First Nation could buy Central 1 office building next to Senakw | Daily Hive

First Nation could buy Central 1 Credit Union office building next to Senakw

Central 1 Credit Union office building at 1441 Creekside Drive, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

For nearly half a century, a nine-storey red brick office building at the southern end of the Burrard Street Bridge in Vancouver has stood as a defining landmark — impossible to miss for anyone crossing the bridge.

But as the towering structures of the new Senakw rental housing development rise around it, the once-prominent building is increasingly being dwarfed by its surroundings.

This building at 1441 Creekside Dr. is best known for being the longtime headquarters office of Central 1 Credit Union.

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And as it turns out, Nch’ḵaý Development Corporation — the for-profit economic development company wholly owned by the Squamish Nation — is potentially interested in acquiring the property.

The office building, constructed in 1978, has 123,000 sq. ft. of office space, and it sits on a 1.2-acre plot of land.

central 1 credit union 1441 creekside drive vancouver

Central 1 Credit Union office building at 1441 Creekside Drive, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Upon inquiry, Nch’ḵaý told Daily Hive Urbanized on Thursday evening that a conditional agreement is in place to explore the purchase of the building. However, no final deal has been reached, and the terms of the agreement remain confidential.

“The Central 1 site sits right next to our Sen̓áḵw lands. Whenever land beside our lands comes up for sale, the Nation has a responsibility to look into it,” reads the statement.

“Before any purchase is completed, our teams will do careful, confidential research to make sure the deal makes sense for the Nation. If this purchase — or any other — moves forward, we intend to share information openly with the [Nation’s] community as soon as possible before anything is finalized.”

senakw squamish nation vancouver september 2022

The 10-storey Central 1 Credit Union office building dwarfed by the new Senakw towers; September 2022 artistic rendering of the refined detailed design of Senakw: perspective looking south from the North False Creek seawall. (Revery Architecture/Kasian/Tandem Studios/Squamish Nation)

September 2022 artistic rendering of the refined detailed design of Senakw: perspective looking northwest from Granville Street near West 4th Avenue. (Revery Architecture/Kasian/Tandem Studios/Squamish Nation)

If the First Nation proceeds with the purchase, it would expand their known land holdings in the immediate area from the existing 10.5-acre reserve — where the Senakw development is underway — to approximately 11.7 acres, with the additional property held under a separate freehold title.

According to BC Assessment, as of July 2024, the property holds an assessed value of $54.15 million — comprising $36.02 million for the land and $18.13 million for the building. This marks a significant decline from July 2023, when the structure alone was valued at $27.43 million, with the land value remaining unchanged, for a total of $63.46 million. The current valuation also reflects a continued downward trend from the peak assessed value of $74.6 million in July 2021.

Daily Hive Urbanized also reached out to Central 1 for comment, but did not hear back in time for publication.

The Central 1 building is located immediately adjacent to Senakw’s development parcels for the second and third phases of the project. More specifically, the office building is right next to Senakw’s future tallest towers, reaching 52 storeys and 58 storeys.

senakw squamish nation rental housing first phase construction march 17 2025

Construction progress on the first phase of Senakw, as of March 17, 2025. (Kenneth Chan)

Construction progress on the first phase of Senakw, as of February 2025. (Westbank)

Currently, construction is in an advanced stage of progress on Senakw’s first phase on the west side of the bridge (the parcel adjacent to Vanier Park in Kitsilano), with the 26-storey Tower 1, containing 333 market rental homes and 67 affordable rental homes, reaching completion by late 2025 or early 2026. The bulk of the first phase — 31-storey Tower 2 and 39-storey Tower 3, generating another 960 market rental homes and 240 affordable rental homes — will be ready by late 2026.

Each of the four phases of Senakw will include about 1,500 rental homes — with similar proportions of market rental units and affordable rental units — for a total of over 6,000 rental homes up to over 9,000 residents.

The full excavation process for the parcel of the second phase restarted in April 2025. According to the Senakw services agreement with the City of Vancouver, phase two will be built by 2027/2028, phase three by 2029/2030, and phase four by 2032/2033.

Construction progress on the first phase of Senakw, as of February 2025. (Westbank)

Senakw master plan. (Revery Architecture/Kasian/Tandem Studios/Squamish Nation)

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