Vancouver City Council approves 400-room hotel with "Skyroom" rooftop

Vancouver City Council approves 400-room hotel tower with "Skyroom" rooftop

Hotel concept for 848 Seymour Street, Vancouver. (Perkins & Will Architects/Forme Development/Paul Y. Construction)

One of the last remaining surface vehicle parking lots in the core of the downtown Vancouver peninsula is set to be redeveloped.

During Vancouver City Council’s final public hearing of 2023 on Thursday, the rezoning application for 848 Seymour Street to build a 321-ft-tall, 30-storey tower with 100% hotel uses was unanimously approved.

This a mid-block site between Robson and Smithe streets, situated immediately east of the Orpheum Theatre.

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No hotel chain brand and operator has been associated with the project at this still early stage, but it is spearheaded and owned by Paul Y. Construction (B.C.) Ltd., which is an asset of the Tso family of Hong Kong. They are known for building major landmark office buildings, hotels, condominiums, civic facilities, and public infrastructure in Hong Kong and Singapore. The project’s architectural design firm is the Vancouver office of Perkins&Will.

Hotel development site at 848 Seymour Street, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Hotel development site at 848 Seymour Street, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

There will be 393 hotel guest rooms, including 261 short-term stay rooms in the bottom half of the tower, and 132 long-term stay rooms in the upper half of the tower.

The first three floors are dedicated to the lobby, restaurant, bar, lounge, and amenity spaces, including a unique three-storey atrium with sliding glass walls that open to the outdoors. Major hotel entrances will be established from both Seymour Street and the activated laneway. The passenger drop-off area will be located at the laneway entrance, similar to Paradox Hotel.

The two uppermost floors of the tower will be dedicated to hotel guest amenities and meeting spaces, with the entire rooftop level called the “Skyroom,” which includes an expansive outdoor patio.

“Land prices are expensive so there is a trend of smaller [hotel] rooms, just like smaller residences, but the emphasis [of this project] is put on public spaces,” commented Vancouver city councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung during the public meeting, adding that “it’s going to be a great addition.”

Hotel concept for 848 Seymour Street, Vancouver. (Perkins&Will/Forme Development/Paul Y. Construction)

Hotel concept for 848 Seymour Street, Vancouver. (Perkins&Will/Forme Development/Paul Y. Construction)

Kirby-Yung says this is a welcome addition towards addressing the growing shortage of tourism-supporting hotel rooms, based on Destination Vancouver’s study earlier this year that found that Metro Vancouver needs 20,000 additional hotel rooms over the coming decades, including 10,000 within the city. This shortage is expected to become regularly acute for the peak season starting in 2026, which will be reflected in the continued escalation in hotel room rates.

“Similar to the shortage of rental units, the rates do not get cheaper. In fact, the hotel rooms get more expensive, and that makes it challenging for a variety of people to be able to visit our city. It’s also a lot of untapped economic opportunity, and I often say that tourism is the sector that is the unsung hero,” she said.

Diagram of the future hotel at 848 Seymour Street, Vancouver. (Perkins&Will/Forme Development/Paul Y. Construction)

Hotel concept for 848 Seymour Street, Vancouver. (Perkins&Will/Forme Development/Paul Y. Construction)

The building will contain 238,000 sq ft of total floor area, establishing a floor area ratio density of a floor area that is 17.7 times larger than the size of the 13,500 sq ft lot. Four underground levels will contain 59 vehicle parking stalls.

In exchange for rezoning approval, the project will provide $2.5 million in cash community amenity contributions (CACs), $6.8 million in development cost levies, and a $472,000 public art contribution.

In early 2024, City staff are expected to provide City Council with a report on potential policies to encourage new hotels and hotel room supply.

Over the past two years, there have been a handful of major new hotel tower proposals for downtown Vancouver, where the demand is greatest, but based on Destination Vancouver’s forecast, far more are needed to meet demand over the short-, medium-, and long-term.

Hotel concept for 848 Seymour Street, Vancouver. (Perkins&Will/Forme Development/Paul Y. Construction)

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