There are currently around 30 proposals for new hotels in Vancouver as developers try to fix the city’s well-documented hotel shortage, but there is only a small handful of developers with multiple hotel projects in the works. Bosa Properties Inc. is one. Marcon is another. A third is Deecorp Properties Ltd.
Founded by Stanley Dee in 1994 after leaving Colliers, Deecorp to date has been focused on retail assets. Its first development was the retail building at the corner of Robson and Thurlow currently home to Aritzia. It also owns two other sites at prominent corners in downtown Vancouver and one in the Broadway Corridor that are all now set for hotel development.
“We are basically specialists in prime retail sites,” Dee told Western Investor. “And it just so happens that, by luck and chance, the next most location-sensitive asset type is hotel. Residential you can make work anywhere; industrial – in a lot of places. Office, somewhere in the middle. Retail is the most location-sensitive, and right next to retail is hotel.”
Dee’s investment strategy has been covered land plays – targeting properties with long-term land value potential that also produce income. The three sites where Deecorp is now planning hotels all fit that bill, and were all acquired between 1999 and 2004. They’re the three largest sites of the dozen properties decribed on its website.
The project that has progressed the furthest is 1167-1193 Granville St., also known as 717 Davie St., where Deecorp has proposed a 33-storey mixed-use hotel. Asked why the project has not progressed since the rezoning application was submitted in 2023, Dee said that he has been waiting for the residents of The Luugat supportive housing building across the street (the former Howard Johnson Hotel), to be relocated.
In July, as part of Vancouver city council’s ongoing efforts to revitalize the district, Mayor Ken Sim announced a plan to relocate residents of several supportive housing buildings away from the Granville entertainment district. One of those was The Luugat, and Deecorp’s hotel proposal could advance to council by February 2026.
The second site is 717 West Pender St. and 455 Granville St., at the northwest corner of the Granville-West Pender intersection. Currently occupied by a low-rise commercial building home to Rexall, Dee said early concept plans envision a hotel tower with a similar scale to the Granville-Davie proposal but mixed with some residential. Deecorp is currently figuring out the right balance.
The final site is 348-380 West 8th Avenue, occupied by two older commercial buildings that are home to, among others, Deecorp’s offices. The corner site is located half a block north from the intersection of Yukon Street and West Broadway and Deecorp has submitted a rezoning letter of enquiry with a proposal for a 33-storey hotel that Dee envisions for long-term stay – a popular choice for hotels in close proximity to Vancouver General Hospital.
Marriott is not in the cards, however, as Dee believes Marriott is already well-served in Vancouver. He expects it will be more of a lifestyle brand.
“We think Vancouver, in general, is under-represented with lifestyle hotels,” he explained. “We think Granville-Davie, which is going to be the centre of our entertainment world, should be a little edgy in terms of design and lifestyle rather than something boring and dull.”
An exciting brand choice is aligned with Dee’s plans for the hotels to be long-term holds.
“We would like to, ideally, stay in for the long long-term, decades into the future,” Dee said. “We’re planning to work with hotel experts and convert our land position into an ownership of hotel.”
Although there have been many proposals for new hotels in Vancouver, almost none have commenced construction. Dee said this is because hotel projects entail a lot more equity, risk, and involvement, although construction costs are gradually easing. Whether or not that makes a difference remains to be seen, however.
“It’s a very interesting time. There’s about 29 hotel proposals in Vancouver and we think only maybe a third will get built in the next 10 years,” he said. “We think the intelligent capital will gravitate only to the best projects in the best locations.”
