Granville Island's first major retail and restaurant redevelopment near completion

Parkade turned into shops and restaurants: Granville Island's first major redevelopment approaching completion

Artistic rendering of the redeveloped Chain & Forge building at Granville Island. (CMHC Granville Island)

The reimagined “Chain & Forge” building at Granville Island is hard to miss.

It is at a prime location directly visible from Granville Island’s Anderson Street entrance, with the building positioned directly under the Granville Street Bridge and just kitty-corner to the public market.

According to Thomas Lancaster, the General Manager of Granville Island, this is the first major redevelopment in decades pursued by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) entity that owns and operates Granville Island.

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Prior to the pandemic, most of this building was used as an indoor vehicle public parkade, and its adjacent outdoor space fronting Anderson Street was used for additional parking.

Only a small portion of the building at the northwest corner, which was previously the home of Edible Canada for 15 years until the pandemic hit, was used for commercial purposes. In 2021, this space was replaced by the Alimentaria Mexicana restaurant.

Previous condition:

Previous condition of the Chain & Forge building at Granville Island. (Google Maps)

October 2023 construction progress:

chain and forge granville island construction october 30 2023

Construction progress on the new Chain & Forge building at Granville Island, as of October 30, 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Future condition:

Artistic rendering of the redeveloped Chain & Forge building at Granville Island. (CMHC Granville Island)

The building spans a total floor area of about 17,000 sq ft, with roughly 9,000 sq ft available for retail and restaurant uses — space for up to seven new additional businesses joining the existing flagship Mexican cantina.

Construction on the redevelopment, which reuses the shell of the previous heritage structure, is expected to reach completion by early 2024. But it will take some more time after the building’s completion for businesses to outfit the spaces for their specific purposes.

Lancaster told Daily Hive Urbanized they have received “significant interest and many applications” to lease the space, but as negotiations are still in progress, they cannot disclose further details. Like other businesses at Granville Island, the retail and restaurant offerings must be unique to the island.

The rent formula begins with a basic annual rent of $75 per rentable sq ft and a percentage rent of 8% of the gross revenue of the business. There is also additional rent of $60.95 per rentable sq ft per year inclusive of water, waste removal, and common area maintenance. The units range between 727 sq ft to 4,550 sq ft.

Leasable space within the new Chain and Forge building at Granville Island. (CMHC Granville Island)

Construction progress on the new Chain & Forge building at Granville Island, as of October 30, 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Previous condition:

Previous condition of the Chain & Forge building at Granville Island. (Google Maps)

Future condition:

Artistic rendering of the redeveloped Chain & Forge building at Granville Island. (CMHC Granville Island)

The previous outdoor parking lot immediately to the south of the building will become a large public plaza, with the space featuring patio tables and activated by events.

“We want this to be a go-to meeting place for the public,” Lancaster told Daily Hive Urbanized.

In addition to the new retail and restaurant spaces, the building will feature a north-south covered outdoor public walkway connecting Johnston Street and the new public plaza. This reuses the previous vehicle entrance into the building’s former indoor parkade uses.

Previous condition:

Previous condition of the Chain & Forge building at Granville Island. (Google Maps)

Future condition:

Artistic rendering of the redeveloped Chain & Forge building at Granville Island. (CMHC Granville Island)

Explaining the building’s name, Lancaster says the building was previously a chain factory during Granville Island’s industrial uses before CMHC’s 1970s transformation of the island into a unique arts and cultural district.

The building’s new life is a design partnership between Hotson Architecture and the Office of Mcfarlane Biggar Architects & Designers.

The new and improved building uses to create the Chain & Forge building were identified as a priority project in the 2017-enacted Granville Island 2040 plan of greatly improving the island as a destination for both residents and tourists, including repurposing buildings and parking lots for more active uses.

Previous condition:

Previous condition of the Chain & Forge building at Granville Island. (Google Maps)

October 2023 construction progress:

Construction progress on the new Chain & Forge building at Granville Island, as of October 30, 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Future condition:

Artistic rendering of the redeveloped Chain & Forge building at Granville Island. (CMHC Granville Island)

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