New office building with heritage preservation for downtown Vancouver | Daily Hive

Artistic rendering of 852 Seymour Street, Vancouver. (Arno Matis Architecture/Bene Group)

A two-storey building located mid-block on Seymour Street between Robson and Smithe streets is being eyed for formal heritage designation as part of its incorporation into a modest infill office development.

Local developer Bene Group and design firm Arno Matis Architecture have submitted a development permit application for 852 Seymour Street, just across from the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Vancouver.

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The project retains and restores the existing 1926-built structure, which was originally built as the Great War Veterans’ Association Hall for Canada’s largest veteran organization, before becoming Playpen Central, a former LGBTQ nightlife establishment. The building is deemed to be an excellent example of refined Classical interwar architecture.

Site of 852 Seymour Street, Vancouver. (Arno Matis Architecture/Bene Group)

852 Seymour Street Vancouver Great War Veterans Association Hall Playpen

Site of 852 Seymour Street, Vancouver. (Arno Matis Architecture/Bene Group)

Site of 852 Seymour Street, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

To achieve the redevelopment, an adjacent 1924-built, one-storey commercial building and the surface vehicle parking fronting the laneway will be demolished for part of the new structure.

The resulting new seven-storey building effectively provides a four-storey vertical expansion over the heritage building. The contemporary design addition provides contrast with the retained heritage component.

Artistic rendering of 852 Seymour Street, Vancouver. (Arno Matis Architecture/Bene Group)

There will be 31,500 sq ft of office space and 3,500 sq ft of ground-level retail space for a total floor area of over 41,200 sq ft. The office space can hold up to about 150 employees.

Workers will have access to various landscaped amenity spaces on patios, including a large rooftop patio on the lower rooftop of the three-storey podium.

Artistic rendering of 852 Seymour Street, Vancouver. (Arno Matis Architecture/Bene Group)

Even with the development site’s narrow street frontage of just 62.5 ft, the project proponents will still provide some vehicle parking, accomplished by using a car elevator to access four underground levels. A total of 31 vehicle parking stalls and 18 secured bike parking spaces will be provided.

A much larger redevelopment is eyed for the major mid-block surface parking lot fronting both Seymour and Richards streets, located immediately adjacent to the Great War Veterans’ Association Hall. A different developer and ownership group are looking to build a mixed-use development with hotel uses, but they have yet to submit a formal application.

Artistic rendering of 852 Seymour Street, Vancouver. (Arno Matis Architecture/Bene Group)

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