Pacific Metropolis: Hotel Georgia at the DPB

Three months after new design plans for the Hotel Georgia were unveiled last December, the developer finally went before the Development Permit Board last week.

The project aims to renovate the Hotel Georgia, and also build a 48-storey mixed-use retail, office and condo tower to the north of the hotel.

The DPB approved the project, but with some conditions. (Link to pdf of the Committee report here).

Most notably, the City would like to see improvements to the building's architectural design, as planners said that 'further refinements to aspects of its detailed sculpting and treatment and its top are needed.'

Specifically, it would seem that the Urban Design Panel liked the lower part of the building's integration with the Hotel Georgia, however they wanted to see a better design at the top, which they said would benefit from 'further simplification.'

Among some of the other interesting information in the report:

The new tower will in fact be Vancouver's third tallest, once it's completed
At its highest point, the building will come in at 516.6 feet
Among several 'green' elements of its design, the building will use geothermal heating

As for the renovations to the Hotel Georgia, 'the ballroom will be rebuilt, bringing back the historical details', while 'the original revolving door will be reinstated on Georgia Street.'

So...it would seem that we'll be getting a revised building design in the weeks to come.

Even though it will most likely consist of minor refinements, here's hoping that the architects try a little harder, and come back with something that's a significant improvement over the current version.