Former HSBC office in Vancouver's Chinatown to become a hotel

Previous condition of 610 Main Street tenanted to HSBC. (Google Maps)

A five-storey office building in Vancouver’s historic Chinatown district that was entirely occupied by HSBC throughout most of the structure’s history is now set to see the introduction of hotel operations as its primary use.

A new development application by W.T. Leung Architects, the same firm responsible for the original design of the 1996-built building, seeks to convert the upper three floors of 610 Main Street into a small hotel.

The building is located at the prominent southeast corner of the intersection of Keefer Street and Main Street.

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According to the architect, HSBC vacated the building about six years ago, when it relocated and downsized. Currently, most of the ground level and the entire second level are tenanted to Vancity Credit Union, and other minor tenants on the ground level include Tim Hortons and B&Y Ginseng.

610 main street vancouver chinatown hotel

Site of 610 Main Street, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Existing condition of 610 Main Street with Vancity Credit Union and Tim Hortons. (Google Maps)

As contemplated, each of the third, fourth, and fifth levels would have nine to 10 hotel guest room suites for a combined total of up to about 30 suites for visitors.

The building would see a minor vertical expansion to accommodate an additional sixth floor, which would be 2,025 sq ft — about 38% the size of the existing fifth floor.

The new sixth floor combined with a large floor area of the fifth floor would become a two-level rooftop suite. This vertical expansion pushes the building height slightly from the existing highest parapet at 77 ft to 81 ft, and the total floor area size from 28,099 sq ft to 30,146 sq ft.

Other than the additional floor, there would be minor alterations to the building’s exterior, including the installation of privacy screens for the suites fronting the existing patio on the fifth level and cuts into the brick facade fronting the laneway to create new window openings for some of the suites.

Furthermore, the application states that the “ground floor entrances and lobby will remain largely unchanged, yet will be able to function as hotel reception and bank access for the disabled.”

Artistic rendering of 610 Main Street with a one-storey addition for hotel uses. (W.T. Leung Architects)

Existing condition of 610 Main Street with Vancity Credit Union and Tim Hortons. (Google Maps)

It is noted that the property owner is pursuing new hotel uses “due to current and foreseeable very weak demand for office space.” There is a known growing shortage of hotel rooms in Vancouver, and demand for overnight accommodations in the immediate area is expected to soar starting later this decade from the opening of the new St. Paul’s Hospital campus.

If realized, this conversion would become Chinatown’s second new tourist hotel. Just half a block to the west at the mid-block site of 123 Keefer Street, construction is currently well underway on Keefer House — a brand-new 10-storey boutique hotel building with 53 guest rooms, a ground-level retail/restaurant space, an indoor amenity space on the second level, and an outdoor amenity space for guests on the building’s rooftop.

Immediately to the east of 610 Main Street, the Keefer Rooms Building SRO at 222 Keefer Street, best known for being the previous longtime home of Gain Wah Restaurant, is currently in the process of seeing repairs to its 2022 fire damage. Last year, BC Housing provided $12 million to acquire and renovate the building, which will have 48 SRO units upon reopening in 2025.

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