First Amazon workers move into The Post office complex in Vancouver (PHOTOS)

First Amazon workers move into The Post office complex in downtown Vancouver (PHOTOS)

Amazon's office space in the South Tower of The Post in downtown Vancouver, September 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

As of this week, the first Amazon office employees have moved into The Post office building complex in downtown Vancouver.

To be more specific, they have moved into the first five office floors of The Post’s South Tower, which fronts West Georgia Street.

While the city block-sized complex looks finished from the outside, the 21-storey South Tower is progressively being furnished inside for Amazon’s latest unique interior design of workplace configurations.

After further furnishing work is completed floor by floor, it is expected the South Tower will be fully occupied by Amazon teams by the first quarter of 2024.

The occupation of this building — the single largest office building in Metro Vancouver — is a big deal, given that it has 1.1 million sq ft of office space, which is 100% leased to Amazon.

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Moreover, Amazon is amongst the largest multinational giants requiring office employees to be physically in the office at least three times per week. For city centres struggling to see a return to pre-pandemic foot traffic levels, which supports local shops, restaurants, and services, the return to the workplace for Amazon’s critical mass of employees is a positive local economic move.

When fully ready, the South Tower’s approximate 500,000 sq ft of office space alone will have a capacity for over 3,000 employees.

amazon the post south tower vancouver september 2023

Amazon’s office space in the South Tower of The Post in downtown Vancouver, September 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

The similarly sized office space in the North Tower will be occupied at a later date, with interior construction ongoing.

Construction is also occurring on the high-ceiling floor — the rooftop of the heritage podium, below the outdoor basketball court and dog park — that will directly link Amazon’s office spaces in the South and North towers.

Within the five completed office levels of the South Tower, Amazon workers can find agile workspaces, including more breakout spaces for meetings, quiet spaces for focused work, and dedicated phone rooms with equipment for both voice and video calls.

Each floor is equipped with an open kitchen with all of the amenities, appliances, and equipment that can be expected.

Amazon’s office space in the South Tower of The Post in downtown Vancouver, September 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

The interior design of Amazon office spaces worldwide is highly consistent, but each location gives a nod to the city, expressed through some architectural elements and art.

Some of the interior design of the completed office spaces at The Post to date feature Vancouver-inspired “earthy yet sophisticated” materials, including metal, wood, concrete, glass, and brick.

Subtle mid-century elements also acknowledge the complex’s re-use of the historic former Canada Post building, everything from sculpted colourful archways to showcasing the exposed concrete frames of the original exterior windows.

Amazon’s office space in the South Tower of The Post in downtown Vancouver, September 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Currently, Amazon has four permanent office locations within downtown Vancouver, including the newly built Amazon YVR14 building at 402 Dunsmuir Street, just next to The Post and TELUS Garden. The company has 4,500 office workers within 400,000 sq ft of office space at these locations — in addition to The Post.

By late 2024, another major component of The Post will open — the public-serving retail/restaurant spaces on the lower floors of the complex, spanning nearly 200,000 sq ft. It will be the single largest net gain in retail/restaurant space in downtown Vancouver in more than two decades.

This includes a flagship 50,000 sq ft Loblaws City Market, a yet-to-be-named food hall, various sit-down restaurants and quick food services, and other businesses. A city block-long atrium on the Homer Street side of the complex provides a private semi-public space for gatherings and accessing the various businesses internally.

The first Canadian location of Fogo de Chao — known for its authentic Southern Brazilian steakhouse experience — will open the public plaza fronting West Georgia Street, which is a terraced public space that has now reached completion.

Surrey-based Joseph Richard Group (JRG) is responsible for a handful of the building’s food and beverage experiences, including two spaces within the retail concourse, a large restaurant at the southeast corner of the building, and the 26,000 sq ft food hall near the northeast corner. However, there is some uncertainty over the future of JRG; in July 2023, Daily Hive Dished reported that JRG filed for creditor protection, as it owed $45.4 million to its creditors.

An upper level of The Post’s retail volume will be a 36,000 sq ft fitness gym operated by Evolve Strength, which is also expected to open at The Amazing Brentwood in Burnaby in 2024.

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