The City of Vancouver has received a rezoning application for a new hotel that would have the distinction as both the first mass timber hotel in Vancouver and the tallest mass timber hotel in North America, according to an application published on June 4.
The subject site of the proposal is 1500-1588 W 3rd Avenue — 1580 W 3rd Avenue, legally — near the intersection with Fir Street, northwest of Granville Loop Park. Additionally, Granville Island is located a 10-minute walk to the northeast, while Broadway is located a 10-minute walk to the south.
The narrow parcel of land has long been vacant and used as a parking lot sandwiched between a car dealership and a car servicing shop. The property was formerly two parcels that have since been consolidated and the applicants note that it was formerly a CP Rail site that is contaminated.
BC Assessment values 1580 W 3rd Avenue — as of July 1, 2024 — at $4,346,000 and the property is held under ICX Holdings Ltd. The rezoning application is ambiguous about who the true owner is, but the beneficial owner identified in the Land Owner Transparency Registry is Arno Matis of Arno Matis Architecture, which is also serving as the applicant and architect of the project.
The 1500-1588 W 3rd Avenue (1580 W 3rd Avenue) site in Vancouver. / Arno Matis Architecture
The proposal is for an 18-storey building that would reach a maximum height of 175 ft and house 160 hotel rooms, split between 144 regular king suites, eight double-king suites, and eight accessible king suites. Hotel amenities include a lounge on the ground floor, as well as a fitness centre and business centre on the roof.
The proposal includes 28 vehicle parking stalls and 36 bicycle parking stalls that would be provided in a four-level underground parkade that would also include valet service.
Architecturally, the applicants recognize that their site is mid-block and has a small frontage, but points to the St. Clair Hostel at 577 Richards Street, the Skwachàys Lodge at 31 W Pender Street, and the Hildon Hotel at 50 W Cordova Street as three examples of boutique hotels on mid-block sites with small frontages.
At 18 storeys, the hotel would become the tallest building in the immediate area, which primarily consists of low-rise commercial buildings below five storeys, although a study conducted by the applicant suggests that neighbouring properties could be rezoned and redeveloped with heights closer to 10 storeys.
A breakdown of the hotel proposed for 1580 W 3rd Avenue and its amenities. / Arno Matis Architecture
A breakdown of the hotel proposed for 1580 W 3rd Avenue and its sustainability features. / Arno Matis Architecture
The site falls under the Granville/Burrard Slopes - Area G sub-area of the Broadway Plan, which allows rezoning for 100% hotel proposals up to 4.5 FSR, with maximum height and density being flexible in order to support hotel project viability. The proposal for 1580 W 3rd Avenue has a density of 16.4 FSR, which is high due to the small size of the lot, but aligns with the density of other recently approved hotel projects in Vancouver, according to the applicants.
Some of the additional height is also attributed to the City's Mass Timber Policy for Rezonings, which allows for the possibility of two additional storeys on sites where eight to 11 storeys are already allowed, if the proposal makes use of mass timber construction. The applicants say that the choice to use mass timber will also potentially reduce embodied emissions in construction by 25% to 45% and allows for parts of the hotel to be built off-site.
As for the hotel, the applicants say that are working with Wyndham Hotel & Resorts as a potential operator of the hotel and included a letter of interest from Wyndham in its rezoning application. In the letter, Wyndham indicates that the hotel would be under its WaterWalk Extended Stay brand. Attached in the rezoning application are also letters of support from the British Columbia Hotel Association and Destination Vancouver, among others.
The proposal comes after the City of Vancouver approved its new Hotel Development Policy in April (although the rezoning application was submitted prior to that) and the City will be hosting the Q&A period for the 1580 W 3rd Avenue rezoning application from Wednesday, June 25 to Tuesday, July 8.
