DEVELOPING STORIES

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STANDSTILL AT WEST GEORGIA
A line of properties stand in very different stages of progress

by Jake McGrail
(click images to enlarge)

A VIEW OF FIFTEEN FIFTEEN AS IT’S BEING BUILT.
(Jake McGrail Photos)

The two-block stretch of West Georgia from Nicola to Cardero Street boasts quite a high concentration of development. Or at least, that’s what would have been expected if you looked at that spot a few years ago.

In reality, the four current projects that sit along that stretch are all in quite varied stages along their respective processes, more often than not much closer to the beginning than the end (or perhaps not even with a beginning in sight).

The one that’s furthest along is the Fifteen Fifteen development - named as such because of its address of 1515 Alberni Street (although it also touches the West Georgia sidewalk). A project that’s been many years in the making, Fifteen Fifteen consists of 202 strata units spread across 42 floors, with seven levels of underground parking.

The condos will range in size from about 500 to 3,000 square feet, and range in price from around $900,000 to an eye-watering $18 million. The architectural design of the building, created by German architect Ole Scheeren, is certainly striking, nicknamed the “Jenga Tower” because of how certain floors jut out from the main tower in different directions. 

The giant pit at 1698 west georgia.

Presales began back in 2021, with a current estimated completion date of 2027. Despite the fact that the building is not yet finished, it was recognized as an award-winner at the 2025 International Architecture Awards in Chicago.

But while Fifteen Fifteen marches towards its completion, its neighbours remain dormant. 

At the corner of West Georgia and Bidwell, the “Park - West Georgia” sign stands tall over a deep excavated pit. The lot is supposed to one day be home to a 33-storey tower with 126 homes, but instead it’s just been a (very large) hole in the ground for over two years now. 

Meanwhile, the Georgian Towers apartment building at 1450 West Georgia remains standing, despite an application to tear it down and replace it with a 47-storey tower featuring a mix of strata and rental homes being approved by the city back in 2023.

In fact, Wesgroup Properties (who owns the Georgian Towers), still has the building listed in its “now renting” section of the apartments page on its website, with a point of contact for prospective renters to reach out to, seemingly indicating that there’s no plan to replace the building anytime soon.

The Georgian Towers.

The West End Journal covered slowness surrounding both Park and the Georgian Court back in the fall of 2023, and again in the summer of 2024 (see “Related Links” below) as part of a group of properties that received payment deadline extensions on the millions of dollars owed to the city as Community Amenity Contributions (CACs). The latest deadline for the projects involved now stands at May 2026, but with the lack of clear progress it wouldn’t be surprising for the site owners to look for yet another extension.

Speaking of lack of progress, perhaps the most glaring example of it in the neighbourhood is the emptiness of 1608-1616 West Georgia, which includes the site of the former White Spot. The property made headlines all the way back in 2017 when it was sold to Hong Kong-based Carnival International Holdings for a monstrous $245 million. Soon after, the site’s listed owner changed to the generically-named Alberni Street Holdings.

A redevelopment proposal for a pair of 38-storey condo towers was submitted to the city in 2019, but that never even reached the end of the approval process before proceedings were seemingly abandoned. The White Spot closed down in late 2020, and was demolished the following summer. Since then the lot has stayed empty. Carnival International Holdings, meanwhile, was liquidated in 2023.

A look inside the west georgia dog park.

Today, Alberni Street Holdings remains listed as the lots’ owner, controlled by the similarly generically-named Alberni Street Developments Ltd., as well as Hong Kong-Canadian real estate mogul Adam Kwok. 

The site also remains a dog park, as it has for years now, albeit one that’s not much more than a gravel field with a couple of benches and a garbage can. Why is that status significant? Well, by reclassifying sites from business use to recreational and/or non-profit use, there can be significant property tax savings.

An example is the site of a former Safeway at 4545 West 10th Avenue near UBC. Last February the Vancouver Sun reported that the mostly empty lot’s designation as a dog park and community garden (featuring about 120 planter boxes) has saved an estimated $600,000 a year in property taxes, at a site that’s been dormant for over half a decade.

With the 1608 West Georgia lot valued at about $45 million by BC Assessment (a little under half of the assessed value for 4545 West 10th), there’s likely significant savings there too. For what it’s worth, the 1616 West Georgia lot (owned by the same group) was most recently assessed at just under $100 million.

All in all, those couple blocks of West Georgia don’t paint the prettiest picture when it comes to maximizing the land that Vancouver does have ready and available. The Georgian Towers don’t quite fall into that category, as they at least still provide homes for many residents, but with the 1600 block still in basically the exact same condition as it was when we last covered it two years ago…you’d have to hope there’s some sort of change soon.

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