industries

The Vancouver Skyline in Five Years

By Sarah Fullbrook /


It’s hard to remember the Vancouver skyline when it was devoid of One Wall Centre and Living Shangri-La. Here’s what’s popping up next

The Vancouver downtown skyline is changing—and fast. With highrises like the 29-storey residential tower on Beach Avenue and the 63-storey hotel and residential building at 1151 West Georgia Street already approved, development is surging upwards with no sign of slowing down. Immigration is on the rise, American retailers are moving to Canada and for a city like Vancouver, hemmed in by mountains on one side and ocean on the other, building up (rather than out) is the only way forward. Seventeen multi-storey highrises sit on the current projects and activities list for the city’s planning department earmarked for the downtown core. This is what it could look like if they all come to fruition.

60 W. Cordova St. (approved)
10-storey mixed-used building
Henriquez Partners Architects		 1151 W. Georgia St. (approved)
63-storey hotel and residential building
Holborn Developments Ltd. 
520 W. Georgia St. (approved)
22-storey mixed-use building
Henriquez Partners Architects		 1050 Expo Blvd. (approved)
6-storey multiple dwelling of supportive housing
Dys Architecture
455 Beach Ave. (approved)
29-storey residential tower
The Hulbert Group B.C. Ltd.		 1009 Harwood St. (approved)
17-storey residential tower
Amacon Development Corp.
1372 Seymour St. (approved)
33-storey residential building
Onni Contracting Ltd.		 1155 Hornby St. (proposed)
18-storey multiple dwelling
Henriquez Partners Architects
734 Rolston Cr. (approved)
34-storey residential tower and 7-storey low-rise residential building
IBI Group Inc.		 68 Smithe St. (proposed)
18-storey mixed-use building
IBI Group Inc.
31 W. Pender St. (approved)
7-storey mixed-use building
Joe Y. Wai Architect Inc.		 1304 Hornby St. (proposed)
31-storey mixed-use building
Concert Properties Ltd.
745 Thurlow St. (approved)
25-storey office tower with retail and restaurant space
Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership		 942 Granville St. (proposed)
2-storey commercial building
Studio One Architecture Inc.
177 Robson St. (approved)
20-storey hotel and residential building
Relative Form Architecture Studio		 720 Robson St. (proposed)
5-storey mixed-use building
Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership
775 Richards St. (approved)
46-storey mixed-use building
Henriquez Partners Architects