Senakw's first rental housing towers begin to take shape

Construction progress on the first phase of Senakw, as of July 22, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

The initial towers of Squamish Nation’s landmark Senakw rental housing complex are now impossible to miss at the south end of Vancouver’s Burrard Street Bridge.

Soon, their presence will also command attention in the Vancouver skyline.

Construction on all three towers of the first phase of the massive project has now progressed to a height that is well above the elevation of the bridge deck.

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These are the three towers rising on the west side of the bridge next to Vanier Park within Kitsilano. This is also the only phase on the west side of the bridge.

Construction on the first phase of Senakw first began in September 2022, when Prime Minister Trudeau announced $1.4 billion in low-interest repayable construction financing to cover the costs of building Senakw’s first two phases or half of the entire project.

senakw phase 1 construction july 22 2024

Construction progress on the first phase of Senakw, as of July 22, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

The tallest of these first phase towers will be Tower 3, which is the northernmost tower closest to the water, reaching a height of 370 ft with 39 storeys. So far, construction on Tower 3 has reached the 17th-floor concrete slab pour.

The first phase’s middle building, Tower 2, has now progressed to the ninth floor towards the ultimate height of 297 ft with 31 storeys.

Tower 1, the southernmost building of the first phase, has now reached the fifth level in its ascent to 291 ft with 26 storeys.

Construction on Tower 3 has also progressed to the installation of the building’s architectural-design-defining glass facade and staggered pattern of round-shaped balconies within the base levels. Revery Architecture is behind the design of Senakw.

senakw phase 1 squamish nation vancouver construction july 19 2024

Construction progress on the first phase of Senakw, as of July 22, 2024. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

According to a new construction notice, by the end of August 2024, the slab should reach the 20th level for Tower 3, the 12th level for Tower 2, and the seventh level for Tower 5. Work on the interior finishings on Tower 3 will also begin in August 2024.

All three towers of the first phase are expected to reach completion in 2025/2026, generating a combined total of about 1,408 secured purpose-built rental homes across a floor area of one million sq ft.

In addition to the market and below-market rental housing uses, the first phase entails over 34,000 sq ft of commercial retail/restaurant space. The southernmost end of the first phase parcel fronting Chestnut Street will be dedicated to Creative Energy’s district energy plant, contained within a 25,000 sq ft underground space. The plant will recover heat from Metro Vancouver Regional District’s trunk sewer crossing through the area.

Site plan of Senakw. (Revery Architecture/Westbank/Squamish Nation)

senakw squamish nation vancouver september 2022

September 2022 artistic rendering of the refined detailed design of Senakw: new public spaces between the towers. (Revery Architecture/Kasian/Tandem Studios/Squamish Nation)

Site preparation works for the second phase on the easternmost parcel of the First Nation’s reserve began earlier this year, with excavation expected to begin soon.

The second phase entails four buildings, each growing in height from east to west. This includes the 157-ft-tall, 12-storey building of Tower 4 with 45,000 sq ft of office space, the 218-ft-tall, 21-storey Tower 5 with 291 rental homes, the 291-ft-tall, 29-storey Tower 6 with 449 rental homes, and the 504-ft-tall, 52-storey Tower 7 with 830 rental homes.

In addition to the standalone office building, the second phase will have nearly 15,000 sq ft of ground-level retail/restaurant uses. The entire floor area of the second phase will reach just over one million sq ft containing about 1,570 rental homes, with completion targeted for 2027/2028.

The third phase, located at the centre of the reserve, entails the 433-ft-tall, 45-storey Tower 8 with 660 rental homes and the 560-ft-tall, 58-storey Tower 9 with 937 rental homes. Tower 9 will not only be the tallest building at Senakw but also the tallest building within Vancouver outside of downtown Vancouver, exceeding the height of Oakridge Park’s 518-ft-tall, 52-storey Tower 5 with rental housing.

Altogether, the third phase entails 1.12 million sq ft of floor area, containing about 1,597 rental homes and 46,000 sq ft of commercial retail/restaurant space.

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 southeast from Sunset Beach. (Revery Architecture/Kasian/Tandem Studios/Squamish Nation)

Site plan of the third and fourth phases of Senakw. (Revery Architecture/Kasian/Tandem Studios/Squamish Nation)

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

The fourth phase is a northernmost parcel of the site, closest to the water. It will reach completion by 2032/2033. This includes the 504-ft-tall, 52-storey Tower 10 with 739 rental homes and 477-ft-tall, 48-storey Tower 11 with 763 rental homes. The entire fourth phase, reaching completion in 2032/2033 as Senakw’s final phase, will contain 1,502 rental homes and nearly 11,000 sq ft of commercial retail/restaurant space, all within a floor area of about 830,000 sq ft.

All four phases combined will generate 3.997 million sq ft of total building floor area, including approximately 6,077 rental homes (over 4,800 market rental homes and about 1,200 below-market rental homes), about 106,000 sq ft of commercial retail/restaurant uses, and about 45,000 sq ft of office space. It is estimated up to 9,000 residents could call Senakw home within the First Nation’s 11-acre reserve.

Each of the four phases delivers roughly 1,500 rental homes, including approximately 1,200 market rental homes and about 300 below-market rental homes.

Squamish Nation has indicated they will adopt the same tenant protections of the provincial government’s British Columbia Residential Tenancy Act (BCRTA) for Senakw and all other future on-reserve housing developments. The First Nation has a majority stake in the project, while Westbank and OPSEU Pension Trust own the remaining 50%.

Upon full completion, Senakw will offer acres of new publicly accessible spaces, including new sports and leisure public amenities within the spaces underneath the bridge, as well as major improvements on the south end of the bridge deck for a public transit bus hub, and new and improved active transportation links within and near the area.

Artistic rendering of Senakw and the Burrard Street Bridge’s new bus station. (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)

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