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As first reported by Daily Hive Urbanized in January 2025, property owner Cadillac Fairview decided to demolish the tower structure above the base podium, which contains CF Pacific Centre mall. The top-down demolition process began last fall.

When the 1976-built, 372-room hotel closed in early 2020, just weeks before the pandemic’s sudden onset, the original intention of the landlord was to retain and extensively renovate the tower for a new luxury hotel operator. A development permit application was submitted in 2022 to carry out very extensive retrofits and reconfiguration of the interior space, but it was ultimately cancelled.

The careful demolition work of the 305-ft-tall, 30-storey tower is being carried out by Dallas Watt Demo, which is employing a highly controlled demolition strategy using Brokk remote-controlled robotic systems. These compact but powerful machines allow operators to break down concrete and structural elements from a safe distance, reducing risk to workers while limiting vibration and debris in the surrounding area.

Footage of the top-down demolition process for the former Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver tower.

Crews are using the remote-controlled robotic Brokk system, which was also previously deployed for the Empire Landmark Hotel tower demolition. #vancre #vanrehttps://t.co/VLab5Fq3mC pic.twitter.com/BBLbUxJLaK

— Kenneth Chan (@iamkennethchan) January 13, 2026

The demolition work using the robotic systems involves removing concrete, rebar, and steel only. Over the last few years, long before the deployment of the Brokk devices, the interior of the hotel tower was completely gutted down to a barren shell space condition.

As well, the tower’s exterior was fully wrapped to help contain dust and debris during the demolition process. To further help keep the dust on site, water is also sprayed when the robotic systems are in action.

Using robotic demolition rather than traditional implosion and wrecking methods reflects the technical challenges of removing a high-rise structure in a dense city core. The Brokk units enable crews to work within tight clearances while maintaining structural control.

As previously reported by Daily Hive Urbanized, the Brokk system was also deployed for the demolition of the Empire Landmark Hotel on Robson Street. That project was larger and more complex, not only due to the tower’s greater height of 394 ft. with 42 floors, but also because of the additional technical challenges involved in dismantling its circular rooftop observation deck attraction structure. Demolition took 21 months to reach ground level, with work first beginning in March 2018.

Demolition of the former Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver tower will continue incrementally until crews reach the base podium rooftop of the mall.

As demolition progresses throughout 2026, the gradual disappearance of the tower is expected to become increasingly apparent. The project represents a significant milestone in the ongoing evolution of the Central Business District, signalling the very end of a familiar structure and the beginning of a new chapter for the site. The Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver tower was once among Vancouver’s tallest buildings and a prominent feature of the downtown skyline, before the rise of a dense sea of modern towers from the 1990s onward.

Cadillac Fairview previously told Daily Hive Urbanized that it intends to pursue a new-build tower within the former Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver airspace above the mall rooftop, indicating the project would include a hotel use. No development application outlining a specific proposal has been submitted yet.

As for the mall property’s other major vacancy, located at the southernmost end of the complex, the City of Vancouver approved Cadillac Fairview’s building permit application in December 2025 to reconfigure and subdivide the former Nordstrom department store’s 230,000 sq. ft. of space across three levels into four new retail units, each with its own street-level entrance. In November 2025, Aritzia announced it would occupy one of these units for its new downtown Vancouver flagship store, taking 40,000 sq. ft. across four levels at the building’s corner at the intersection of Robson and Howe streets. The new Aritzia flagship store is also expected to feature a major restaurant destination.

More retailers are expected to be formally announced for the former Nordstrom space in 2026.

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