taller hotel and condo towers proposed for vancouver's false creek flats
2 minute read
a proposed development at 375 east 1st ave. envisions three 35-storey mixed-use buildings and a 40-storey mixed-use building, accommodating 639 strata and 485 rental units, commercial and office spaces, 225 hotel rooms, and
and 32 social housing units.
arlen redekop
/
png
a large mixed-use tower including hotel and residential units is being proposed for a site in the false creek flats area next to emily carr university where a previous project had started, and then stalled for years, leaving a large hole in the ground.
the site at 375 east 1st ave. is near great northern way between main street and clark drive in an area known as the creative district in the city’s broadway plan. the vision for the district is to cluster buildings that foster education, innovation, arts and culture, including artist live-in spaces, offices for digital entertainment companies and creative product manufacturing, as well as hotels, tech company spaces, labs and residential units.
it is also near a skytrain station that is under construction as part of the broadway subway project that is extending the skytrain’s millennium line from vcc-clark station to arbutus street.
the site next to emily carr university is in an area being billed as a “creative district.”
city of vancouver website
the initial rezoning and development permit secured by vancouver-based onni group in 2017, and revised in 2019, was for four buildings: two 13- and 15-storey live-work buildings with 220 units, a 15-storey hotel with 199 rooms, and a seven-storey office building. construction and excavation for underground parking got underway, but came to a stop.
advertisement
after the city changed its vision for the area and formally introduced the broadway plan in 2022, onni reconsidered.
onni is now proposing a transit-oriented project with buildings that are taller and have more of a mix of residential units. the rezoning application is for 639 strata units, 485 rental units and 32 social housing units.
it is seeking to build three 35-storey mixed use buildings and one 40-storey building that will be on the southeast corner, closest to the skytrain station being built adjacent to the university. the project would include 225 hotel rooms, as well as office and retail space. the four buildings will each sit on a corner of the site and share a six-storey podium.
“the mid levels of the podium have higher floor heights and surround the atrium to provide the workspaces with improved daylighting and flexibility. the podium also provides a larger roof area that can be given over to shared outdoor amenity space for the four towers,” according to onni’s application to the city.
an outdoor pool is among the amenities envisioned for the podium rooftop.
city of vancouver website
onni said in its application that the location of the site was “a critical estuary that held deep spiritual connection to the tsleil-waututh, squamish and musqueam coast salish nations” and that its project aims to “celebrate the overlooked contributions these nations have made to the region and city’s development and history.”
advertisement
the proposed hotel will have a coast salish theme and offer visitors a way to experience culturally significant rituals and traditional practices of coast salish life.
onni said in the application it has engaged a cultural adviser, squamish nation hereditary chief ian campbell, who will be advising onni and its design team through the project.
share story
