New grocery store slated for former Toys 'R' Us on West Broadway in Vancouver | Daily Hive

A Sobeys grocery store brand will open in the former Toys 'R' Us space at 1154-1174 West Broadway in Vancouver, as seen on June 1, 2025. (Kenneth Chan)

This is a property that has already seen several long-term incarnations — once as a car dealership, then as a toy store. How long it will serve in its next role as a grocery store remains to be seen.

The former Toys ‘R’ Us on West Broadway in Vancouver is poised for its next transformation, but without the need for a wrecking ball to tear down the entire building.

Daily Hive Urbanized has observed a construction notice posted on the exterior of 1154-1174 West Broadway on May 21, which notes that the interior space of the toy store will undergo demolition work to make way for tenant improvements for the future retailer. The floor area of this interior demolition work spans 11,500 sq. ft.

You might also like:

Canadian supermarket giant Sobeys is overseeing this work. Daily Hive Urbanized reached out to Sobeys, but did not hear back before the publication deadline.

As of today, no building permits related to this property have been filed with the municipal government.

toys r us 1154-1174 West Broadway Vancouver bowmac sign

Inside the Toys ‘R’ Us store at 1154-1174 West Broadway, Vancouver, before its closure. (Kenneth Chan)

As previously reported by Daily Hive Urbanized earlier this spring, Toys ‘R’ Us closed its longtime West Broadway store, which first opened in 1997 — when the building, constructed by the then-toy store giant, reached completion. The single-storey building — located at the southeast corner of the intersection of Alder Street and West Broadway — spans most of the city block, featuring nearly 29,000 sq. ft. of retail space, including the Babies ‘R’ Us wing, on the ground level and a rooftop parking lot.

The horizontal “Toys ‘R’ Us” sign directly above the West Broadway main entrance was removed shortly after the store’s closure, but the much larger vertical sign affixed over the heritage BowMac sign remains in place as of early this month.

Sobeys Toys R Us 1154-1174 West Broadway Vancouver 1

A Sobeys grocery store brand will open in the former Toys ‘R’ Us space at 1154-1174 West Broadway in Vancouver, as seen on June 1, 2025. (Kenneth Chan)

The vertical BowMac sign was constructed in 1958 for the property’s previous BowMac car dealership. According to a 1997 staff report by the City of Vancouver, this area of West Broadway was Vancouver’s auto row in the 1950s, and several car dealerships had begun to erect an increasing number of large signs to compete and attract attention.

Standing 80 ft. tall, this neon sign was once the tallest structure outside of downtown Vancouver and briefly held the title of the largest freestanding sign in North America.

In 1997, Vancouver City Council approved a Heritage Revitalization Agreement (HRA) that legally links the retainment and preservation of the BowMac sign with the lifespan of the Toys ‘R’ Us tenancy. This HRA secures “the repair, protection, and ongoing maintenance of the BowMac sign for the duration of the Toys ‘R’ Us lease.” Moreover, “upon termination of the lease, a new HRA will have to be negotiated or the sign will be demolished.”

On both sides, the BowMac sign is partially covered by perforated metal screens that support an overlay — a hovering additional layer of text — for the illuminated Toys ‘R’ Us logo signs.

The future of the BowMac sign remains uncertain. Careful work will likely be required to remove the toy store’s logos. Given its visibly poor condition due to weathering and vandalism, the heritage sign faces and their supporting structure will likely need considerable maintenance. The last time the BowMac sign saw major restoration work was in the late 1990s.

The heritage BowMac sign at Toys ‘R’ Us at 1154-1174 West Broadway, Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan)

Over the long term, the building carries immense redevelopment potential, with the City’s Broadway Plan enabling mixed-use towers of up to 30 storeys for the site. The location is also within a short walking distance to both the future South Granville and VGH-Oak stations on SkyTrain’s Millennium Line Broadway extension.

It remains to be seen what Sobeys grocery store brand will open within the existing building. Sobeys grocery store brands that currently operate in British Columbia include Safeway, FreshCo, Chalo FreshCo, IGA, and Thrifty Foods.

This area of Central Broadway is set to gain two additional grocery stores in the near future. About three city blocks to the west, a 22,000 sq. ft. Loblaws City Market grocery store will open within the second level of PCI Developments’ The Stories — a new 39-storey mixed-use tower with rental housing, office space, retail/restaurant space, and the main entrance into SkyTrain’s new South Granville Station. The tower will reach full completion this summer, but specific tenant improvements will be ongoing.

bowmac sign 1154-1174 West Broadway vancouver 1995

BowMac sign at the BowMac car dealership at 1154-1174 West Broadway, Vancouver, as seen in 1995, before the redevelopment for Toys ‘R’ Us. (Heritage Vancouver Society)

You might also like: