendering of The Stack at 1133 Melville Street, Vancouver. (James Cheng Architects/Oxford Properties)

Artistic rendering of The Stack at 1133 Melville Street, Vancouver. (James Cheng Architects / Oxford Properties)

The tower, which is aiming for a LEED Platinum green standard, is designed by Vancouver-based architect James Cheng. It will be one of the two highrise towers in the country to be part of the Net Zero Carbon pilot.

According to a spokesperson for the developer, the tower initially received rezoning approval for a height of 550 ft, but 20 ft was cut during the development permit process due to the municipal government’s concerns over the shadowing of the edge of Harbour Green Park, located two blocks away.

However, the office floor area reductions were modest, and the project will still add significant new office space for the local market, which has a vacancy of just 4.7% as of the second quarter of 2018. This is the second lowest of any major office market in North America, right behind Toronto.

Although there is approximately 1.8 million-sq-ft of office space under construction, most of that new supply is much smaller.

Artistic rendering of The Stack at 1133 Melville Street, Vancouver. (James Cheng Architects / Oxford Properties)

Artistic rendering of The Stack at 1133 Melville Street, Vancouver. (James Cheng Architects/Oxford Properties)

Artistic rendering of The Stack at 1133 Melville Street, Vancouver. (James Cheng Architects / Oxford Properties)

“With The Stack now launched, we’re adding significant and much-needed new supply to Vancouver’s extremely tight office market and to accommodate the city’s economic growth,” said Chuck We, Vice President of Office at Oxford, in a statement.

The building is co-owned by Oxford and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, with each entity holding a 50% stake.

“The Stack is one of the most-forward thinking office projects in Vancouver. Not only does it break new ground by incorporating employee wellness into the fabric of its design through its use of natural light, outdoor space and cycling amenities, we’re future-proofing the building with the adoption of Smart Building technology and multi-modal transportation options,” continued We.

Site preparation through demolition of the existing parkade and office structure is already underway, with an aim of opening the building by early-2022.

Artistic rendering of The Stack at 1133 Melville Street, Vancouver. (James Cheng Architects / Oxford Properties)

See also