A public hearing Tuesday night concluded with Vancouver city councillors approving changes to allow for a massive floating hotel in Coal Harbour.
Council and members of the public heard the Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre’s application to amend size requirements to permit a 250-room vessel, featuring a restaurant, bar, and on-board spa, and on a public water lot dock system just off of 1055 Canada Place.
The “floatel” is anticipated to employ as many as 225 full-time workers.
But, like Felicia Perry, who works in downtown Vancouver, some speakers Tuesday shared their concerns over the city focusing on hotels rather than the affordability crisis.
“Many of us are struggling to pay rent to stay in our communities and to build a future here,” said Perry.
“Against that backdrop, this proposal feels completely disconnected from reality.”
Michelle Travis, with Unite Here Local 40, strongly opposed the plan, claiming it would wall off public views and dominate the shoreline.
“This is not a small or short-term addition. It’s a large, semi-permanent intrusion into a landmark public space,” said Travis.
Elveena works at a downtown hotel and also spoke in opposition to the project, saying it will block the view from Coal Harbour.
“We already have hotels. We already have places for people to stay. What we don’t have is an endless supply of public waterfront. Once we give that up, we don’t get it back.”
Related:
The Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre put forward the proposal on behalf of the Sunborn Group.
CEO of Sunborn International, Hans Niemi, says the hotel benefits from being connected to the Vancouver Convention Centre.
“It is a high-quality hotel,” said Niemi.
“What we are running in London currently is a four-star deluxe property. This would be a slightly higher standard.”
But he says the Vancouver location will not be unattainably expensive.
“We understand the product and the location,” he said.
President of Destination Vancouver Royce Chwin argued in support of the hotel, saying the Vancouver Convention Centre once faced similar concerns.
“It’s designed to integrate with the public realm, with public access, supporting urgently-needed hotel capacity. It’s environmentally focused and grounded. And it complements, it does not compete with, the Convention Centre,” said Chwin.
Sunborn has not confirmed an exact timeline for the completion of the project.
—With files from Emma Crawford