Real Estate News 
Oxford’s newest development at 1133 Melville Street in Vancouver will continue their legacy of building world class buildings, with market-leading amenities.
Construction at 1133 Melville Street – the soon to be tallest office building in the city of Vancouver – is moving along swiftly; the project is expected to ‘top-off’ in late 2021 with tenants taking possession in 2022.
The tower, referred to as The Stack for its unique twisting stack of boxes, will be approximately 550 feet tall over 37 storeys with ~550,000 sq.ft. of leasable office space. The architects envisioned a structure with 4 distinct buildings (or boxes) that were each inspired by the context of the surrounding buildings, providing different heights and forms, with the added benefit of creating unique amenity spaces for the tenants throughout.
Outdoor Accessibility at The Stack
The design of The Stack incorporates a much sought-after feature for post-pandemic workplaces – outdoor accessibility.
The developer Oxford Properties Group along with designers James K.M. Cheng Architects and Adamson Associates Architects were ahead of the curve in creating unique environment for the occupants of their building. Tenants will enjoy a mix of private outdoor spaces at various levels in the building, in addition to a shared rooftop deck with sweeping views and a new public greenspace at street level.
By rotating The Stack we’re actually creating outdoor spaces so more people inside the building can enjoy it. They have more outdoor and social spaces.
James K.M. Cheng
Many of the open floor plates will have over-height ceilings up to 14′ and span up to ~20,000 sq.ft. in size, representing some of the largest in the city of Vancouver. The floors with access to outdoor spaces were designed to provide tenants the ability to gather in a mix of indoor and outdoor settings, offering spaces with fresh air and a calming environment where teams can collaborate.
The large rooftop patio (approximately 6,000 sq.ft.), will be accessible to all tenants with outdoor and covered seating spaces and views of the mountains, city and harbour.
Tenants and the Customer Experience
Target tenants for the project include large corporate firms, growing tech companies, and creative and digital media firms.
Early into their marketing process, Oxford was able to secure anchor tenants that included law firm Blakes for ~ 80,000 sq.ft., Ernst & Young for ~ 60,000 sq.ft., and law firm DLA Piper taking ~67,000 sq.ft. Combined, these tenants have committed to the top two boxes of the building.
The team at Oxford is also very excited to be welcoming BDC as their newest tenant in the building, with a lease that was signed in the summer of 2021.
When discussing the project with prospective tenants Oxford takes a unique approach, often referring to these tenants as ‘customers’ to illustrate the landlord’s desire to provide excellent service and an experience in their buildings.
We design buildings from the inside out, starting with the customer. We have spent many years understanding our customers, including what these customers want to do with their brands and their spaces.
Michael Turner, President at Oxford Properties Group
Ledcor is the construction partner for this project, with completion anticipated by Q3 2022. Oxford Properties Group’s other developments in downtown Vancouver include the recently completed Amazon office building at 402 Dunsmuir Street and MNP Tower at 1021 West Hastings.
Follow along with us as we keep you updated of the status at The Stack, including on-site photos and video as the project nears completion.
