29-STORY HOTEL PLANNED FOR SITE OF ROSELLEN SUITES
On The Edge of Stanley Park

by Jake McGrail
(click images to enlarge)

Rosellen Suites has been a fixture in the West End for over 60 years. The four-story hotel is located right next to Stanley Park at 2030 Barclay Street, and features over two dozen boutique suites.

The hotel is most famous for its connection to Hollywood icon Katharine Hepburn, who is said to have stayed there on numerous occasions during her times in Vancouver. The massive 1,900 sq. ft. penthouse suite bears her name today.

Despite its history and tenure, the longevity of Rosellen Suites has been under threat for a number of years. The owners of the lot, local developer Marcon, first filed a redevelopment proposal back in 2018. That original plan called for the demolishing of the hotel and the creation of a new, 10-storey condo tower.

That never went anywhere, and now a new proposal has been submitted to city council. This time, Marcon is stating their aim to build a new hotel, one that’s 29-storeys tall. The plan includes 292 rooms, 65 of which would be your classic short-term hotel rooms, and the other 227 listed as “serviced apartments” – rooms intended for a medium to long-term stay.

**A Rendering of the previous 10 Storey Condo tower at 2030 Barclay. the new proposal, if approved, would add significant storeys and height to the development. (Marcon rendering)**

It’s an ambitious proposal, especially considering that it’s much larger than what the site’s existing zoning allows for. Currently, the lot is only allowed to have a building up to 190 feet tall. This newly proposed tower would be 330 feet tall. In addition, the proposal doesn’t totally conform to the guidelines set out in the West End Plan.

Despite this, Marcon hopes that city council will now rezone the site in order to approve their proposal, in the name of increasing Vancouver’s hotel capacity. The council has in the last couple years stated the importance of increasing the number of hotel rooms in the city, in order to not miss out on the presumed economic boost from tourism for big-ticket events like the upcoming Taylor Swift concerts or the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Marcon also states that their plan remains in line with the spirit of the West End Plan, and will help “fill the gaps” in the Vancouver skyline, giving the area a more pleasing look when viewed from Stanley Park or from outside the downtown core.

We’ll have to wait and see whether the redevelopment proposal is approved, as it was only submitted to the city at the end of July. There is currently the opportunity to submit comments on the proposal on the Shape Your City website (here).

DEVELOPMENT UPDATES

Below are links to some other media coverage of local real estate news in the West End and Coal Harbour from this past month: