460-room hotel proposed for Vancouver's Granville Street amid hotel-room shortage

A major development proposal could see more than 400 hotel rooms added to Vancouver’s Granville Street entertainment district, as the city faces a hotel-room shortage.

An application has been submitted to city council for a 35-storey, 460-room hotel on the northwest corner of Granville and Davie streets. The site currently has a number of one and two-storey commercial buildings.

The rezoning application for 717 Davie Street has been submitted to council, and a city spokesperson told CTV News via email that city staff are preparing next steps in the review process. But the proposal is already being welcomed by industry groups, including Destination Vancouver.

“The 717 property to anchor the Granville entertainment district would make a massive difference,” said Royce Chwin, CEO and president of Destination Vancouver. “If we’re trying to think bold, we’re trying to think different, a hotel property such as this would be a fantastic catalyst and anchor that would help the transformation of that important part of downtown.”

City hall has previously promised to revitalize Granville Street, focusing on bringing commercial and tourist experiences to the strip.

The city is also in dire need of hotel rooms. A report earlier this year found Vancouver’s lack of capacity could mean billions in lost revenue.

Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung said about 1,500 hotel rooms on Granville Street were converted into supportive housing during the pandemic.

“We’ve got a shortage of about 10,000 hotel rooms, so when you have a proposal like this project of 460 rooms, that’s really important, that starts to make a dent,” Kirby-Yung said.

Chwin said in order for the city to boost its attractiveness as a tourism destination, the downtown core needs more places for visitors to stay.

“We’ve got this 8.5-billion dollar visitor economy and in order for that economy to be enabled we’ve got to have hotel space,” Chwin said.