Hallmark Hospitality Group is developing a new 12-storey hotel along the future Broadway subway line on Vancouver’s west side.

Zeidler Architecture has filed a development permit application on Vancouver-based Hallmark’s behalf. City council approved a rezoning application submitted by Zeidler beforehand.

The property is located on the northwest corner of West Broadway and Laurel Street, across from the future Oak-Vancouver General Hospital subway station site.

Zeidler is designing the project, which is slated to contain 151 rooms and bear the AC Hotel by Marriott brand. Amenities are to include a restaurant, bar, meeting rooms and fitness centre.

“It has this potential of being a real hub of activity for the full Broadway itself and for that community in general, especially the link with the hospital,” James Brown, a Zeidler partner who serves as the project’s lead architect, told Connect.

“It seemed like a great location for the hotel. We know the city is lacking hotel right now, and there was great interest from the city [administration] to get through the rezoning process as quickly as we could, and then the [development permit.] So, they were very much a partner with us.”

Hallmark and Zeidler are awaiting public comments on the development application, expected soon after a commentary period ended in late February. The project is expected to take 36 months to complete. The exact start date may depend on when the subway tunnel is finished, said Brown.

Pending the comments, Zeidler and Hallmark hope to complete working drawings in the near future and get shovels in the ground by year-end 2024.

“We spent a lot of time exploring the site, making sure that we could make it fit,” said Brown.

The project is constrained on all sides due to several limitations, he noted. For example, BC Hydro, the province’s power utility, imposed limits to the north. Also, the hotel must be built to a certain height because the property lies on a helicopter flight path used for emergency patient transfers to VGH.

The proposed hotel’s main design feature is a gradated facade that connects to a brick-faced podium that emulates the material used in historic buildings in the Broadway corridor.

Zeidler strived to create an iconic image, said Brown.

“So, when people drive down Broadway, they’ll have that very strong image and know that this is an important hotel even without seeing the signage,” said Brown.

The project currently houses a restaurant and fitness club.

If all goes according to plan, the Hallmark development will sit kitty-corner to a pair of hotels that Bosa Properties is seeking to construct.

Hallmark owns hotels operating under various brands in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto. Zeidler operates out of offices based in Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver and Victoria. Brown is based in Calgary, the company’s largest office, but leads many projects in Vancouver, where he previously worked and studied.

Rendering: Courtesy of Zeidler Architecture/Hallmark Hospitality Group