Transportation

There is no question that the City of Vancouver’s long-term master plan to revitalize the Granville Entertainment District has the potential to be a transformative game changer for downtown. This week, with the possibility of some amendments, Vancouver City Council will approve the Granville Street Plan — a comprehensive framework that sets the stage for high-density, mixed-use developments that largely complement entertainment-focused uses, alongside significant upgrades to public spaces along Granville Street between West Georgia and Drake streets. The plan also calls for major traffic changes: Granville Street would be fully closed to all vehicles, including TransLink buses, to create a vibrant, car-free, pedestrian-only corridor designed to support events and street-level activity. But let us be clear — while improved public spaces are important, they are not enough and could be a distraction from the core issues. The Granville Strip’s decline has not stemmed from a lack of wide sidewalks, seating, and other fixtures. It is largely an economic problem rooted in years of disinvestment, high commercial vacancy rates, and a failure to adapt to changing patterns of nightlife, retail, experiential attractions, and entertainment — all of which are compounded by a range of public safety concerns, both real and perceived. When examining the economic roots of the Granville Entertainment District’s decline, much of it can be traced back to the decline and closure of its once-thriving cinemas. While the street’s downturn has been a gradual process over several decades, it was the loss of these major anchors that truly tipped the scales, triggering a steady erosion of foot traffic and economic vitality on the Granville Strip. Until the early 2000s, large multi-screen theatre complexes like the six-auditorium Capitol 6 and the seven-auditorium Empire Granville 7 were major draws for the Granville Strip, bringing a steady flow of people of all ages throughout the day and into the evening. Combined, just these two cinemas, not including others nearby, had a combined seating capacity for approximately 5,000 theatre-goers — each with a capacity of around 2,500 — anchoring Granville Street as a vibrant entertainment destination. But over time, the older multiplex theatres in the Granville Entertainment District struggled to compete with the rise of modern stadium-style cinema complexes elsewhere in the city centre and Metro Vancouver. This trend led to the closure of Capitol 6 in 2005 to make way for the Capitol Residences tower, completed in 2011. Around the same time, the new Scotiabank Theatre (originally named as Paramount Theatre) opened just a few blocks away on Burrard Street, drawing foot traffic away from the entertainment district. It is worth noting that the massive Capitol 6 complex was not actually located on the Granville Strip itself. While its entrance was on Granville Street, all of its auditoriums were located on an adjacent large building spanning nearly half a block on Seymour Street, connected by an enclosed pedestrian bridge over the laneway. The Orpheum Theatre, previously used as a cinema before its current use for live performances, follows a similar configuration — its auditorium of heritage significance is situated on Seymour Street, while its iconic Granville Street entrance is linked by a footbridge as well. As for Empire Granville 7, its auditoriums were contained within an almost half block parcel of Granville Street. It gradually faded into irrelevance and ultimately became the Granville Strip’s last theatre, until its closure in 2012. The site remained dormant for years until late 2024, when Cineplex’s The Rec Room finally reached completion and opened, marking a long-awaited return of entertainment programming to the large property on the Granville Strip. Time-lapse video of the demolition of Capitol 6 Theatre in 2006/2007: Empire Granville 7 theatre at the Granville Entertainment District before its closure. (Google Maps) Will this actually catalyze new development worthy of the entertainment district? All of this leads to the first major question: Will the new development allowances outlined in the Granville Street Plan actually motivate property owners and developers to move forward with truly ambitious building projects worthy of the entertainment district? If the Granville Street Plan is to be successful, the revitalization must begin with creating major anchors — a critical mass of destination attractions, modern performance venues, vibrant nightlife establishments, and experiential retail. These are the kind of uses that once made the Granville Strip a cultural and entertainment powerhouse. As downtown Vancouver continues to densify and most surface vehicle parking lots and easily developable sites off Granville Street have already been built out, the solution now lies in embracing significant verticality for the entertainment district’s evolution — a shift made possible by the new plan, which replaces outdated policies that previously restricted the economic viability of new contemporary developments with enhanced commercial and entertainment uses. Moreover, verticality is a practical necessity due to downtown Vancouver’s relatively tight urban fabric. The city’s already small blocks are further constrained by laneways that bisect most blocks, making development parcels even narrower and more challenging to develop. These physical limitations can restrict the scale and types of projects that can be built — unless greater height is permitted. The Rec Room Granville at 850 Granville St. (Kenneth Chan) The Rec Room Granville at 850 Granville St. (Kenneth Chan) For example, permitted added building height could have theoretically given Cineplex the flexibility to consider building a larger Empire Granville 7 redevelopment — one that not only accommodates Western Canada’s flagship The Rec Room, but also includes