Two new major tech office buildings envisioned for False Creek Flats (RENDERINGS)
The next phase of the South Flatz multi-building office campus along Great Northern Way in the False Creek Flats promises to create iconic architecture.
PCI Developments and Low Tide Properties are envisioning the redevelopment of 901 Great Northern Way — a two-minute walk west of SkyTrain’s VCC-Clark Station, wedged between the QLT building and the former MEC headquarters.
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The site is currently occupied by a two-storey office and industrial building built in 1969.
Site of 901 Great Northern Way, Vancouver. (PCI Developments / Low Tide Properties / CBRE)
Site of 901 Great Northern Way, Vancouver. (Google Maps)
The proponents intend to build two buildings, with a seven-storey West Building with 119,400 sq ft of office space and the 11-storey East Building with 224,800 sq ft of office space. Both buildings are connected by a multi-storey glazed atrium featuring the extensive use of wood. Tenants will have access to a rooftop amenity deck.
The open floor plate sizes ranging from 21,400 to 51,300 sq ft are suitable for large tech companies.
Highly preliminary conceptual rendering of 901 Great Northern Way, Vancouver. (PCI Developments/Low Tide Properties/CBRE)
Highly preliminary conceptual rendering of 901 Great Northern Way, Vancouver. (PCI Developments/Low Tide Properties/CBRE)
Additionally, there will be over 10,000 sq ft of retail and restaurant space, and over 200 vehicle parking stalls.
The project is still in the early design stages; no formal application has been submitted to the municipal government, but the project is being marketed. An anchor tenant is being provided with the opportunity to be involved in the design process, allowing them to customize the building for their own needs. Adjustments could be made to create up to 400,000 sq ft of space.
Highly preliminary conceptual rendering of 901 Great Northern Way, Vancouver. (PCI Developments/Low Tide Properties/CBRE)
“This new office development is located in the creative and tech epicentre of Vancouver, next to Mount Pleasant and what has rapidly become the most sought after area outside of the Downtown Core: the False Creek Flats,” reads the marketing brochure.
“The South Flatz community is home to leading tech companies as well as creative and digital media post-secondary institutions. This pipeline of talent gives Great Northern Way a competitive advantage in a highly competitive marketplace.”
Highly preliminary conceptual rendering of 901 Great Northern Way, Vancouver. (PCI Developments/Low Tide Properties/CBRE)
Highly preliminary conceptual rendering of 901 Great Northern Way, Vancouver. (PCI Developments/Low Tide Properties/CBRE)
This is the third phase of South Flatz, which began with the 2018 completion of 565 Great Northern Way, next to Emily Carr University of Art & Design, with 160,000 sq ft over seven storeys. Its tenants include Samsung, Finning International, Spaces Co-Working, Blackbird Interactive, and Langara College’s digital arts school.
South Flatz’s second phase renovated the 2000-built QLT building at 887 Great Northern Way, which has about 164,000 sq ft of office space. Renovations on the former laboratory research building reached completion last year.
2018 construction photo on the new South Flatz office building at 565 Great Northern Way, Vancouver. (PCI Developments)
Future Nemesis Coffee location at Great Northern Way Pavilion at 565 Great Northern Way, completed in 2019. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
In a 2018 interview with Daily Hive, Tim Grant, the vice president of PCI, told Daily Hive his firm had plans to build about two million sq ft of office space over several phases through the mid-to-late 2020s. There will eventually be up to six mid-rise buildings across multiple sites along Great Northern Way.
All of these office buildings are being built in mind for larger and more established tech companies looking for spaces that provide flexibility and room to expand as their headcounts grow.
These developments align with the City of Vancouver’s False Creek Flats Plan, which calls for the creation of employment spaces supporting 22,000 jobs – in healthcare and the creative and tech industries – and homes for 3,000 residents.
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