'Thoughtful approach': Major mixed-use rental housing, hotel, and retail redevelopment of Army & Navy approved by Vancouver City Council

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Under the approved rezoning, the West Hastings Street site will be redeveloped with a 376-ft-tall, 39-storey mixed-use rental housing tower, while the West Cordova Street site will feature a 218-ft-tall, 20-storey, mixed-use rental housing tower, including a five-storey base podium incorporating a hotel and retail/restaurant uses.

Together, the two buildings will deliver 738 secured purpose-built rental homes — one of the largest single additions of rental housing to the Downtown Eastside in more than 15 years, ever since the completion of the Woodward’s department store redevelopment.

Of the 738 rental homes, 155 units will be rented at below-market rates, which will be offered at deeper affordability levels than typically required, with 70 per cent of these units rented at 20 per cent below Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s average market rents and 30 per cent of the units rented at 50 per cent below average market rents.

A total of 108 of the below-market units on the West Hastings Street site are intended to be operated by the BC Indigenous Housing Society, giving priority to Indigenous individuals and families, while the remaining below-market units on the West Cordova Street site will be owned and operated by the private development team.

As part of the hotel with 179 guest rooms, the West Cordova Street building will also include a restaurant destination on the rooftop of its base podium. This sizeable hotel in Gastown will help address Vancouver’s hotel room shortage and support local tourism.

There will also be more than 23,000 sq. ft. of retail/restaurant space, with the bulk of this use located on the ground level of the West Cordova Street building. About 2,500 sq. ft. will be within the ground level of the West Hastings Street tower — leased at below-market rents to a non-profit organization or social enterprise for at least a decade. Additionally, there will be some retail/restaurant space in the laneway that divides the north and south sites, with the commercial storefronts being key to the project’s overall strategy of activating the currently dilapidated laneway.

City staff noted that the complex’s empty storefronts and aging buildings have been steadily deteriorating and have proven difficult to repurpose under existing zoning, strengthening the case for a major redevelopment.

Heritage preservation considerations were very important aspects of the project’s concept. The West Cordova Street site includes three protected heritage buildings constructed in the late 1800s — the Dunn-Miller Block, the Callister Block, and the Hayes & McIntosh Block. The approved plan retains their historic street facades, but allows for the demolition of the internal structures to accommodate the new tower and underground parking.

City highlighted that the project’s height and density were far above what is normally permitted in the area. However, they also emphasized that the trade-offs were balanced by the scale of the public benefits, including the housing, economic activity, and West Cordova Street heritage facade restoration. Moreover, the sweeping changes in 2024 made to the citywide protected mountain view cone policies enabled taller building heights in the area.

With City Council’s approval now secured, the project will move into the next stages of detailed design and development permit and building permit applications. The project is designed by Michael Green Architecture and Arcadis.

Video animation of Cohen Block: redevelopment of the former Army & Navy complex in Gastown in downtown Vancouver.

– 738 rental homes
– 179-room hotel
– 23,000 sf retail/restaurant
– Activated laneway
– Heritage preservation#vanpoli #vanre #vancre 2/2https://t.co/WCsQKF7gUa pic.twitter.com/ptbIfe8k6K

— Kenneth Chan (@iamkennethchan) February 12, 2026

Exiting condition:

Future condition:

“A big day for the Cohen family”

“This is a big day for the Cohen family. 20 years ago, a big day meant it was the Army Navy shoe sale. And now, it’s Army Navy Properties,” said Jacqui Cohen, the granddaughter of founder Sam Cohen and the president and CEO of Army & Navy Properties, during the public hearing on Tuesday evening. At times, she became emotional due to the significance of this project to her family’s multigenerational history at the site.

“The dirt and buildings that my grandfather bought over a century ago, that included the first synagogue in the city of Vancouver, operated as Canada’s original discount department store chain. And these buildings, potentially, will become the heart and soul of our community once again.”

When asked, she acknowledged that there will be opportunities to incorporate visual cues, memorabilia, and artifacts of the department store into the new buildings.

“I don’t know how far back and how much stuff we’ll have room for, but there will be a huge memorabilia history to the new development,” said Cohen.

ABC city councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung asserted there is a need to have the project’s design acknowledge the site’s meaningful history to Vancouver, such as the incorporation of vintage signage from the site’s department store past. “Our cities are not static. They continue, they’re organic organisms in a sense, they continue to grow and evolve, and they should. But I do think there’s a place to recognize some of that history,” she said.

“Gastown is at a pivotal moment“

During the public hearing, Royce Chwin, president and CEO of Destination Vancouver, told City Council the Army & Navy site holds a unique place in Vancouver’s collective memory, describing it as a place long associated with everyday life in the city and a sense of inclusiveness.

