Pacific Centre owner Cadillac Fairview is proposing to redevelop a plot of land at the northeast corner of West Georgia and Howe streets, which currently has a terrace and a glass rotunda, and build a three-storey retail building.
The City of Vancouver’s urban design panel is slated to consider the proposal at a meeting on July 27 at 6:45 p.m., according to the agenda.
Perkins + Will is listed as the architectural firm.
“Finally,” said retail analyst and Retail Insider Media editor Craig Patterson, when told of the news. “Cadillac Fairview is moving forward with plans to intensify what many would consider to be an underutilized piece of real estate on one of the most prominent corners of the city.”
Plans in the past had showed a multilevel retail building on the site with renderings showing an Abercrombie and Fitch store, Patterson said.
However, Abercrombie and Fitch instead located in the mall underneath the current Nordstrom store in the block to the south.
Building the new three-storey building could provide an opportunity to do something upscale in the area, given that Pacific Centre has high-end tenants such as Michael Kors, Harry Rosen, Holt Renfrew, Max Mara and others. Saks Fifth Avenue has said that it plans to open in Vancouver although it has not revealed a location.
Uniqlo has also said that it intends to open a Vancouver location. Other similar lower-cost retailers that are not currently in the market might also be interested in the space, according to Patterson.
The Four Seasons Hotel is directly north of the space.
No one from Cadillac Fairview could be reached by press time.
