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The prominent site is currently occupied by a six-storey building constructed in 1980, with office space on the upper floors and retail on the ground level — home to businesses such as Ferragamo and MAC Cosmetics. Recognizing its significant redevelopment potential, Reliance Properties acquired the property in 2021 in a deal valued at approximately $67 million.

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The upper levels of the tower — levels 12 to 35 — will contain 176 strata market ownership condominium homes, with a unit size mix of 42 studio units, 72 one-bedroom units, 44 two-bedroom units, and 18 three-bedroom units. Residents will have access to shared indoor and outdoor amenities on the entirety of the 12th level, which is the level directly above the 11-storey base podium with the hotel.

Below the residential levels, the tower will feature 160 hotel guest rooms — adding much-needed hotel capacity to downtown Vancouver amid the city’s growing shortage, and in a highly desirable location.

The residential and hotel lobbies will be entirely separate, both located along Hornby Street. Hotel functions and guest amenities will primarily occupy the second and third floors, with the third floor also entailing expansive outdoor patio space.

As for the building’s street-level uses activating Robson Street, there will be an 8,300 sq. ft. retail/restaurant unit spanning two levels.

According to the application, the tower has been “rotated” 45 degrees to create a corner plaza through a setback — evoking the character of the existing public space — while also minimizing shadowing on the adjacent Robson Square and establishing a distinctive facade. The corner plaza, which is also a high-traffic pedestrian location, also presents an opportunity for a potential public art installation.

The tower’s signature balcony design and use of sculpted natural stone for the exterior facade are inspired by two neighbouring architectural landmarks: the 1911-built historic courthouse — home to the Vancouver Art Gallery since 1983 — and the 1979-built Law Courts designed by Arthur Erickson.

“The use of sculpted stone, a natural material, achieves a level of articulation that is both monumental, but also human in scale. These sculptural elements, and the depth that they create at the facade of the building, also create a dynamic play of light and shadow that changes the appearance of this building over the course of the day as the sun moves across the sky,” reads the design rationale by the architects.

“The resulting crenellated facade of the building creates a vertically oriented version of the horizontal terracing that occurs at the New Law Courts, as well as referencing the sculptural plasticity of the Historic Law Courts. The ins and outs of the facade are also anticipated to create a dynamic surface for the play of light and shadow, that will result in a building that looks different from every side, and varies its appearance depending on the time of day.”

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Future condition:

According to the developer, this project does not intrude into the City’s protected mountain view cones — which were substantially relaxed by Vancouver City Council in July 2024 — and follows building shadowing policies.

The proposal is backed by the City’s recently introduced hotel development policies, which aim to stimulate new hotel projects by allowing increased density through added height for mixed-use hotel and market residential developments. This approach improves the financial viability of new hotels, with the market residential component helping to offset both capital and operating costs.

“We strongly believe that this proposal supports the City’s vision of promoting tourism, stimulating economic growth, and increasing housing supply in downtown Vancouver,” wrote Joanna Kwan, Director of Development for Reliance Properties, in a letter attached to the rezoning application.

In total, this project will generate a total building floor area of about 271,000 sq. ft., establishing a floor area ratio density of a floor area that is 14.5 times larger than the size of the 18,653 sq. ft. lot. Eight underground levels will accommodate 254 vehicle parking stalls and 400 bike parking spaces.

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