Georgia & Abbott - Rezoning Western Canada's Tallest Towers
Henriquez Partners Architects
Client: Holborn Group
The three project sites at 501 & 595 West Georgia Street and 388 Abbott Street will provide a comprehensive mixed-use development that supports the City’s and Metro Vancouver’s goals to provide commercial job space in the Central Business District, increase hotel rooms downtown, and deliver a broad spectrum of housing types including Social Housing, Rental and Condominiums at a major transit node. The architectural expression of the project tells a story that is unique to British Columbia and inspired by rare and ancient glass sea sponge reefs — living structures found off the BC coast that demonstrate strength and adaptability. This natural metaphor is expressed not only in distinct silhouettes and the sculptural form of its tallest tower, but in their environmental performance towards a net-zero carbon operation. Informed by the sea sponge’s structural ingenuity and ecological purpose, the towers offer a uniquely Vancouver expression of sustainability, beauty, and vertical urbanism. In total, the development will create 1,939 new homes, a 920-room hotel, 70,000 ft2 of much-needed conference space, Indigenous-led reconciliation through art, and introduce major public amenities across both sites. This transformative project will serve as a major economic catalyst for downtown Vancouver, creating thousands of construction and permanent jobs. By bringing a critical mass of residents, workers, and visitors into the core, the project will contribute to the creation of a more vibrant, welcoming, and safer downtown. The project is composed of three concurrent rezonings on three sites: 388 Abbott Street is a 402 ft tall tower with an 8-storey podium and 30-storey tower above. The site is proposed to include 378 City-owned Social Housing units; a Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh (MST) gallery, with three artists-in-residence studios for MST artists; and a 37-child Daycare. 595 West Georgia Street is a 1,033 ft tall hotel tower topped with a rooftop restaurant and publicly accessible observation deck, free for Vancouverites to enjoy. The podium includes a ground-floor café, bar, and restaurant, serving as the hotel and conference lobby. Levels 3-8 will house conference facilities with an outdoor hotel amenity on the podiums roof, including a café, bar and indoor pool. The levels above will provide a total of 920 hotel rooms split between long- and short-term stay. 501 West Georgia Street consists of two towers on a 3-storey podium. The 783 ft north tower contains market residential units with a shared rooftop amenity deck, while the 889 ft south tower features market rental at the base and market residential above. The podium rooftop is a shared outdoor amenity space for all residents, with retail at grade and two levels of interiors residential amenities on Levels 2 and 3. A mid-block mews connects the site to 595 West Georgia Street plaza.