Six years after purchasing the former home of the Catholic archdiocese in Vancouver, Amacon is moving forward with plans to redevelop the property at Cambie and Robson with a residential tower and hotel.
GBL Architects received unanimous approval from the Urban Design Panel for the project earlier this week.
The design, which we first saw in 2017, has been refined, with less glazing on the tower and a façade of cementitious panels in an ivory finish. The architectural expression of the hotel building has been simplified as well.
New renderings: 150 Robson residential tower & hotel
Building models: 150 Robson residential tower & hotel
Drawings: 150 Robson residential tower & hotel
The residential tower will be 29 storeys and contain 177 market housing units. The architects say the proportions of the tower have been manipulated to decrease the view impact of the corner unit of the 30 storey tower (TV Towers) located on the northeast corner of Robson and Cambie, blocking less than one third of its views.
The façade of the Northern Electric Building façade will be retained, with new construction behind. It will be part of a new hotel, with 83,979 sq ft. of hotel use, including a cafe and restaurant. A new, six-storey hotel building will be constructed on the east end of the property, at Robson and Beatty. An outdoor patio space is proposed for the hotel lounge, with views of Terry Fox Plaza and BC Place.
The hotel will include 116 rooms — a much-needed injection of new hotel rooms to downtown Vancouver, which has seen a net loss of over 1,100 rooms over the past decade.
Amenities for the hotel guests will include a fitness centre and outdoor pool atop the podium, with glass walls on two sides of the pool. Amacon says it will “provide opportunities” for residents to access the hotel amenities as the residential tower will not include any of its own amenities.
It’s not known what hotel brand will be on the property, but the company operates the Loden Hotel in Coal Harbour, and owns Musette Cafe and Homer St. Cafe and Bar.
A new shelter space will be provided on another site downtown for the existing Catholic Charities shelter. The development application heads to the Development Permit Board on February 3, 2020.
