FAREWELL TO THE LISTEL HOTEL & FORAGE RESTAURANT
Hello To A New 28-Storey Tower And Hotel

by Jake McGrail
(click images to enlarge)

Over 35 years after opening the doors at its 1300 Robson Street location, the Listel Hotel shut down back in December. That came less than a month after Forage, the building’s restaurant, served its final meals. The building currently sits behind a fence, awaiting demolition.

**The Listel Hotel on Robson, as we knew if for 35 years.**

This is not the permanent end of there being a hotel at the site, as the current building is set to be replaced by a larger one, with more hotel rooms (174 compared to 129) plus another 126 rental homes on the upper floors. All told, the new building is planned to be 28 storeys tall.

The Listel Hospitality Group remains involved with the project, in partnership with the B.C.-based developer Bosa Properties. So the new hotel may well carry the same name as the current building.

However, given that it’ll be multiple years before anyone has the chance to again stay or eat at the site, we’re left unsure of what exactly the replacement will be like. There’s no telling whether or not there will be a continued focus on art in the new hotel, nor whether there will be the same focus on sustainability and zero-waste. Whether Forage might return is also unknown.

**an artists vision of the 28-story tower to rise on the site of the old hotel.**

What is known is that the plan for the new hotel will more than quadruple the height of the current building, and that the apartment units within the tower will range from studios to three-bedroom units. Other planned amenities include a spa, a pool, and a games room, as well as various conference and meeting spaces.

Initial reporting (from January 2024) stated that the Listel would close that November and be knocked down shortly thereafter, with construction on the new building planned to start in September of 2025 and finishing in 2028. Well, the hotel ended up staying open a couple weeks extra, and multiple months after closing the demolition has not yet started.

Whether or not there are delays in the original timeline, the building will eventually be knocked down with a new hotel (and apartment complex) to replace it. The redevelopment is in line with the city’s aim to increase hotel capacity in Vancouver to meet the ever-growing demand (although it does decrease capacity in the short-term for events like next year’s World Cup).

The Listel follows in the footsteps of the Empire Landmark Hotel which, just a block away, was torn down in 2018 and replaced by the Landmark on Robson condo tower, which finally opened up this January. The Listel, unlike Landmark, will retain its status as a hotel, but with longer-term housing units included as part of the development.