8-36 W Cordova St and 15-27 W Hastings St rezoning application

The City of Vancouver has received an application to rezone 8-36 West Cordova Street and 15-27 West Hastings Street from HA-2 (Historic Area) and DD (Downtown) Districts to CD-1 (Comprehensive Development) District under the Downtown Eastside Plan. The proposal is for mixed-use development as follows:

8-36 West Cordova St (“Cohen Block”)

• 11-storey building with commercial and office uses;
• Approximately 264,047 sq. ft. of office space;
• Approximately 18,380 sq. ft. of ground‑floor commercial space;
• A building height of 48.7 m (159 ft.);
• A floor space ratio (FSR) of 8.77; and
• 211 vehicle parking spaces and 164 bicycle spaces.

15-27 West Hastings St (“Samuel Tower”)

• 19-storey building with commercial and residential uses;
• 127 secured market rental units and 62 below market units;
• Approximately 5,042 sq. ft. of ground‑floor commercial space;
• A building height of 54.8 m (179 ft.);
• A floor space ratio (FSR) of 9.49; and
• 74 vehicle parking spaces and 419 bicycle spaces.

The Cohen Block is located in the Gastown sub area of the Downtown Eastside Plan. The proposal requests rezoning consideration of height in excess of the existing policy. The Gastown sub-area allows a maximum height of 22.9 m (75 ft.).

The Cohen Block includes a number of heritage properties, and as such, the City’s Heritage Program and Heritage Policies apply. The application proposes primarily façade-only retention for the Cohen Block (Vancouver Heritage Register Category ‘A’ and ‘B’).

The Samuel Tower is located in the Victory Square sub area of the Downtown Eastside Plan. The proposal requests consideration of height in excess of the existing policy. The Victory Square sub-area allows a maximum height of 32 m (105 ft.).

Application drawings and statistics on this webpage are posted as-submitted to the City. Following staff review, the final project statistics are documented within the referral report.