Reliance and Hines propose hotel-condo tower to replace stalled downtown Vancouver office project
After nearly four years without construction, developers have submitted a new rezoning application to transform the 1166 West Pender site from office to hotel and strata residential uses.
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Reliance Properties and international real estate firm Hines have proposed scrapping plans for a downtown Vancouver office tower and replacing it with a much taller, mixed-use development featuring a major hotel and strata market ownership condominiums.
The site at 1166 West Pender, near the intersection of Bute and West Pender in downtown's Central Business District, was rezoned in July 2019 for a 364-foot, 32-storey office tower. The building was to replace a 1974-built, 15-storey office structure that had housed Canada Revenue Agency's local headquarters.
Reliance announced in 2022 it would be the first office tower project to begin construction after the pandemic. The city enacted the rezoning in 2022 and issued a development permit. EllisDon was selected as contractor. But the office tower project never broke ground, despite site preparation work. The building was demolished, leaving a vacant lot.
Economic challenges and the sustained weakness in the office space market — driven by the rise of semi-remote work — stalled the project. The new rezoning application abandons the office design entirely in favour of the hotel and condo mix. This is the first public update on the redevelopment in four years.
The facts
What was the original plan for 1166 West Pender?
A 364-foot, 32-storey office tower was rezoned for the site in July 2019. The building was to replace a 1974-built, 15-storey office structure that had housed Canada Revenue Agency's local headquarters.
What are Reliance and Hines proposing instead?
A much taller, mixed-use development featuring a major hotel and strata market ownership condominiums at 1166 West Pender in downtown Vancouver's Central Business District.
Why did the original office tower project stall?
Economic challenges and sustained weakness in the office space market—driven by the rise of semi-remote work—stalled the project, which never broke ground despite site preparation work and demolition of the existing building.
