Tall & Urban News

It didn’t take long for the new joint owners of the Bentall Centre towers to begin revitalizing the central business district office and retail complex located in downtown Vancouver.

A new dog park is being built on the rooftop of Thurlow parkade, as well as an athletic centre with fitness equipment, locker rooms, bike storage, and towel service inside the complex.

This comes less than a year since Los Angeles-based Hudson Pacific Properties acquired the property in partnership with New York City-based Blackstone Property Partners for CA$1.06-billion (US$803 million)– in what is still the largest single real estate deal in Vancouver’s history.

“We are excited to refresh the campus with amenities and programming that reflect the local community,” said Hudson Pacific Western Canada’s senior vice-president, Chuck We.

“We are also proud to support and invest in our city’s central business district as the economic recovery gets underway and Vancouverites return to work," he said.

People walking along Dunsmuir Street can soon expect to see a transformation of its outdoor plaza, with the addition of furniture, greenery, and a canopy of LED lights.

The sunken space, which currently has a water fountain, will see its replacement with a “wave deck” of a multi-level platform of flowing cedar decking.

This first phase of Bental Centre enhancements will take into consideration health and safety guidelines amid the COVID-19 pandemic, confirmed a company spokesperson.

This includes an allowance for “adequate physical distancing" in the newly constructed spaces.

What’s already been completed at Bentall Centre includes LED lighting added to the top of Towers One and Two.

The construction of a YWCA fitness and racquet club has already been built in the lower plaza of Tower Four, along with five murals added to Thurlow parkade.

Beginning in late 2020 and early 2021, Hudson Pacific plans to begin renovations on stores in Bentall Centre's underground shopping mall – which saw 500,000 square feet (46,000 square meters) added to its former 1.44-million (134,000 square meter) total floor area of space.

For more on this story, see Vancouver Is Awesome.