The Bay Building at 674 Granville Reimagined

HBC releases preview of plans to add 1 million square feet of office space to downtown Vancouver, targeting major tech sector tenants.

Streetworks Development, the property development division of HBC, has released initial plans to redevelop The Bay store building in downtown Vancouver at 674 Granville St. Information available to date regarding the redevelopment has been provided to inform the public of what HBC has planned prior to their formal application to the City of Vancouver.

HBC’s recent press release highlighted the following details:

New 12-storey tower to be built above existing building
Tower to include ~1 million square feet of new office space (tripling the existing floorspace), accommodating ~5,000 employees
Office floors to have large floor plates of up to 61,000 square feet – 4X the size of an average Vancouver office floor plate
Plans to build an Internal multi-level atrium above the existing store
Preservation plans of the century-old terra cotta exterior
Confirmation that The Bay store will remain on site
Plans for reimagined retail space of ~350,000 square feet that will allow additional retail businesses to locate to the building
Amenity rooftop garden available to office tenants
Green Mobility transportation hub

West Georgia Street entrance of the Bay building — West Georgia Street entrance of The Bay Building (Perkins & Will/Streetworks Development)

Rebirth of The Bay Building

Working alongside Perkins & Will with design and urban planning and communications company Pooni Group, HBC’s proposed changes include structural additions and renovations that will include bringing the building’s heritage designated terracotta façade back to life.

We intend to honour the heritage of our flagship building, as well as that of historic Granville Street, while expressing our confidence in the future of Vancouver’s downtown.
Richard Hamori, COO, Streetworks Development

Rendering of arcade and pedestrian connection between Granville and Seymour Streets (Perkins & Will/Streetworks Development)

Improving Your Commute – Transit and Ground Oriented Plans

Alongside direct underground access to transit and SkyTrain via pedestrian links, the project looks to encourage transit-oriented tenants to bike to downtown. The lower levels of the building will be integrated with the existing downtown cycling network and will include the addition of storage for 1,500 bicycles.

Rendering of the connection to the Bay Parkade (Perkins & Will/Streetworks Development)

View from West Georgia St. and Seymour Street (Perkins & Will/Streetworks Development)

Rendering of the sky atrium 674 Granville Street — Rendering of the sky atrium in The Bay Building (Perkins & Will/Streetworks Development)

Economic Impact

Streetworks forecasts the following economic impact upon the revitalization of the former Bay building:

7,950 jobs of which 4,850 will be in Vancouver
$510 million in expected labor income of which $330 million will be in Vancouver
$1.65 Billion economic output in BC to be generated through construction

Artistic rendering of the redevelopment of Hudson’s Bay’s Vancouver flagship store at 674 Granville Street. (Perkins & Will/Streetworks Development/Hudson’s Bay Company) — Artistic rendering of the interior of HBCs Vancouver flagship store at 674 Granville Street. (Perkins & Will/Streetworks Development/Hudson’s Bay Company)

view of The Bay building from 725 Granville Street — Current view of The Bay Building from 725 Granville Street (Oliver Rathonyi-Reusz)

Drone rendering shot of the Bay building — Drone rendering shot of The Bay Building (Perkins & Will/Streetworks Development)

Development Timeline

Subject to the city rezoning approval, Heritage Revitalization Agreement and building & development permit approvals, Streetworks forecasts construction to commence in 2024.

Follow along with us as we keep you updated of the status at The Bay Building, including on-site photos and video as the project progresses.

The Bay Building at 674 Granville Reimagined