New Hotel Georgia Unveiled

Or...at least an early version of it, since the building plans still have to be reviewed by the Development Permit Board this coming February. The plans were first submitted to the Urban Design Panel on December 6th.

As the Province reported yesterday (link to article here), the Hotel Georgia is set to temporarily close its doors on January 2nd. It will undergo a three-year renovation, after which it will reopen as a 247-room luxury boutique hotel, hopefully in time for the Olympics.

Of perhaps greater significance is the 48 storey (479 feet) mixed-use tower that's set to go up behind it. The new building will include 156 condos, plus a substantial 60,000 square feet of office space.

According to the Province article, it's not certain that the tower portion will be finished by 2010, which suggests that the approval process might still take some time.

For another look at the project, go to Delta Land Development's website here, click on 'Upcoming', and then 'Hotel Georgia'. Our previous coverage of this property can be found here.

Thoughts/comments on the design? This will be Vancouver's fourth-tallest building once it's completed.

Comments

[rimka]

Aesthetically speaking, it's a shame they're going with this design over the previous one. It looks dated and heavy, the crystal tower - as cheesy as it's nickname is - would have been an beautiful sculptural addition to the Vancouver skyline. Instead we have something that looks like a Hong Kong transformer from the 80's.

[Laurence]

As far as I'm concerned, we need a tower like this in Vancouver. I was getting tired of the constant drive to build the wackiest and most abstract architecture. The simplicity here is a welcome change, and it goes extremely well with the old Hotel Georgia. The Crystal Tower clashed too much in terms of style.

[rimka]

*smiles* out of all the descriptive words for the crystal tower, wacky and abstract wouldn't be one of them. Neither would I use those terms to describe contemporary vancouver architecture. But I agree that it's nice to have the suit match the shoes - even if it is an 80's rule of fashion. The only thing is, I don't see how post-modern Hong Kong brutalism wouldn't clash with a tweed suit, or perhaps in this case, brown leather shoes.

[DaveyK]

I don't like the new design at all. We should expect a lot better. Hopefully the city won't approve this one, and send them back to the drawing board. They did the same thing with the original building at 1133 West Georgia, and we got something a lot better in the end.

[ron]

Just a note that the UDP minutes indicate a height of 512ft for the Hotel Georgia addition. That takes it up to the full height allowed by the view cone over the site.

http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/planning/udp/2006/minutes/dec6.htm

[Homer Whittaker]

Can anyone explain why the owners/management of Hotel Georgia aren't seeking to take investment advantage of a surging Canadian dollar to add at least two more floors to their proposed 48 floor structure?? It would seem to be a more cost effective move at this time as more rooms can always be of income benefit during the 2010 Olympics and beyond.

[Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center]

The hotel is very nice. The modern style and quality.

[hair loss causes]

In practice, each state has adopted a three branch system of government generally along the same lines as that of the federal government—though this is not a requirement.

[Coach Hire]

The opening of Rosewood Hotel Georgia will return Vancouver's most historic hotel to its place as one of the select hotels of the world.

I heard that,the property will feature 154 guest rooms, including large suites, and a separate 48-storey residential tower to be completed in 2012. The hotel will also feature Sense, A Rosewood SpaTM, a fitness center, indoor swimming pool, a nightclub and Hawksworth Restaurant.