BC Business
With construction an essential service in B.C., we look up—way up—at some of the structures that are literally raising the profile of our cities.
Kelowna’s One Water Street project will be B.C.’s first skyscraper outside Metro Vancouver when it’s finished
9.4 percent of buildings in B.C. were classified as highrises as of 2016—up 23.5 percent since 2011
In Vancouver: 29.3 percent—up 18.5 percent since 2011
In Victoria: 17.9 percent—up 14.1 percent since 2011
In Kelowna: 3.1 percent—up 46.3% since 2011
B.C. had 106 existing or under-construction skyscrapers (buildings more than 100 metres tall) as of March.
In Vancouver: 67 existing or under construction; 9 planned
In Burnaby: 24 existing or under construction; 9 planned
In Surrey: 7 existing or under construction; 3 planned
Richmond has 1 structure more than 100 metres tall—the Lafarge cement kiln stack, technically rated as a skyscraper at 113 metres.
1 skyscraper has been demolished in B.C. (Vancouver’s Empire Landmark Hotel, in 2018-19).
13 storeys Height of Vancouver’s Dominion Building—B.C.’s first steel-frame highrise, and the British Empire’s tallest building when completed in 1910.
36 storeys – Highest tower in the under-construction One Water Street project in Kelowna, which will be B.C.’s first skyscraper outside Metro Vancouver when finished.
40 storeys Height of Canada’s Earth Tower, a proposed skyscraper at 1745 West Broadway in Vancouver that would be the world’s tallest hybrid wood tower.
56 storeys Proposed height of the tallest of 11 towers in the upcoming Se‘nákw residential development in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighbourhood.
60 storeys Height of a proposed tower at 1075 Nelson Street in Vancouver that would become the world’s tallest building to meet hyper-low-energy Passive House standards.
62 storeys Height of Vancouver’s Living Shangri-La, B.C.’s tallest skyscraper, at 201 metres.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Emporis, Vancouver Foundation, Skyscraper Center, City of Vancouver, Vancouver Sun, Global News