Press Release: Council Sides with Developers, Approves Coal Harbour “Floatel” Despite Community Opposition
Vancouver, BC – In a decision that sidesteps community concerns, a majority of Vancouver City Council approved a controversial 250-room floating hotel in Coal Harbour.
The vote came despite opposition from residents and hospitality workers, including members of UNITE HERE Local 40, who rallied at City Hall ahead of the public hearing.
“Yet again, Council has chosen a developer over working people,” said Zailda Chan, President of UNITE HERE Local 40. “This is another giveaway to a hotel developer that doesn’t need it, while hospitality workers struggle to afford to live in the city they serve.”
The project, a six-storey floating hotel roughly the length of two NHL hockey rinks, will be moored in Coal Harbour through at least 2060. It will partially block public waterfront views of the harbour and north shore along the seawall, and at the Burrard Street end panoramic view, the Vancouver Convention Center and Canada Place. Neither the publicly available applicant materials submitted to the city, nor the city’s public notice, provide a clear illustration of how popular viewing areas will be blocked.
Council approved the project despite concerns about minimal public benefits. The developer refused to provide a $3.6 million contribution to offset municipal costs, similar to standard payments other developers are expected to contribute. Although some councilors acknowledged they would prefer to see the developer make a financial contribution to offset impacts, they let the developer off the hook with their vote in support. Instead, the developer offered limited public access to a dock primarily serving its own spa and café.
Questions were also raised pertaining to city oversight of safety inspections. Unlike other developments, the floatel will not have to obtain City building and occupancy permits, relying instead on third-party inspections. Questions also remain about sewage management and the impact on the marine environment.
The project is backed by Finnish operator Sunborn Group and the Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre. Sunborn recently experienced financial difficulties with another floatel, Sunborn Gibraltar. Their Gibraltar operation defaulted on a €60 million bond payment in 2024 and remedied the payment last year.
Highlighting how disconnected the proposal is from everyday Vancouverites, Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre chair Graham Clarke responded to the public’s concerns by suggesting the site could instead become a private mega-yacht marina with no public access. Clarke stated he could “sell memberships to billionaires,” underscoring the project’s focus on private luxury over public benefit.
The decision comes as City Hall pushes to rapidly expand hotel capacity, with thousands of new hotel rooms already approved or underway, while hospitality workers are being squeezed by the affordability crisis.
“This is a bad deal for Vancouver. Rather than address the affordability crisis facing working people in Vancouver, Council is easing the way for luxury hotel developments that fail to contribute their fair share to our city,” said Chan.
Contact: Michelle Travis, [email protected], 778-960-9785.