Coal Harbour seawall restaurant still unbuilt, seven years after approval

Coal Harbour seawall restaurant still unbuilt, seven years after Park Board approval

2015 revised design of a two-storey restaurant building at the eastern end of Harbour Green Park, next to Vancouver Convention Centre West (left) and the January 2023 condition of the undeveloped site (right). (Vancouver Park Board)

Over seven years after Vancouver Park Board commissioners approved a contract to an established local restaurant operator to build and open a restaurant at Harbour Green Park, the site set aside for the building is still sitting vacant. In fact, construction has yet to begin.

In November 2015, the Park Board selected a joint partnership between Sequoia Company of Restaurants and McDougall Holdings to build a two-storey flagship restaurant building within a void space on the easternmost end of Harbour Green Park — wedged into the side of the Vancouver Convention Centre’s West Building, right on the Coal Harbour seawall, and immediately west of Cactus Club Cafe at Jack Poole Plaza.

You might also like:

Sequoia is well known as a longtime partner of the Park Board, as it operates two of the Park Board’s oldest in-park restaurants — Seasons In The Park at Queen Elizabeth Park, and The Teahouse in Stanley Park — as well as Cardero’s further west along the Coal Harbour seawall and The Sandbar on Granville Island.

McDougall is associated with restaurants under the Mark James Group, and owned by the same family behind Harbour Air, which operates from the seaplane terminal next to the restaurant development site.

Sequoia and McDougall’s joint venture was selected following a competitive bidding process, with their bid achieving the best overall score in the evaluation, and offering the highest rent, according to Park Board staff at the time.

Their contract stipulated an initial lease term of 10 years, with the opportunity to renew for two additional 10-year terms for a total duration of 30 years. There would be an annual basic minimum rent of $200,000 to the Park Board, along with a variable rent based on a percentage of the restaurant’s annual revenues: 4% for revenues up to $8 million, 5% between $8 million and $10 million, 6% between $10 million and $12 million, and 7% for over $12 million.

At the time of approval, the Park Board estimated the restaurant would see about $9.4 million in revenue for its first year of operations, and over the first five years the total revenue revenue gained by the Park Board would be $2.2 million — an average of about $440,000 per year over this first period. All private restaurants within Park Board property have a similar lease formula of a base rent, plus a percentage of revenues.

harbour green park restaurant vancouver convention centre

Location of the future Harbour Green Park restaurant. (Vancouver Park Board)

harbour green park restaurant vancouver convention centre sequoia

Site of the future Harbour Green Park restaurant, next to Vancouver Convention Centre West, as of January 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

2015 revised design of a two-storey restaurant building at the eastern end of Harbour Green Park, next to Vancouver Convention Centre West. (Vancouver Park Board)

The lack of progress on the restaurant project is now a matter for attention for the Park Board. On Monday night, Park Board commissioners unanimously approved a member motion calling on Park Board staff to explore new and optimized opportunities to generate new commercial revenue to fund Vancouver’s struggling parks and recreational system. This includes opening up more possibilities for lease-based restaurants.

In an interview, Scott Jensen, the chair of the Park Board with the ABC Vancouver party, told Daily Hive Urbanized he has directed Park Board general manager Donnie Rosa to look into the matter of the unbuilt restaurant and the foregone lease revenue from the lengthy delays.

“This is a significant asset for the Park Board, and I do expect that we should be able to get this online with this new approved motion, or just by the fact that it should have been done years ago,” said Jensen.

Park Board staff also told Daily Hive Urbanized a development permit application to the municipal government has yet to be submitted by Sequoia and McDougall. This is the next step for the project.

“The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, in collaboration with City Building staff, has been, and will continue to support the Sequoia Company and McDougall Holdings in their work on the Harbour Green Restaurant project,” reads a statement.

In a released statement to Daily Hive Urbanized, Sequoia’s owner says his company fully intends to proceed with its Harbour Green Park restaurant, but provided no potential timeline.

“We’re looking forward to breaking ground on this project and adding a new member to our Sequoia Family of restaurants here in Vancouver,” said Brent Davies of Sequoia Company of Restaurants.

“The pandemic forced many businesses in our industry to hit pause, but we’re excited to be moving forward with this project.”

Site of the future Harbour Green Park restaurant, next to Vancouver Convention Centre West, as of January 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

harbour green park restaurant vancouver convention centre 7

Site of the future Harbour Green Park restaurant, next to Vancouver Convention Centre West. (Google Maps)

2015 revised design of a two-storey restaurant building at the eastern end of Harbour Green Park, next to Vancouver Convention Centre West. (Vancouver Park Board)

The restaurant at this Park Board site has been planned since the mid-2000s, when the convention centre expansion was being designed.

In 2007, Park Board commissioners approved an architectural design commissioned by Park Board staff for a three-storey restaurant building. The following year, the municipal government approved Park Board staff’s development permit application for their design, which would then be used as a template design for the successful operator to follow in their construction. There was strong support for the restaurant design at the time.

The Park Board conducted a bidding process in 2009, but decided to put the project on hold after it did not receive favourable bids.

In 2015, the Park Board made a second attempt to fulfill the Harbour Green Park restaurant, with the bidding process culminating with the selection of Sequoia and McDougall. As part of the contract, the Park Board permitted the joint venture to make significant revisions to the restaurant design, including its downsizing to a two-storey building instead of a larger restaurant spanning three storeys, with the rooftop patio of 60 seats completely eliminated.

But with the change of design, as noted in the contract, the joint venture would have to submit a new development permit application for approval from the municipal government. A new round of “significant” public consultation would also have to be undertaken.

The agreement stipulates this will be an upscale restaurant: “A first-class restaurant in this unique and high-profile location.”

The last major private restaurants to be added to Park Board property are Cactus Club Cafe at English Bay Beach and Tap & Barrel at Creekside Community Centre in the Olympic Village, which both opened in 2012 — within comparatively shorter timeframes following their contract approval. For example, the Park Board approved Cactus Club English Bay in March 2010, and the restaurant reached completion and opened in March 2012.

harbour green park restaurant original design 2007

Artistic rendering of the original 2007-approved design of a three-storey restaurant at Harbour Green Park. (Acton Ostry Archtiects/Vancouver Park Board)

You might also like: