Back in the mid-1990's, the City's planning department undertook a study that considered five options for the future of Vancouver's skyline:
- retain existing height limits (at roughly 450 feet)
- allow 2 landmark buildings at 600 feet
- allow 2 landmark buildings at 750 feet
- alllow 8 buildings between 450 and 550 feet
- allow 12 buildings between 450 and 550 feet
In the end, the decision was made to include elements from all five plans, according to the following criteria:
- Buildings that exceed the 450 foot limit should be confined to the Central Business District; generally north of Robson Street
- Buildings must not disrupt any of the view cones
- Buildings must not block views of the 'Lions', or views of the mountains from South False Creek
- Building heights should step down as they approach the water
Based on these criteria, the final study noted that there were 'probably 5 practical opportunities for buildings to exceed 450 feet', with two locations that would permit buildings to go as high as 600 feet. It was also noted that in the Triangle West neighbourhood, there was a possibility that a few buildings could rise to between 475 and 550 feet.
So what is the net result of this study, almost ten years later? Well, we now have several new or proposed buildings going up, at the following heights:
- Living Shangri La (648 feet)
- 1133 West Georgia (600 feet)
- 801 West Georgia (rumoured at 525 feet)
- The Melville (464 feet)
- Five Bentall Centre (461 feet)
- The Fairmont Pacific Rim (458 feet)
It's also worth noting that Vancouver's current tallest building, One Wall Centre, is 492 feet.
The original 1997 Downtown Vancouver Skyline Study can be found here (link to pdf), while Appendix C of the report (link to pdf) shows how the skyline is expected to look under the recommended plan.