He said the project represents “a rare and meaningful opportunity” to respect that legacy while reimagining the site for contemporary needs and future generations.

“What stands out in this proposal is its balance,” said Chwin, pointing to what he described as a multifaceted plan that brings together significant heritage retention, thoughtfully scaled boutique hotels, secured purpose-built rental housing — including below-market units — and a clear commitment to honouring the spirit of Army & Navy as a homegrown institution that served Vancouverites for more than a century. Striking that balance between preservation and renewal, he added, is complex and costly, “but very, very commendable.”

Chwin also highlighted the role of the Cohen family in keeping the property and reinvesting in it after decades of change in the neighbourhood.

“I want to acknowledge the importance of ownership in this story,” he said, calling the Cohens a long-standing Vancouver family whose decision to move forward with the project reflects a belief in both the neighbourhood and the city’s future. “This is not about short-term extraction. It is about stewardship, reinvestment, and uplifting the community as a long-standing part of Vancouver’s economic and social fabric.”

He added that while the project will have citywide implications, its effects will be felt most immediately at the local level, in the surrounding Downtown Eastside and Gastown communities. He also emphasized the importance of the project’s hotel room capacity to help address Vancouver’s growing hotel room shortage.

Representatives from organizations such as the Gastown Business Improvement Society (GBIS), Gastown Residents Association, Hastings Crossing Business Improvement Association, A Better Life Foundation, and LOCO BC also spoke in favour of the project.

Elise Yurkowski, executive director of the GBIS, told City Council the area is at a critical turning point.

“Gastown is at a pivotal moment,” said Yurkowski, describing an area with enormous cultural value and economic potential that has also faced significant challenges in recent years, including the closure of Army & Navy. She said maintaining the district’s vitality will require “thoughtful, intentional development” that supports businesses, residents, and the millions of visitors who walk Gastown’s streets each year.

Yurkowski said the Cohen Block proposal brings together several long-sought elements in a way that aligns with city objectives and responds directly to what local businesses and the community have been calling for, including mixed-income housing, a long-needed major hotel, Indigenous reconciliation, laneway revitalization, and active commercial frontages.

For more than a decade, she said, her business improvement association has advocated for additional hotel capacity in Gastown, noting that Vancouver’s hotel shortage is well documented and that many visitors want to stay in the neighbourhood but are unable to find rooms.

“A hotel here is more than just additional rooms,” said Yurkowski. “It’s a catalyst for stability and vibrancy.” She added that it would support independent retailers, strengthen restaurants, improve street presence at all hours, and help sustain the cultural and economic ecosystem that defines Gastown, filling what she called a critical gap in the area’s land-use mix.

Yurkowski also voiced strong support for the project’s mixed-income housing and new ground-floor commercial space, saying Gastown depends on a careful balance of residents, workers, businesses and visitors to thrive.

“More residents living close to shops and services translates directly into safer, more animated streets,” she said, adding that high-quality, active commercial frontages — rather than empty storefronts or underused spaces — are essential for the small businesses that anchor the historic district. In her view, the proposal “strikes that balance.”

“Much passion and love in this project”

The project has evolved considerably ever since it was first publicly floated in early 2023. At the time, both buildings were considerably shorter due to the stricter height limits imposed by the previous view cone policies. As well, the West Cordova Street building had a considerable office space component spanning 225,500 sq. ft.

In March 2025, a revised rezoning application — the current design iteration of the project — was submitted, with the major office space removed due to the weak market conditions for such uses, and the tower heights increased to reflect the view cone changes, enabling a substantial increase in housing and the introduction of hotel uses. The redevelopment will generate a total building floor area of about 332,000 sq. ft.

ABC city councillor Peter Meiszner spoke enthusiastically about his support for the project.

“I know there’s so much passion and love in this project and could feel that tonight from Jacqui and your family,” said Meiszner.

“This is going to just really, really bring a lot of life back to this part of Gastown and the Downtown Eastside. It will help a lot of people too, and I think that’s what’s really important about this.”

Green city councillor Pete Fry called the concept a “thoughtful approach,” while Vote Vancouver city councillor Rebecca Bligh said the site’s new uses will continue the legacy of Army & Navy in terms of servicing the community.

“We don’t often see projects like this one come along because of how comprehensive the application is in covering a lot of important components that we need in this community, whether it’s the hotel to activate the tourism side and really link and bring a net positive to Gastown and Chinatown and Railtown and other parts of the neighbourhood,” said Bligh.

During the same public hearing, City Council also unanimously approved Bonnis Properties’ transformative 800 Granville project in the Granville Entertainment District.

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