Former passport office at Sinclair Centre closes and moves to Granville Strip
Service Canada has combined two of its Vancouver offices and opened a new location on Granville Street.
The Vancouver Passport Services Office and the Vancouver – Sinclair Centre Service Canada Centre were once located in the Sinclair Centre on Hastings Street, not far from Waterfront Station.
These two offices permanently closed on Friday, March 6 and reopened as a single consolidated office on Monday, March 9, at 978 Granville Street, next to Taco Bell and the Roxy Cabaret.
The new office is called the Vancouver Service Canada Centre and Passport Services.
“This consolidated site will offer all services available at standard Service Canada Centres, as well as 10-business-day, express and urgent passport services,” reads a statement from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).
In an emailed statement, ESDC told Daily Hive they chose this location for its accessibility (including public transit access).
“The new combined Service Canada Centre and Passport Services office at 978 Granville Street is designed to make it easier for clients to access the services they need in one convenient location. By bringing services together, clients can address multiple needs in a single visit, whether related to passports, benefits, or other government programs,” they added.
The new office is anticipated to attract over 600 people a day, which will bring in new daytime foot traffic to a street that has had business struggles, rising crime, and increasing disorder.
Already, people have taken to Reddit to comment on the long lines the building is attracting.
Meanwhile, the Government of Canada began the process of exploring a redevelopment of the Sinclair Centre complex into a 29-storey office tower while keeping heritage components. The new building could increase the site’s size from 390,000 to 1.1 million square feet, with substantial office space for federal workers and service centres. No updates have been made on the project for several years.
“We are currently assessing options for the redevelopment of the Sinclair building, to maximize the benefits for both clients and taxpayers,” said Public Services and Procurement Canada, in an email to Daily Hive.
The federal government plans to release many of its leased spaces over the coming years as a result of this new hub.