City of Vancouver seeks new Chinese restaurant for 18,000 sq. ft. Chinatown space | Daily Hive

City of Vancouver wants new flagship Chinese restaurant for former 18,000 sq. ft. Floata space in Chinatown

The former Floata Seafood Restaurant space inside Vancouver's Chinatown Plaza. (Floata Seafood Restaurant)

The City of Vancouver has launched a search for a new operator to transform the vacant former Floata Seafood Restaurant space into a major destination Chinese restaurant, as part of a broader strategy to help revitalize Chinatown Plaza and stimulate economic activity in the struggling historic Chinatown district.

Owned by the municipal government, the 1995-built Chinatown Plaza — situated at the southeast corner of the intersection of Quebec Street and Keefer Street — entails a seven-storey parkade and 47,000 sq. ft. of commercial retail/restaurant space, including a large ground-level open area that previously partially functioned like a food court.

In October 2025, after 30 years of operation, Floata Seafood Restaurant permanently closed its operations within its 18,000 sq. ft. space on the third level.

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It is known that Floata had accumulated outstanding rent payments prior to its closure and had increasingly struggled with the decline of Chinatown over the past two decades — especially in the years since the pandemic — due to the expansion of the public disorder and social issues stemming from the Downtown Eastside. Over the decades, it also faced intense competition from the rise of other concentrations of Chinese businesses in other areas of the city and in the suburban communities, as well as a dwindling population of Chinese seniors, all of which summarize some of Chinatown’s contributing factors to its decline.

The City’s bidding process seeking a new operator began last month, and the Request For Proposal (RFP) submission period will close tomorrow.

The RFP seeks an operator to replicate and improve on the traditional full-service Chinese restaurant concept offered by Floata, with the City specifically noting dim sum, lunch, dinner, and large-format banquet services.

During its operations, Floata was also known for doubling as a major ballroom-like venue, hosting seated gatherings for nearly 1,000 people, including political events, charitable fundraisers, weddings, and other events. It has a very large dining room with retractable walls and a stage area, accompanied by a large commercial kitchen and other support facilities.

floata seafood restaurant vancouver chinatown

The former Floata Seafood Restaurant space inside Vancouver’s Chinatown Plaza. (Floata Seafood Restaurant)

The former Floata Seafood Restaurant space inside Vancouver’s Chinatown Plaza. (ABC Vancouver)

Proponents must submit detailed restaurant concepts outlining cuisine, branding, menus, target customers, pricing, alcohol service, hours of operation, seating capacity, and renovation plans. The City is asking the selected operator to make a minimum capital reinvestment of $2 million into renovating the space.

The RFP also sets a minimum monthly gross rent requirement of $70,000, based on a minimum net rent of $28 per sq. ft. and operating costs of $15 per sq. ft.

The City says experience working with Vancouver’s Chinese Canadian and Chinese communities will be considered a strong asset, along with Cantonese and Mandarin language capabilities.

The City envisions the new restaurant serving not only as a commercial business, but also as a destination capable of drawing visitors into Chinatown and increasing foot traffic for surrounding businesses.

The hope is that this restaurant operator will be a “vibrant destination restaurant and anchor tenant to attract customers, support Chinatown Plaza businesses, and enhance overall activation of the Plaza.”

As part of this RFP, the City is also seeking a company to develop a merchandising strategy for Chinatown Plaza while providing property management services for the rest of the commercial space.

Responsibilities would include improving the tenant mix, attracting new retailers, organizing temporary retail activations and community events, supporting multilingual tenant communications, coordinating maintenance and security, and developing strategies to increase foot traffic while respecting Chinatown’s cultural identity and heritage.

Prospective operators of the former Floata restaurant space also have the option to bid to oversee the management of Chinatown Plaza and its commercial spaces.

2022 condition of the ground-level indoor retail open area of Vancouver’s Chinatown Plaza. (Kenneth Chan)

Chinatown Parkade at 180 Keefer Street, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

The former Floata restaurant accounts for nearly 40 per cent of Chinatown Plaza’s total leasable commercial space, with the remaining space consisting of 21 ground-level retail units, six second-floor office units, and seven storefronts fronting Keefer Street that are currently fully leased.

“With appropriate investment and leadership, the restaurant premises can serve as a catalyst for renewed economic and community development in Chinatown,” reads the RFP, which also notes that the procurement “responds to the community’s desire for a new Chinese restaurant operator.”

EasyPark currently manages the 930 vehicle parking stalls in the parkade and the day-to-day building operations. Chinatown Plaza was conceived in the 1990s as a project to help keep the historic Chinatown district competitive against the rise of contemporary Chinatown districts and indoor shopping centres in Metro Vancouver’s suburbs, especially in Richmond.

The area has also seen some new activity. Immediately across the street, the Keefer House hotel opened within a brand-new 10-storey building last year, providing 58 guest suites under a fully furnished designer boutique apartment hotel concept.

Last year, following a court decision in the developer’s favour, the municipal government approved Beedie Group’s revised development permit application to pursue the mixed-use residential and commercial development of the vacant lot of 570 Columbia St. (105 Keefer St.), which is also just across from Chinatown Plaza.

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