Vancouver’s skyline could be getting a dramatic new addition if the city’s best-known businessman gets his way.
Business magnate Jim Pattison’s privately held company is seeking the city’s approval to build three towers including more than 800 units of housing as well as office and retail space bordering Burrard, Drake and Hornby streets near Davie Street.
In Pictures: Pattison proposal includes big changes to downtown Vancouver
The land is currently home to a Jim Pattison Toyota dealership and lot, low-rise retail buildings, and two houses along Hornby Street “which have been identified as having heritage value but are not listed on the Vancouver Heritage Register,” according to a city report.
If approved, the tower would make a “significant contribution” to the overall aesthetic of Vancouver’s skyline, wrote Kent Munro, Assistant Director of Planning for the City of Vancouver.
The Pattison Group’s application also proposes two underground parking lots containing 177 commercial and 813 residential parking spaces, respectively, and more than 1,000 bicycle parking spaces.
The group would also build a public plaza at the corner of Burrard and Drake as well as a pedestrian walkway that would cut through the development between Burrard and Hornby streets.
According to the report, public input on the proposal has been mixed.
While some supported the development and its proposed retail spaces and the Burrard-Hornby walkway, others have expressed concern over the sheer height of the proposed residential tower at Hornby and Drake streets. Slated to be more than 500-feet tall, they complained the structure would dwarf surrounding buildings – the tallest of which are 300-feet, according to the report.
If the proposal goes ahead, the Jim Pattison Group said it will kick in more than $15-million for community improvements, including $7-million for a new facility to be used by Qmunity, an LGBTQ community centre.
The plan will go to a public hearing pending approval by city council, which will begin reviewing the proposal on Nov. 19.