At a council meeting on October 21, the District of North Vancouver council voted to move a proposed new hotel to a public heading, which has been tentatively scheduled for November 19.
CHARD Developments’s proposal aims to replace two existing hotels—the Surestay by Best Western and the Econo Lodge Inn and Suites—with a new, modern hotel and a high-rise rental apartment building. The project, located at 1634 and 1748 Capilano Road, would transform the 2.5-acre site into a mixed-use area with commercial spaces, a restaurant, and affordable rental units managed in partnership with the YWCA.
Following council feedback and public input in 2023, the developer has revised plans to include an increase in hotel rooms and height increase for the residential building, which will now have 48 below-market units, of which 18 will be operated at a deep subsidy by the YWCA.
A new 12-storey hotel in North Vancouver
The new 12-story hotel will fully replace the two older on-site hotels, offering 171 rooms and amenities, including restaurants, meeting rooms, and recreational facilities. According to a staff report to council, the modern hotel will boost local economy by catering to tourists, sports teams, and business travellers. The new design includes improved vehicle access from McGuire Avenue and better safety measures for egress onto Curling Road.
Affordable Rental Housing and YWCA Partnership
The project’s 37-story rental apartment tower will include 478 units, with 430 at market rates and 48 below-market units. Of these, 18 units will be managed by the YWCA, designed for women-led families. A mix of unit sizes caters to families and individuals, with about one-third of the apartments offering two- and three-bedroom layouts. The building will also include 5,000 square feet of commercial retail space along Capilano Road.
The hotel proposes 336 parking stalls.
At 37 stories, the height of this proposed residential tower is significantly taller than neighboring buildings. If the application is successful, the rental building will be the tallest town on North Shore. The developments justify this height by noting the limited available land on the site.
“The current proposal’s building heights of 37 and 12 storeys reflect both the urban setting and the constraints placed on a site, when only 1/3 of the site is available for residential use (1/3 being for hotel use and 1/3 for roads),” notes a staff report to council. “The switch also increases the need for added density and height to a purpose-built rental building, which meets the District’s housing objectives, but reduces profits and requires more units to offset the costs associated with providing below-market units and extensive off-site improvements.”
NOOOO!! Please…NO. We can’t handle any more.
No point in me saying any more as the ink might not be dry, but it’s already a done deal.
Shame on you all!
Calm down
Is there an end in sight with the high density development? Why don’t we have a referendum on high density development in general?
Does anybody realize we only have 2 bridges for getting on/off of the North Shore?
So in an emergency we are stuck over here, and the traffic is already horrendous with
Ferry traffic,etc
All rightly know how bad traffic is already!! A plan to deal with it ????