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A rendering shows the Holborn Group\u2019s massive redevelopment project that is set to transform the city\u2019s skyline. (Holborn Group Image)<\/p>\nBy a vote of 7-3, Vancouver City Council has approved the rezoning application for the Holborn Group\u2019s massive redevelopment project that is set to transform the city\u2019s skyline.<\/p>\n
The plans include a trio of highrises on an entire block of West Georgia. One of these highrises is a planned 920-room hotel that would be the tallest tower in Western Canada, at 1,033 feet.<\/p>\n
A rendering shows the Holborn Group\u2019s massive redevelopment project that is set to transform the city\u2019s skyline. (Holborn Group Image)<\/p>\n
\u201cThe opportunity for a project of this scale is truly rare, and happens once in a lifetime,\u201d said Holborn Group president Joo Kim Tiah.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be our honour to build this project for this city.\u201d<\/p>\n
Project architect Gregory Henriquez says the design was inspired by the glass sea sponge.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will be the largest sea sponge in the world in downtown Vancouver, with a public observation deck on top,\u201d Henriquez said.<\/p>\n
The project will deliver almost 2,000 new homes, including market condos and rental homes.<\/p>\n
It will also include a standalone social housing unit on Abbott Street, with 378 units.<\/p>\n
Hospitality workers with Unite Here Local 40 protested the motion ahead of the vote, saying megaprojects like this will push the working class further away from Vancouver.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not surprised that ABC voted to support billionaire Holborn\u2019s super-towers,\u201d said union spokesperson Michelle Travis.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe think it doesn\u2019t offer enough in terms of affordable housing.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Hospitality workers with Unite Here Local 40 protested the motion ahead of the vote. (CityNews Image)<\/p>\n
The same union was involved in a council disruption last week that Mayor Ken Sim called an act of \u201cforeign interference.\u201d<\/p>\n
CityNews was unable to get comment from Sim after the meeting.<\/p>\n
Coun. Pete Fry, who voted against the motion, says the project requires more scrutiny, especially around its height.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is moving ahead on the tall buildings policy that really hasn\u2019t been analyzed yet,\u201d Fry said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were told by staff the analysis would be coming later, and we\u2019re jumping ahead of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The project\u2019s construction timeline remains unclear, with developers suggesting it will be four or five years before shovels hit the ground.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\tA rendering shows the Holborn Group’s massive redevelopment project that is set to transform the city’s skyline. (Holborn Group Image) <\/p>\n
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