Construction begins on 30-storey Marriott Moxy hotel in downtown Vancouver | Daily Hive

Construction begins on Marriott's 30-storey Moxy and Elements hotel in downtown Vancouver

2024 revised design of the hotel tower at 848-850 Seymour Street, Vancouver. (Perkins&Will/Paul Y. Construction (B.C) Ltd.)

The surface vehicle parking lot mid-block on Seymour Street, between Robson and Smithe streets, just across from the Orpheum Theatre, is now permanently closed and fenced off with signs warning of “open excavation.”

Site preparation ahead of major construction work is set to begin on the 317-foot-tall, 30-storey tower with 100 per cent hotel uses at 848-850 Seymour St.

When it opens in Summer 2028, it will be the single largest new hotel building in downtown Vancouver since the opening of Parq Vancouver in 2017.

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This new hotel will feature two mid-tier Marriott accommodations brands, including Moxy Hotels, which is a more youthful, compact, playful, and minimalist hotel concept, and Element by Westin, which caters to business travellers and extended-stay guests.

“We’re proud to collaborate with Marriott to bring this bold, dual-branded vision to life in downtown Vancouver. Moxy and Element deliver distinct experiences, but together, they form one cohesive destination. One skyline. Two hotels. Connected by Marriott,” said Gary Tso, managing director of Vancouver-based real estate investment and development firm Paul Y. Construction (B.C.) Ltd.

Duncan Chiu, the vice president of lodging development for Western Canada of Marriott International, added, “This exciting project marks an exciting milestone in Marriott’s growth across Western Canada. Pairing Moxy and Element in one urban tower reflects the evolving needs of today’s traveller — whether in town for a quick night out or an extended stay. It’s a unique blend of playful design and purposeful hospitality in the heart of the city.”

Hotel development site at 848-850 Seymour St., Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Existing condition:

848-850 Seymour Street Vancouver Marriott hotel construction may 20 2025

Parking lot at 848-850 Seymour St. in downtown Vancouver fenced off ahead of the start of excavation work for a new 30-storey hotel tower, as seen on May 20, 2025. (Kenneth Chan)

Future condition:

848-850 Seymour Street Vancouver Marriott hotel

2024 revised design of the hotel tower at 848-850 Seymour Street, Vancouver. (Perkins&Will/Paul Y. Construction (B.C.) Ltd.)

The hotel will have 390 guest rooms, with the majority being under the Moxy Hotels brand, primarily catering to short-term stays.

The base podium levels, including the ground floor, will feature the signature “Bar Moxy” lobby bar that doubles as the hotel check-in area, a lively social lounge, a restaurant, and a hidden speakeasy bar offering a late-night escape.

Higher up in the tower, there will be a mix of studios and suites under the Element by Westin brand, each featuring a kitchenette for more comfortable, longer stays.

Guests will also enjoy panoramic city views from a sky lobby lounge on the 29th floor with indoor space that includes a restaurant as well as an open-air outdoor space.

Four underground levels will contain roughly 60 vehicle parking stalls. The ground-level features a double-ended lobby area, with a main entrance fronting Seymour Street and a pick-up and drop-off entrance situated in the laneway.

The project’s rezoning was first approved by Vancouver City Council in December 2023.

The subsequent development permit application was approved in April 2024, with the development permit issued in March 2025 after all conditions of the permit were satisfied.

Two days after the development permit was issued, the project’s building permit was also approved, providing the green light to begin excavation and shoring.

2024 revised design of the hotel tower at 848-850 Seymour Street, Vancouver. (Perkins&Will/Paul Y. Construction (B.C.) Ltd.)

The project, designed by architectural firm Perkins&Will, saw some slight revisions and refinement between the rezoning and development permit application stages, including a minor decrease in floor area size of 14,000 sq. ft. to approximately 224,000 sq. ft.

“This project represents a significant contribution to Vancouver’s urban landscape — economically, culturally, and particularly in the heart of the entertainment district,” said Jacqueline Ho, executive vice president of development at Paul Y. Construction (B.C) Ltd.

This property boasts a “vibrant street-level activation, and a strong focus on guest experience,” adding that “it stands as a bold statement of our commitment to shaping the next generation of hospitality in the city,” continued Ho.

Among the current wave of major hotels approved, planned, and/or proposed within downtown Vancouver, this is the first project to reach the construction phase. While there are numerous new hotels in the pipeline, it is possible that many of these projects will not proceed due to challenging construction and operating costs.

The municipal government is looking to catalyze more new hotels through measures such as added density and other incentives. Destination Vancouver estimates there is a need for 20,000 additional hotel rooms across Metro Vancouver over the coming decades, including 10,000 within the city of Vancouver, where the demand is highest. Without new hotel room supply, this could be highly detrimental to tourism and the overall local economy.

Vancouver’s hotel room shortage is already reflected by its elevated hotel room rates, now the highest among Canada’s major urban centres. The hotel room shortage is expected to become acute later this decade.

About three blocks to the southeast, there is also a proposal to build a 30-storey, mixed-use hotel and rental housing tower for the northeast corner of the intersection of Smithe Street and Cambie Street on the fringes of Yaletown, with the separate ownership and development group recently reaching an agreement with Marriott to operate the hotel under the Autograph Collection Hotel brand.

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