131-year-old Gastown office building to see new hotel uses

Existing condition of Commercial Block at 211 Columbia Street, Vancouver. (Corbel Commercial Real Estate Services)

New hotel uses are planned for a large portion of a heritage building of significance in the Gastown district of downtown Vancouver.

A new development application by RH Architects calls for a change of use at the three-storey building of 211 Columbia Street, located at the southwest corner of the intersection of Powell Street and Columbia Street — just one city block east of Maple Tree Square and the eastern end of Water Street.

Nearly 11,600 sq ft of hotel uses, replacing offices, will be introduced, including 9,550 sq ft on the second level and 2,011 sq ft on the third level of the northern end of the building. No changes are planned for the ground and basement levels.

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There will be up to 19 hotel rooms for both short-term and long-term rental uses, with the property being a digital hotel featuring self/online check-in services.

Records show the building changed ownership in April 2023 in a deal worth $11.5 million. As of July 2023, the property carries an assessed value of $10.9 million, with $9.9 million coming from the land and $1 million from the structure, according to BC Assessment.

commercial block gastown 211 columbia street vancouver

Location of Commercial Block at 211 Columbia Street, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Existing condition of Commercial Block at 211 Columbia Street, Vancouver. (Corbel Commercial Real Estate Services)

The building is categorized as a Class C heritage building under the City of Vancouver’s Heritage Register.

According to Parks Canada’s Canada’s Historic Places register, 211 Columbia Street was originally named the “Commercial Block”.

The first phase of the building is a two-storey brick-and-stone commercial structure on the south side of the property (fronting the laneway), built in 1893 — just seven years after the City of Vancouver was incorporated and six years after the completion of the Transcontinental Railway to Vancouver. It was designed by architect William Blackmore, known for many of Vancouver’s early commercial buildings, houses, churches, and public structures.

The three-storey second phase of the Commercial Block building, located on the north side of the property (fronting Powell Street), was constructed sometime between 1905 and 1908.

Existing condition of Commercial Block at 211 Columbia Street, Vancouver. (Corbel Commercial Real Estate Services)

The overall two-phased building carries a triangular shape as it follows the angle of the railway, which was located immediately to the west side the building.

The diagonal former railway right-of-way cutting through the city block is now used for surface vehicle parking.

This former right-of-way is still clearly visible between this Gastown property and the intersection of Abbott Street and Keefer Place. Additionally, the galleria of the International Village indoor shopping mall aligns with the former railway’s diagonal route.

The 1893-built two-storey first phase (left) and the 1905/1908 three-storey second phase (right) of Commercial Block at 211 Columbia Street, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

The second level link between 55 East Cordova Street (right) and 211 Columbia Street (left) in Vancouver. (Google Maps)

The Commercial Block building’s original two-storey north phase featured nine loading bays that directly faced the railway, and it also featured Vancouver’s first electric elevators.

“The facade of nine bays, characterized by such features as the projecting brick-and-stone pilasters, is intended to appear as a great colonnade. The addition to the north provides a good example of a typical later commercial block. Much simpler and plainer, it responds to the design aesthetic of its day,” reads Park Canada’s register.

The building’s original tenants were primarily wholesale businesses requiring office and warehouse space for their distribution operations.

On a large lot immediately to the south, following years of significant economic and population growth in Vancouver due to the railway and port, a 150,000 sq ft, six-storey warehouse building was built at 55 East Cordova Street in 1909. Then in the 1930s, the Commodore Block and 55 East Cordova Street buildings were connected on the second level by an overhead walkway, and this connection remains in place to this day.

Archival photos reveal that the ground level of the Commercial Block facing Columbia Street once hosted businesses like Davis Antiques in 1973. Even at least five years earlier, in 1968, the building was still occupied by Westward Distributors.

But at some point later, the Commercial Block’s storefront doorways and windows along Columbia Street were completely secured with bars, which is the property’s current condition.

1973 condition of Commercial Block at 211 Columbia Street, Vancouver. (City of Vancouver Archives)

1968 condition of Commercial Block at 211 Columbia Street, Vancouver. (City of Vancouver Archives)

Attachment Details55-east-cordova-street-211-columbia-street-vancouver.

The existing second level link between 55 East Cordova Street (left) and 211 Columbia Street (right) in Vancouver. (Google Maps)

This change in tenancy from Westward Distributors to the establishment of active retail frontage on the ground level with businesses such as Davis Antiques coincided with Gastown’s revitalization in the late 1960s and 1970s, when new businesses were actively encouraged to establish themselves in the area. For example, the opening of Canada’s first Old Spaghetti Factory restaurant location nearby in Gastown in 1970, where it remains today, was a direct result of these revitalization efforts.

The 1970s saw significant public space improvements in Gastown, including the installation of brick pavers, street lights, and the iconic Steam Clock — features that now define the heritage district. The Gassy Jack Statue, destroyed by protesters in 2022, was also a product of this 1970s revitalization.

In 2006, the adjacent warehouse building of 55 East Cordova Street completed a mixed-use revitalization that introduced 118 strata market condominium homes to its upper levels. It was subsequently renamed Koret Lofts.

Beginning with Blackmore’s use of some of the Commercial Block’s space for his office needs over a century ago, the building has also been home to various architectural firms, including the current location of Formosis Architecture.

Early this year, Corbel Commercial Real Estate Services indicated it had recently reached the milestone of leasing a total of about 15,000 sq ft of space in the Commercial Block, which has a gross leasable floor area of about 19,800 sq ft.

Existing office space inside Commercial Block at 211 Columbia Street, Vancouver. (Corbel Commercial Real Estate Services)

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