New condo and hotel tower recreates New Westminster heritage theatre

New 30-storey condo and hotel tower recreates New Westminster's heritage Columbia Theatre

Preliminary concept for the Columbia Theatre redevelopment at 530 Columbia Street, New Westminster. (Areva Living)

The historic Columbia Theatre, also known as the Rick Bronson’s House of Comedy, in downtown New Westminster could find new and different life through a major mixed-use development.

The municipal government is in the early stages of considering an application by local developer Areva Living to incorporate an extensive heritage retention component as part of the construction of a new 30-storey tower with hotel and strata market condominium uses.

The hotel would be operated by Marriott International, which has expressed specific interest in operating it under their Tribute Portfolio brand. This collection features independent boutique hotels that offer accommodation experiences themed around unique sites and heritage properties.

You might also like:

The mid-block theatre property is located at 530 Columbia Street — near the riverfront and the southeast corner of the intersection of 6th Street and Columbia Street, and just a two-minute walk from SkyTrain Columbia Station’s Boucher Centre entrance.

The property has both Columbia Street and Front Street frontages, and is situated immediately west of the former Army & Navy department store building, which is also likely to see a redevelopment at some point in the future.

columbia theatre 530 columbia street new westminster

Site of Columbia Theatre (The Columbia) at 530 Columbia Street, New Westminster, in relation to the walking distance to the Boucher Centre entrance into SkyTrain Columbia Station. (Google Maps)

Site of Columbia Theatre at 530 Columbia Street, New Westminster. (Google Maps)

Columbia Theatre was built in 1925 during a building boom of movie theatres, and operated under the Famous Players chain of movie theatres for six decades until 1987. Owned by the City of New Westminster for about a decade, it was sold to Lafflines Comedy Club in 2011. Lafflines, after performing some renovations, decided to sell the theatre a few years later.

In 2019, the municipal government considered the first preliminary application concept calling for a 22-storey hotel and condominium tower that fully retained and restored the heritage theatre.

The revised 2024 concept is different for not only the project’s size, now 30 storeys, but also how it fulfills the retainment of the heritage theatre.

Instead of retaining the existing structure, the proponent would carefully remove and salvage the interior design elements — including the atmospheric ceiling and murals — for reuse in the project, which otherwise demolishes the existing structure, except for the Columbia Street facade. Moreover, the new-build structure would replicate the interior design of the heritage theatre through the retention, rehabilitation, restoration, and/or recreation of the original doors, windows, balconies, and other heritage design features.

Currently, the existing theatre seats 300 people on the main level, with additional capacity on an upper level. This is about one-third of its previous historic size.

Columbia Theatre at 530 Columbia Street, New Westminster. (Maksym Zlaman)

Columbia Theatre at 530 Columbia Street, New Westminster. (Andrew Lim)

The new-build theatre within the base of the tower would feature an auditorium of approximately 2,900 sq ft, accommodating about 300 people. There would be a theatre lobby and a coffee bar as well.

Operated by the Marriott hotel as a multi-purpose venue, the auditorium would be made available to community and non-profit groups for up to 100 hours per year at a discounted rental rate.

According to the municipal government, the Columbia Theatre is one of the only surviving atmospheric-style theatres in British Columbia and one of only a few remaining in Canada.

“The auditorium retains its cast plaster decorative features and ceiling, with the original murals now partly restored. The theatre is located on the south side of Columbia Street, the main commercial street in New Westminster’s historic downtown core,” reads the City’s heritage assessment in 2001, when the municipal government acquired the property.

“The eclectic ornamentation of the exterior reflects the exoticism of the popular Period Revival styles, promoted by Hollywood as appropriate for neighbourhood movie palaces. These romantic themes were carried into the interior. Murals of romantic Mediterranean scenery, lanterns, plaster screens, wrought iron trellis work covered with climbing roses and twinkling stars in a midnight twilight sky gave the patrons the illusion of being seated in an exotic walled garden.”

