Breka Bakery & Cafe proposes 30-storey hotel tower in Vancouver | Daily Hive

Breka Bakery & Cafe proposes 30-storey hotel tower next to Marine Drive SkyTrain station in Vancouver

Concept of 8555 Cambie St., Vancouver. (Sea to Sky Architecture/RR Planning/Breka Laurel Holdings)

A sizeable hotel project is proposed near SkyTrain’s Marine Drive Station in South Vancouver, clearly taking advantage of the development site’s proximity to both Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and Downtown Vancouver via the Canada Line, as well as the area’s concentration of retail and restaurants anchored by Marine Gateway and its proximity to the new Oakridge Park mall.

This would entail the redevelopment of 8555 Cambie St., which is located mid-block near the southernmost foot of Cambie Street and roughly a two-minute walk south of the SkyTrain station and bus exchange. Currently, the site is occupied by a two-storey building with industrial uses.

This project by developer and owner Breka Laurel Holdings — an entity of the Vancouver-based Breka Bakery & Cafe chain — and consultancy firm RR Planning calls for a 391-ft-tall (119 metres), 30-storey tower containing 100 per cent hotel uses on top of an industrial bakery.

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Over 300 hotel rooms, five entire floors of event and meeting space, and a 30th floor restaurant

The proposed tower is notable not only for its 324 hotel rooms, providing it with substantial accommodation capacity, but also for its significant conference space, with five entire floors — levels six to 10 — completely dedicated to event and meeting space.

Each of these five floors provides about 6,400 sq. ft. of event and meeting space, for a combined total of nearly 32,000 sq. ft. of such uses.

8555 Cambie Street Vancouver Breka hotel tower

Site of 8555 Cambie St., Vancouver. (Sea to Sky Architecture/RR Planning/Breka Laurel Holdings)

Existing condition:

Site of 8555 Cambie St., Vancouver. (Google Maps)

This hotel concept appears to follow local tourism bureau Destination Vancouver’s call for 20,000 additional hotel rooms across Metro Vancouver over the coming decades to address the growing hotel-room shortage and ensure the local tourism industry remains competitive, including 10,000 rooms within Vancouver. Moreover, Destination Vancouver has indicated that there is a growing need for more hotels with large conference, event, and meeting spaces, with such facilities in high demand.

“The proposed hotel use supports the resurging tourism industry, which is one of the key drivers of investment and employment growth in Vancouver,” reads the application.

“The proposed development would also support the leisure, high tech, life sciences and film sectors by providing accommodations, meeting rooms and event spaces for guests to facilitate training and knowledge sharing with other global centres, while attracting visitors who explore local businesses and enrich the city’s cultural environment.”

Additionally, the entire 30th floor is dedicated to a hotel restaurant spanning 6,555 sq. ft. Directly above, accessible from a partial 31st floor, there will be an outdoor rooftop deck serving as a hotel amenity space.

The guest-room floors and restaurant at the top of the tower will provide attractive views of the region. Guests will also have access to hotel amenities, including a fitness gym and outdoor exercise areas on the fifth level.

“8555 Cambie is designed to celebrate some of the many iconic views Vancouver is known for. Hotel rooms on the upper floors and the restaurant on Level 30 have panoramic views of the Fraser River and downtown skyline, with most windows oriented to the North and South to optimize viewpoints,” reads the application.

“The rooftop hotel amenity delivers passive space for people to enjoy views of the Fraser River and surrounding cityscapes.”

Concept of 8555 Cambie St., Vancouver. (Sea to Sky Architecture/RR Planning/Breka Laurel Holdings)

There would be two separate street-level entrances providing access to the hotel lobby on the third level, including two escalators — one travelling up and the other down — from the Cambie Street frontage. A second entrance with elevators would be located on the south side of the building and accessible from a new east-west pedestrian pathway along the southern perimeter of the property.

A new mass-production hub for Breka’s baked goods

More than 22,000 sq. ft. of industrial space across portions of the first three levels will be used for an industrial bakery to mass-produce baked goods for Breka Bakery & Cafe locations. Known for being open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the local family-owned business is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. It has grown from its first cafe location on Fraser Street in South Vancouver to nine locations as of June 2026, when it opened at King George Hub in Surrey City Centre.

Large windows at ground level along the hotel tower’s southern facade and inside the Cambie Street entrance will allow visitors to view Breka’s industrial bakery operations as they walk along the new east-west pedestrian pathway or ride the escalator to the hotel lobby.

Additionally, the hotel tower will include about 1,100 sq. ft. of retail space along the Cambie Street frontage, consisting of another Breka cafe location to help activate the street. The proponents believe the project fulfills the site’s existing designation for industrial and employment uses while optimizing its transit-oriented development potential through the addition of a major hotel, given the site’s suitability for such a use.

Concept of 8555 Cambie St., Vancouver. (Sea to Sky Architecture/RR Planning/Breka Laurel Holdings)

This proposal is being considered under the prescriptions and stipulations of the City’s Marine Landing Policy Updates, which encourage high-density, transit-oriented development on select sites near Marine Drive Station — including this particular project site — and have so far catalyzed significant high-density residential projects in the area. This hotel tower would add to the urban canyon that now frames the Canada Line guideway and station in the area.

As well, the City’s 2025-approved Hotel Development Policy — to help catalyze new hotel projects across Vancouver — identifies the area around Marine Drive Station as a strategic location for encouraging new hotel developments outside Downtown Vancouver.

Solar panels for the tower’s entire southern facade

The project’s design by Sea to Sky Architecture also incorporates extensive green features, especially solar panels along the southern facade of the entire 30-storey tower. These panels are situated on the roof portions of the sawtooth window-wall pattern on each floor of the tower, taking advantage of the optimal sunlight provided by the southern exposure.

It is anticipated that the solar panels will generate about 542,000 watts of renewable electricity for the tower.

Furthermore, the sawtooth window design on the southern facade provides shade in the summer and natural light in the winter, while also offering southern views. The building’s interior finishings could also incorporate some mass timber materials.

Concept of 8555 Cambie St., Vancouver. (Sea to Sky Architecture/RR Planning/Breka Laurel Holdings)

Four underground levels will contain 144 vehicle parking stalls. The total building floor area will reach about 224,000 sq. ft., establishing a floor area ratio density of 12.2 — meaning the floor area is more than 12 times the size of the 18,400 sq. ft. plot of land.

This site is also immediately west of PCI Developments’ proposal to build the second phase of Marine Gateway at 8530 Cambie St., entailing 255,000 sq. ft. of industrial space within the lower levels of the complex, 124,000 sq. ft. of flexible commercial and/or light-industrial space, 1,000 secured purpose-built rental homes, and a two-acre rooftop public park. There would be two towers, each reaching a height of 452 ft. (138 metres) with 43 storeys. City Council is expected to consider PCI’s application on July 28, 2026.

marine gateway phase 2 pci developments 8530 cambie street vancouver 2025

July 2025 concept of Marine Gateway Phase 2 at 8530 Cambie St., Vancouver. (Perkins&Will/PCI Developments)

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