The site is bound by the ceremonial West Georgia Street to the south, Thurlow Street to the west, Hailstone Street to the east, and Melville Street to the north. The site is located within Vancouver’s Central Business District, Sub Area A – a mixed commercial and residential area. The area is densely built, with many residential towers located to the west and south including The Shangri-La, The Hudson, and the Marriott Pinnacle featuring 307, 432 and 434 residential units, respectively. The area has walkable access to the waterfront, parks, and a wide range of grocery stores, health and safety services, schools and restaurants. 

The site is located at the corner of Thurlow and West Georgia Streets. The site offers excellent access to green transportation with proximity to bike routes and the Burrard Street SkyTrain station located just 250 metres from the site. In addition, the West Georgia Street transit corridor provides public transit access to downtown and across the Lions Gate Bridge to the North Shore. 

The former MacMillan Bloedel Building, recently rebranded to Arthur Erickson Place, is a Class ‘A’ heritage-listed (as listed on the Canadian Register: 2008/02/13) 27-storey concrete tower with offset halves, tapered walls, and deeply recessed windows. Located in downtown Vancouver, it is set on a plaza constructed several feet below street level, and is contained by landscaping and reflecting pools.  

The heritage value of Arthur Erickson Place lies primarily in its striking aesthetics employing reinforced concrete as the dominant finish material inside and out, and its cultural associations, particularly with architect Arthur Erickson as well as the forestry giant MacMillan Bloedel, who commissioned the building.  

Constructed in 1968-69, this landmark building is evidence of the continued expansion of Vancouver’s Central Business District westward along Georgia Street during the corporate building boom of the late 1960s and early 1970s, fuelled by the transfer of MacBlo’s corporate headquarters to Vancouver.  

Characteristic of Modernist design, the building is a display of masterful and conscious artistic control of constituent elements, in particular its unique integration of structure, mechanics, and innovative indirect lighting, which lend a sense of stability to the coffer-ceilinged interiors. In addition, the plaza is an important idiosyncratic response to the typical corporate tower plaza found elsewhere. 

The introduction of residential space to the city centre creates a mixed-use community that initiates a holistic urban experience and brings pedestrian traffic outside of business hours to the CBD, contributing to a more dynamic urban experience. The proposal consists of a 47-story mixed used tower, with commercial uses and office in a 2-level podium, and 484 residential rental homes in the tower.  

The project envisions a total of 380 market rental homes and 104 rental homes dedicated for workforce workers to contribute to a more inclusive and diverse demographic in the CBD district. The project will introduce new rental residential, employment and commercial opportunities while reinforcing access, security, connectivity, placemaking, and future growth. 

Key benefits include: 

• Essential Workforce Housing: Over 100 of the homes proposed in the project would be secured for “Essential Workforce Housing”. This would qualify all “essential workers”, earning between $39,200 and $78,500 to access secured rental housing in the new development at a lower than market rate. 
• Job Space Creation: The new proposed tower podium will include new ground-level commercial space oriented towards the food service industry, as well as a level of office space and a significant amenity space on level three. We estimate the proposal will create significant new full time employment opportunities.   
• Public Realm: As part of the proposal, the existing plaza along West Georgia Street will be reactivated and reprogrammed for different activities that engage the office occupants during business hours and residents during evenings and weekends. This includes the potential for temporary art installations, food trucks, pop-up performances by local artists, or farmer’s markets.

Yes! Along with the proposed development, the existing plaza along West Georgia will be reactivated and reprogrammed for various activities that engage the office occupants during business hours and residents during evenings and weekends. This includes the potential for temporary art installations, food trucks, pop-up performances by local artists, or farmers’ markets.  

The proposal includes the potential plaza and water feature restoration, contributing to the activation of the Melville and Thurlow streetscape. The surrounding open spaces around the proposed and existing towers are an important part of the vision for this development. While the plaza remains in excellent condition and has undergone a series of renovations over the years, the site furnishing, lighting design, planting, paving, and water feature could be enhanced to energize and renew the pedestrian streetscape. 

Reliance Properties is submitting this rezoning application under the newly established Policy Enquiry Process (approved by a near unanimous vote at the Council Meeting on July 7, 2021.) Reliance Properties’ proposal seeks a variance from the City and will be considered for the rezoning pathway. City Staff will review the proposal based on criteria determined in this new Policy Enquiry Process.   
 