The theatre was designed by Fred Laughton Townley and Robert Michael Matheson, who were best known for their design of Vancouver City Hall.

Additionally, the redevelopment would fully retain and restore the Columbia Theatre’s heritage facade on Columbia Street, including the marquee and vertical sign.

columbia theatre 530 columbia street new westminster marriott hotel

Vintage photo of Columbia Theatre. (City of New Westminster)

Previous preliminary concept for the Columbia Theatre redevelopment at 530 Columbia Street, New Westminster. (Areva Living)

As for the project’s other uses, in addition to the main theatre entrance, the ground level fronting Columbia Street would also feature separate main entrances for the residences, hotel, and restaurant. The restaurant would be located on the third floor of the building, on the rooftop of the heritage base podium. There would also be retail unit on the south side of the building, fronting Front Street.

The combined theatre, lobby lounge, restaurant, and retail spaces would span 10,900 sq ft of building floor area.

Hotel uses would be situated between levels three and 10, providing 95 guest rooms across over 41,000 sq ft of hotel space.

Within the remaining upper levels, there would be 216 strata market condominium homes, with the vast majority being smaller units; 198 units or 92% of the total number of homes would be studio or one-bedroom units, with the remaining 18 units being two-bedroom homes.

The limited number of family-sized homes (defined as units with at least two bedrooms) is attributed to the project’s constraints on the number of vehicle parking stalls, resulting from the small and narrow theatre land area.

Preliminary concept for the Columbia Theatre redevelopment at 530 Columbia Street, New Westminster. (Areva Living)

The 8,700 sq ft lot would have a high-ceiling underground parking level accessible only by car elevators. Within a mechanical parking system that stacks cars three high on racks, there would be a total of 57 vehicle parking stalls for all building uses, including 39 stalls for hotel, theatre, restaurant, and retail uses, and 18 stalls to provide each of the 18 two-bedroom condominium units with one stall.

Under the provincial government’s new transit-oriented development legislation, there are no minimum vehicle parking requirements for new residential uses within designated Transit-Oriented Areas (TOA). The theatre site is within Columbia Station’s TOA. This provides developers with design flexibility.

According to City staff, the developer intends to market the vast majority of these homes to smaller households, including young professionals, first-time homebuyers, and downsizers. The developer is concerned about the marketability of additional family-sized units without provided parking.

Additionally, such a strata market condominium project would typically be required to provide inclusionary housing by setting aside 20% of the project’s units for affordable housing. However, City staff are recommending that the proponent be granted an exception to the inclusionary housing requirements given the exceptional public benefits and associated high costs of the heritage theatre component, as well as the continued community uses of the auditorium, and the incorporation of a sizeable hotel.

“Staff consider this request to be reasonable, taking into account the package of public benefits provided as part of this proposal, and subject to a pro forma review to ensure the benefits offered are commensurate with the increase in residential density,” state City staff.

“The proposed revitalization of the auditorium would maintain the cultural use of the site, and would support the cultural heritage value of the theatre. Retention of an auditorium use would additionally support the building in its historic role as an economic and cultural hub on Columbia Street and within downtown.”

Preliminary concept for the Columbia Theatre redevelopment at 530 Columbia Street, New Westminster. (Areva Living)

There is a growing need for more hotel rooms in the region. According to a 2023 report by local tourism bureau Destination Vancouver, Metro Vancouver is facing a shortage of 20,000 hotel rooms over the coming decades, including 10,000 within Vancouver and 10,000 in other areas of the region outside of Vancouver.

Without a meaningful increase in hotel room supply, the shortage will send hotel room rates to new heights, deter tourism, and impact many tourism-dependent jobs and the region’s ability to attract concerts, events, and festivals. The forecast of a seasonal shortage beginning in the peak season of 2026 will grow over the subsequent years.

The project’s total building floor area would reach 168,000 sq ft, establishing a floor area ratio density of a floor area that is about 19 times larger than the size of the lot.

You might also like: