---
title: "Vancouver staff recommend rejecting downtown hotel over spacing concerns"
description: "City staff say a 15-storey, 163-foot hotel proposed for Seymour Street sits too close to a neighbouring residential tower and ask council to turn it down at a November 17 consideration meeting."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/news/seymour-street-hotel-staff-rejection-november-2026"
last_updated: "2026-11-13T06:03:39.769Z"
---

Vancouver city staff are recommending the new City Council reject a rezoning application for a 15-storey hotel on Seymour Street in downtown Vancouver, saying the design leaves too little space between the proposed building and an existing residential tower next door.

Daily Hive Vancouver reported on November 12 that city staff flagged "significant form of development issues" with the proposal for 852-872 Seymour Street, a mid-block site between Robson and Smithe streets, across from the Orpheum Theatre.

## The proposal

Developer Bene Group applied to build a 163-foot, 15-storey hotel on the site. The proposal includes 151 hotel rooms, a 2,500-square-foot restaurant and bar at street level, and two underground parking levels accessed by car elevators. The total floor area would be 82,500 square feet, which Daily Hive described as 11 times the size of the lot.

The design, by Arno Matis Architecture, would also preserve the two-storey front facade of the Great War Veterans' Association Hall, built in 1926, which currently stands on the narrow 62-foot-wide site.

## Why staff say no

City staff identified two main problems with the proposal.

The first is spacing. The city's standard requires at least 60 feet of separation between a new building and existing residential uses. The Bene Group design would leave only 36 feet between the hotel and the neighbouring Vita condominium tower to the south, well below that minimum.

The second is the effect on a nearby project already in progress. A 30-storey Marriott hotel is under construction at 848 Seymour Street and is expected to open in 2028. City staff said seven guest rooms in that building would face a lightwell with inadequate daylight and views if the Bene Group tower went ahead as designed.

Staff described these as issues that "would have negative impacts on contextual fit and surrounding properties," according to Daily Hive's report.

## What council will decide

The November 17, 2026 meeting is a consideration stage, which comes before any public hearing. City staff are recommending that council send the application to a public hearing with a subsequent staff recommendation to reject it.

A yes vote on November 17 sends the application to a public hearing; at that later hearing, residents can speak, and council would then make a final decision on the building. A no vote ends the application.

Residents can follow the November 17 meeting through the City of Vancouver's council meetings page at vancouver.ca, and can speak at any future public hearing if council refers the application.

## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](/sitemap.md) for all pages.