A proposal has come forward for a new 29-storey hotel steps away from Stanley Park.
The property, at 2030 Barclay St., is currently the Rosellen Suites. Built in 1959, the four-storey hotel was popular with Katharine Hepburn when she visited Vancouver (the penthouse suite is named after the Hollywood star). It has 29 large suites.
Now, a proposal submitted to the city shows plans for a 100-metre tall hotel tower with 292 accommodation units, restaurant space on street level, and other hotel amenities. While there are several towers in the West End area around the proposed hotel, it would stand 25 metres taller than anything else nearby.
Of the 292 units, only 65 will be traditional short-term stay rooms (on the top floors), while 227 will be serviced apartments for longer-term stays.
"Serviced apartments are increasingly in demand given the restrictions on short-term stays (i.e. Airbnb) in traditional residential zones," reads the proposal from Marcon and Henriquez Partners Architects.
The street-level restaurant will be for both guests and the public at large.
"The proposed restaurant patio is designed to overlook the streetscape, with rich textural planting buffering the retaining walls and a sculptural specimen tree framing the lobby entry," reads the proposal. "Materially, the intent is to blend with the adjacent park and properties in a more contemporary expression."
The roof will also be an amenity, with a rooftop pool and lounge area.
A previous proposal for the site in 2018 was submitted to the city. The same developers wanted to build a 10-storey residential tower, but it has been scrapped for the larger hotel project.
