Gastown hotel tower proposal includes rooftop restaurant destination with panoramic views

131-year-old Gastown office building to see new hotel uses

New boutique hotel coming next to Gastown Steam Clock

Newly opened hotel in Vancouver Chinatown wears its giant heart on the wall

New Yaletown hotel opens in former office space

Former HSBC office in Vancouver's Chinatown to become a hotel

Proposed Army & Navy Vancouver redevelopment grows taller with more rental housing and new hotel uses

The development site sits near the southwest corner of the intersection of Columbia Street and Powell Street, just east of Maple Tree Square. The narrow lot occupies a segment of the former CPR right-of-way that once connected North False Creek to Burrard Inlet. The railway line was built in the late 1880s, around the time the City of Vancouver was incorporated.

Existing condition:

Future condition:

The section of track running from North False Creek to Burrard Inlet was decommissioned in 1932, following the opening of the Dunsmuir Tunnel — now used by SkyTrain’s Expo Line — which replaced the traffic-disrupting, street-level rail route with a fully grade-separated underground corridor.

After the railway was abandoned, the right-of-way remained open as an informal route for pedestrians and delivery vehicles. Today, much of its remaining stretch between West Pender Street and Powell Street is used as surface vehicle parking, with part of the corridor incorporated into Pigeon Park. The former railway alignment also influenced the design of International Village mall, whose indoor galleria is deliberately positioned to follow the path of the historic rail line.

The application calls for a new hotel tower with major setbacks and a double-height covered outdoor open space at ground level to create a “unique sense of openness and transparency” on both the Powell Street (north) and laneway (south) frontages, and establish a mid-block pedestrian route through the property. The resulting large soffit will be enhanced by a significant nighttime lighting feature.

The first and second levels — both with smaller floor plates to enable the soffit overhang of the third level’s floor plate — will be used as the main entrance lobby/reception and guest amenity spaces, respectively, and the guest rooms will begin on the third level.

“The ground floor is designed as a highly permeable, multi-storey space, reinforcing pedestrian access and connectivity. The ground floor portion of building is set back from the street, creating an open pedestrian realm that extends across the site from front to back, linking the street to the lane — and beyond. Paving materials are extended from the site into the lane to express the sites unique alignment,” reads the design rationale by Gastown-based RH Architects.

“The soffit above the open public space is designed to reference the historic rail lines, creating a unique linear pattern that is further emphasized through integrated lighting. This design approach reinforces the site’s former railway alignment while providing visual interest, a sense of orientation, and a memorable spatial experience for pedestrians moving through the space. The lighting further animates the space at night, enhancing safety, legibility, and the sense of a continuous, active public realm.”

Existing condition:

Future condition:

In total, the hotel will offer 90 guest rooms, arranged evenly across nine floors with nine units per level.

On the 13th floor, the building is topped off with a destination restaurant attraction with 3,300 sq. ft. of indoor space, plus outdoor space including patio seating on the northern tip of the roof. This tower rooftop restaurant will provide near 360-degree panoramic views of the downtown Vancouver waterfront, railyard, port facilities, inlet, mountains, and points beyond.

“The top floor is designed as a public restaurant space, accessible to both hotel guests and the general public. This feature activates the building at a civic level, offering a unique vantage point over Gastown and distant views to former railway destination points, such as Port Moody and Lulu Island, while celebrating the site’s historic importance,” reads the design rationale.

The hotel uses coupled with the destination restaurant will improve the vibrancy and economic vitality of the struggling Gastown district, according to the proponents.

Prominent local heritage consultant and civic historian John Atkin conducted a Heritage Impact Assessment for the proposal. He has endorsed the design for introducing a new landmark and publicly accessible space to Gastown — one that acknowledges the site’s historical significance while reflecting the area’s ongoing evolution.

“The unique character of the site dictates a unique response. This site presents an opportunity to create something that stands in contrast to the existing neighbourhood much like newer additions to existing Gastown buildings, which are contemporary in form and material in contrast to the original.

“This combined with the site’s off grid orientation within the context of Gastown will create a distinct urban form that highlights and marks the former right-of-way and its significance.”

An underground level accessible by a ramp from the laneway will provide two Class A vehicle loading stalls to support the hotel’s operations. No vehicle parking will be provided.

The total building floor area will reach 64,000 sq. ft., establishing a floor area ratio density of a floor area that is eight times larger than the size of the 8,000 sq. ft. lot. The building’s height is 23 ft. below the protected mountain view cone that crosses over the property.

This hotel tower lot and the adjacent 1901-built, two-storey “Commercial Block” office building at 211 Columbia St. were sold together in a deal worth $11.5 million in April 2023.

The Commercial Block building’s original two-storey north phase featured nine loading bays that directly faced the railway, and it also featured Vancouver’s first electric elevators.

As previously reported by Daily Hive Urbanized in August 2024, RH Architects submitted a development permit application to convert the Commercial Block’s upper levels from office space to 19 hotel rooms, with the property being a digital hotel featuring self/online check-in services. The development permit application was approved and issued in Fall 2024, and a building permit was issued in June 2025.

You might also like:
• 131-year-old Gastown office building to see new hotel uses
• New boutique hotel coming next to Gastown Steam Clock
• Newly opened hotel in Vancouver Chinatown wears its giant heart on the wall
• New Yaletown hotel opens in former office space
• Former HSBC office in Vancouver's Chinatown to become a hotel
• Proposed Army & Navy Vancouver redevelopment grows taller with more rental housing and new hotel uses