Vancouver city council unanimously approved a rezoning application Thursday for a two-tower redevelopment of an iconic former motel property on Vancouver’s Main Street.
Property owner Nicola Wealth Real Estate Acquisitions Ltd. wants to build a pair of rental towers to replace the 1950s-era City Centre Motor Hotel at 2111 Main St. The two-level building has been used as a temporary artists’ lodge since the motel ceased business operations in 2021.
City of Vancouver rezoning planner Chee Chan said during Thursday’s meeting the proposal meets the intent of the Broadway Plan and that it contributes approximately $10 million in public benefits.
In response to questions from Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung, the city’s senior planner for cultural spaces, Alix Sales, said the city will secure a non-profit tenant to operate a future cultural amenity space at the site, which could resemble a “smaller-scale” version of the artists’ studios there at present.
Nicola Wealth development director Andre Linaksita said the existing motel sign will not be wholly preserved.
“Our intent is to replace something of a similar like, probably not to the original unfortunately, but we hope to bring it into the future,” he said.
In response to questions from Coun. Pete Fry, Sales said the city wants to prevent artistic and cultural groups from being displaced, but that the process is “painstakingly slow” to bring new cultural spaces online in the area.
“It’s like watching artists’ paint dry,” Fry said.
Members of the public who participated in the hearing mostly offered support for the project, including a local business improvement association, artist collective James Black Gallery and representatives of the Vancouver Mural Festival and Narrow Group, the landlord for the current artists’ lodge.
Some speakers expressed concerns about transportation layout and traffic safety, as well as the project’s size and height. One speaker, while supporting the redevelopment, said current uses go beyond art, with addiction-recovery and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings regularly occurring there, resulting in the nickname, “No-Tell Motel.”
The proposed towers would reach 22 and 24 storeys, and would contain a total of 446 rental homes, with 20 per cent of the residential floor area secured for below-market rental units. The building would also have ground-floor commercial space and a 5,820-square-foot cultural amenity space.
