Western Canada’s tallest tower project to move ahead in downtown Vancouver
Posted July 28, 2026 7:17 am.
Last Updated July 28, 2026 7:18 am.
By a vote of 7-3, Vancouver City Council has approved the rezoning application for the Holborn Group’s massive redevelopment project that is set to transform the city’s skyline.
The plans include a trio of highrises on an entire block of West Georgia. One of these highrises is a planned 920-room hotel that would be the tallest tower in Western Canada, at 1,033 feet.
“The opportunity for a project of this scale is truly rare, and happens once in a lifetime,” said Holborn Group president Joo Kim Tiah.
“It would be our honour to build this project for this city.”
Project architect Gregory Henriquez says the design was inspired by the glass sea sponge.
“We will be the largest sea sponge in the world in downtown Vancouver, with a public observation deck on top,” Henriquez said.
The project will deliver almost 2,000 new homes, including market condos and rental homes.
It will also include a standalone social housing unit on Abbott Street, with 378 units.
Hospitality workers with Unite Here Local 40 protested the motion ahead of the vote, saying megaprojects like this will push the working class further away from Vancouver.
“We are not surprised that ABC voted to support billionaire Holborn’s super-towers,” said union spokesperson Michelle Travis.
“We think it doesn’t offer enough in terms of affordable housing.”
The same union was involved in a council disruption last week that Mayor Ken Sim called an act of “foreign interference.”
CityNews was unable to get comment from Sim after the meeting.
Coun. Pete Fry, who voted against the motion, says the project requires more scrutiny, especially around its height.
“This is moving ahead on the tall buildings policy that really hasn’t been analyzed yet,” Fry said.
“We were told by staff the analysis would be coming later, and we’re jumping ahead of that.”
The project’s construction timeline remains unclear, with developers suggesting it will be four or five years before shovels hit the ground.
