Landmark on Robson signals retail strip continuity with completion

Construction progress on Landmark on Robson, as of June 1, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

After more than six years of construction activity, the Landmark on Robson mixed-use complex in downtown Vancouver’s West End neighbourhood is finally complete.

Work on the site first began in March 2018 with the careful demolition of the previous 394-ft-tall, 42-storey Empire Landmark Hotel, which was built in 1973, originally as the Sheraton Landmark Hotel.

Empire Landmark Hotel closed in September 2017 in anticipation of the redevelopment. The 410,000 sq ft hotel — featuring 357 guest rooms and the Cloud 9 tower rooftop revolving restaurant and observation attraction — was progressively demolished over the course of more than a year using the Brokk system of demolition, which is a remote-controlled method that crushes a building’s concrete from the top and works its way down, floor by floor.

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Vancouver’s tallest building demolition reached ground level in Spring 2019.

After excavating the foundations and four levels of underground parking, the new building began to make its ascent above ground level in late 2020.

Previous condition:

Empire Landmark Hotel before its demolition. (Clive Hicks/Flickr)

Current condition:

landmark on robson 1400 robson street vancouver june 1 2024

Construction progress on Landmark on Robson, as of June 1, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Now standing on the former hotel site, Landmark on Robson at 1400 Robson Street entails two residential towers — 32 storeys and 34 storeys, reaching a height of up to 300 ft due to the municipal government’s protected mountain view cone policies.

The towers contain a total of 237 strata market condominium homes, which feature a unique cantilevered balcony design to maximize views. The project’s architectural design firm is Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership.

The new complex spans the length of the prominent Robson Street city block between Broughton and Nicola streets.

Both towers include a three-storey base podium with a range of significant mixed uses.

Construction progress on Landmark on Robson, as of June 1, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Primarily facing the laneway to the south, the three-storey podium contains 83 units of social housing. In an email to Daily Hive Urbanized upon inquiry, the City of Vancouver states the social housing component will be internally operated by the City’s Non-Market Housing Operations department.

The City anticipates developer Asia Standard Americas will hand over the turnkey social housing units to the municipal government on or around July 2024. Tenants will begin moving after the City has legal access to the units, and a waitlist of interested applicants is now being compiled in preparation.

Facing Robson Street to the north, the base podium’s second level will be dedicated to roughly 30,000 sq ft of office space.

Construction progress on Landmark on Robson, as of June 1, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

At ground level, about 20,000 sq ft of retail/restaurant uses will activate a 330 ft-long span of Robson Street.

The continuous retail/restaurant uses — within 10 commercial units — will greatly enhance the retail strip and encourage westward foot traffic flow, which is also aided by a generous building setback that enables a much wider pedestrian sidewalk.

Currently, commercial real estate firm Marcus & Millichap is leasing these retail/restaurant units, which range in size from about 800 sq ft to up to 2,712 sq ft, with most of these units featuring a unique mezzanine level. These units are available as of this month.

In great contrast, the previous hotel building offered highly limited active streetfront uses, with blank walls, a hotel driveway, and ground-level office frontage dominating the block’s frontage — negatively interrupting the retail strip continuity between Robson Village and Lower Robson. The redevelopment bridges this previous gap in the retail strip.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to expand upon Robson’s array of global retailers with our own unique units and tenants,” reads a joint statement by Asia Standard Americans and Marcus & Millichap to Daily Hive Urbanized upon inquiry.

“With our focus on luxury and lifestyle, we hope to welcome tenants that share our same enthusiasm and goals of creating an elevated shopping experience for homeowners and pedestrians alike. As our project comes to a close, we look forward to making our mark in Vancouver’s most iconic shopping and dining district and establishing Landmark on Robson as the ultimate gateway to splendour.”

Previous condition:

Empire Landmark Hotel at 1400 Robson Street. (Google Maps)

Current condition:

Construction progress on Landmark on Robson, as of June 1, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

As construction on Landmark on Robson comes to a close, another major hotel redevelopment project is set to begin in the immediate area.

Change is afoot on the block just to the west, as the 1986-built, six-storey Listel Hotel Vancouver at 1300 Robson Street will permanently close in November 2024 for its demolition. The Forage and The Jervis Joint restaurants within the hotel building will also close at the same time.

In 2028, a new 28-storey, mixed-use tower is expected to reach completion and open at the Listel Hotel Vancouver site, entailing a new hotel with 174 guest rooms (45 more rooms than the previous hotel), restaurants, meeting and conference spaces, and spa-like hotel amenities within the lower levels, and 126 secured purpose-built rental homes within the upper levels.

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