Vancouver Officials OK Downtown Tower

The Vancouver City Council has approved a downtown zoning change, giving the green light to a 29-story, Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF)-designed commercial tower, The Architect’s Newspaper reported in June. The project at 601 West Pender Street is being developed by Reliance Properties and will feature premium office space atop a retail base sheltered by a vegetated pedestrian canopy. The top two floors will hold a host of amenities, including a lounge, a sauna, steam rooms, a wellness center and a 16,000-ft2 rooftop deck. The design of the tower, which is clad in a gridded metal façade, is described by KPF as “sensitive in both scale and materiality” and complementary to the heritage buildings with which it will soon share a city block, including the Rogers Building, an iconic Vancouver Heritage Foundation site. The tower will replace a six-story parking garage at the site. The building is scheduled for completion in 2025.