News

Vancouver, BC – UNITE HERE Local 40, the union for hospitality workers, is raising concerns about three proposals before Council on May 5 that fail to address Vancouver’s urgent affordability crisis for modest- and lower-income residents.

Two proposals will go to public hearing, while a third will bypass a public hearing entirely.

“Fast-Tracking Rezoning” – A Citywide Giveaway to Developers:

City Hall is proposing a mass rezoning of 2,348 properties across Vancouver to fast-track 6-8 storey market rentals and hotels – with no requirement for below-market housing. Key corridors like Main Street, East Hastings, Fraser Street, Victoria Drive, West 4^th, West 41^st, Dunbar and others would be upzoned. The likely result: higher land values and rents, increased speculation, and displacement of renters, small businesses and workers.

Despite already approving thousands of hotel rooms, the City is offering incentives to hotel developers and would allow these projects to bypass public hearings, regardless of local area impacts.

These changes are explicitly designed to improve “project viability” for developers, while local area residents are largely left out of the process.

Cambie Street Project: No Affordable Housing, Minimal Public Benefit:

A proposed 29-storey tower at 888–896 Cambie would include 246 hotel rooms and 165 market rental units – but not a single unit of affordable housing. The applicant proposes to demolish a heritage building and would grant the developer a massive density increase (from 5.0 to 19.5 FSR) in exchange for just $1.38 million in community amenity contributions.

With average downtown market rents requiring incomes that exceed $90,000 -$150,000, these units will be out of reach for most Vancouver residents.

888 W 8^th Hotel – No Public Hearing:

The third proposal, a 16-storey hotel, will bypass a public hearing altogether despite potential impacts on the quiet, residential street. If approved, this will be the third hotel project approved within walking distance of the area.

Council has approved projects with over 3,000 hotel rooms and nearly 4,000 more in the pipeline. Despite adopting a policy adding 10,000 hotel rooms by 2050, hotel approvals are moving so quickly that Council is on track to reach that number years – if not decades – ahead of schedule, all while the affordability crisis goes unaddressed.

Homes not Hotels:

This is a fundamental misalignment with what should be the city’s top priority; affordability.  Many tourism workers cannot afford to live in the city they serve.

“These proposals double down on hotels and high-priced rentals, while doing nothing for affordability,” said Zailda Chan, President of UNITE HERE Local 40. “Council should decide: are they governing for residents, or for developers?”

UNITE HERE Local 40 is urging Council to reject these proposals.

CONTACT: Michelle Travis, [email protected], 778-960-9785

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.