New office tower planned for flagship Hudson's Bay building in downtown Vancouver

Theredevelopment plan fortheHudson'sBaybuilding in downtown Vancouver will include a 12-storey office tower that keepsthecentury-old facade oftheretail store, according to plans announced Wednesday.

Hudson'sBayCo. and its partner RioCan Real Estate Trust saidtheBaystore will remain atthesite downtown along with other retail businesses as part oftheredevelopment.

A statement saidthere will be about 32,500 square metres of retail space and another 93,000 square metres of office space inthetower more floor space than inside Buckingham Palace.

Thecompanies plan to improve access fromthebuilding to the GranvilleSkyTrain station directly below it, as well as to the Vancouver City Centre Canada Line station acrossthestreet.

There will also be underground storage for up to 1,500 bicycles and a public pedestrian walkway with covered access tothebuilding.

The statement saidconstruction could start in early 2024 after an application is made tothecity for rezoning, which could take about a year.