The site is within Area ‘A’ of the Central Business District, and rezonings may be considered under the City of Vancouver’s 2009 Rezoning Policy for the Central Business District (CBD) and CBD Shoulder: (Areas A, B, C1 & F and Areas C3 & H) ‘Section 5.2 Large, Multi-use Development Sites’. Reliance’s proposal meets the requirements to be considered for a rezoning.   

“Workforce Housing” is a term that has been adopted and is utilized quite frequently in the United States and is gaining traction in Canada. The Urban Land Institute, a leader in urbanism discussion in North America commonly defines “Workforce Housing” as housing provided specifically for households making between 60% and 120% of Area Median Income and are required for the vitality and function of that given area to allow them to reside near where they work.  

Housing Income Limited (HILs) are a commonly used metric to represent the maximum gross household income for eligibility in many affordable housing programs put forward by government and planning policy. The HILs are based on figures established by CMHC, and are intended to reflect the minimum yearly household income required to afford appropriate accommodation in the private market. 2021 BC Housing HILs within the City of Vancouver can be found here.

It is evident that there is an increasing demand for housing in the downtown core.   Downtown Vancouver has a total of 5,477,000 sq ft of new office space scheduled to be delivered over the next 5 years as 40% of all jobs in the City of Vancouver are located in the neighbourhood. The addition of housing would serve the business community and support anticipated job growth space in downtown Vancouver. 

• Sustainability: All rezoning’s must comply with the City’s Green Building Policy for Rezonings, which calls for either Near Zero Emissions Buildings or Low Emissions Green Buildings as a base point of sustainability measures. The proposed scheme seeks to meet all required sustainability policy and be a leader in advanced sustainable design. As a mixed-use project, many synergies can be utilized with energy sharing between components, and zero commute time for residents who may work in the same or adjacent buildings.
• Sustainable Food Systems: Edible landscape will be explored where possible – for instance, providing an opportunity for a garden.
• Public Transit: The project is located just 250 metres away from the Burrard Street SkyTrain Station, and 650 metres from the Granville Street Station which provides access to the Canada Line and Expo Line.
• Green Mobility: Bicycle parking for residents and visitors will be provided on site. Electric plug-in parking, car sharing and opportunities for parking synergies between the office building and proposed residential tower during business hours will be explored. 
• Green Mobility: By introducing rental residential space to the downtown core, residents will be in close walking distance to employment, thus reducing urban sprawl. The site has a walk score of 95 and a transit score of 100, making it a desirable location for a mixed-use development.
• Rainwater Management Plan: Rainwater harvesting and other strategies will be explored to reduce run-off on site.
• Zero Waste Planning: Each user group will be given tools necessary to stream waste to allow recycling and collection. Plans will be developed to reach zero-waste operation 
  

We are currently in the early planning stages for this proposal. A formal rezoning application was submitted to the City of Vancouver in July 2021.   

This project has not yet been approved and will be subject to the city-led public process, which includes further public consultation, review by the City’s Planning and Engineering Departments and committees, and an eventual Public Hearing. The timeline for the City’s planning review can range from 12 to 18 months.   

Construction (subject to approval from the City) would take place over a period of approximately 4 years and could commence as early as 2023/2024. 

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Reliance Properties reimagines real estate. From retrofitting a dilapidated building on the Downtown Eastside into Vancouver’s first micro-lofts, to repurposing an abandoned heritage hotel to condos in Victoria, to developing a 550-foot skyscraper on a small vacant site in downtown Vancouver, Reliance provides sustainable, creative housing solutions. The company has won multiple regional and national awards for design, innovation, and architectural heritage renewal. Reliance’s extensive work also includes award-winning heritage restoration and modern additions to commercial space. 
 
Founded in 1955, the family-owned company is one of BC’s longest-serving real estate owners, developers, and property managers of residential, office, live-work, and retail properties. Reliance holds the largest private portfolio of heritage buildings in Western Canada and is a notable supporter of arts and culture in BC, including providing Emily Carr University of Art & Design its single-largest donation at $7 million. President & CEO Jon Stovell is the current (and past) chair of the Urban Development Institute and makes frequent media appearances to advance housing solutions. 
 
Visit www.relianceproperties.ca for more information.