A shuttered, former shoe store on West Hastings near Abbott will soon be redeveloped into a 10-storey, secured market rental building with a slender profile.
Gair Williamson Architects designed the new building, which will include 32 secured market rental units, a rooftop amenity space and ground floor retail.
![West Hastings Streetscape - Looking North](https://www.urbanyvr.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/West-Hastings-Streetscape-Looking-North-960x766.jpg)
The slender building will have an internal lightwell to ensure natural light to the second bedrooms of the two-bedroom units, which make up 50 per cent of the overall unit count — double the requirement of 25 per cent.
The exterior of the building will have a copper-coloured façade, meant to acknowledge the contemporary nature of the development, while paying tribute to the surrounding older buildings. Windows and the metal panel lane façade treatment will be a light, cool, grey colour.
![](https://www.urbanyvr.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Rendering-of-55-West-Hastings-digital.jpg)
The building’s lobby will include a wall mural of Downtown Vancouver, highlighted and enlarged, indicating locations of key attractions, including parks, libraries, school, shops and restaurants.
The proposed redevelopment is the fourth consecutive project in a quartet of developments on the block, designed by Gair Williamson Architects, which include a 10-storey rental building adjacent to the west, 388 Abbott/95 West Hastings (Development Permit approved), and two completed market residential buildings adjacent to the east, the Paris Block and Paris Annex.
![55 West Hastings rendering](https://www.urbanyvr.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/55-West-Hastings-rendering-960x962.jpg)
![Subject site at 55 West Hastings](https://www.urbanyvr.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Subject-site-at-55-West-Hastings-960x669.jpg)
The development is also on the same block as the former Army and Navy department store, which will be redeveloped in a partnership between the Cohen Family and Bosa Properties. The forthcoming Cohen Block will consist of purpose-built rental, retail and office space, and community amenities.
![The Cohen Block site context](https://www.urbanyvr.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Site-Context-V1-e1627003592122-960x539.jpg)