https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/downtown-vancouver-office-workplace-return
Vancouver has tried its damnedest to limit the size and growth of office buildings downtown.
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/metro-vancouver-office-market-september-2021
Seattle's tallest office tower is almost 80 stories and Calgary's is almost 60. Vancouver and BC have yet to permit an office tower to even have a 40th floor.
It was as if there was an unwritten rule that Vancouver & BC must not allow any building to be taller than what Seattle_had_in_1914. Of course Seattle could build big & tall, simply because it wasn't under V,BC building height limitations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Center#/media/File:Bank-of-america-seattle.jpg
"Smith Tower is a skyscraper in the Pioneer Square neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. Completed in 1914, the 38-story, 484 ft (148 m) tower is the oldest skyscraper in the city..." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_Tower
It would take until 1973 for an office tower in Vancouver to get close in height to what Seattle had in 1914.
| Roof | 144.78 m (475 ft) |
|---|
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Centre_(Vancouver) 1973
The Harbour_Centre opened in 1977, but the office floors don't even reach 30. This could have & should have been Vancouver's first 60 or at least first 50 story office tower, but 28 is the highest office floor.
"The CTBUH however lists the buildings architectural height as actually being 147 m (482 ft).[2] Furthermore, Skyscraperpage lists the buildings height to the roof as being only 139.6 m (458 ft).[3] This is stated to be the height from the Hastings Street entrance while the height from the back entrance on Cordova Street is 146 m (479 ft). It also lists the buildings pinnacle height to the tip of the antenna as being 177.1 m (581 ft)." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harbour_Centre
The fearful little city wanted to avoid the scale of something like the 222m Hopewell_Centre_(Hong_Kong). Today in most cities, a 728 foot, 62 story building isn't even the tallest. The office tower portion goes up to 56 floors. https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/hopewell-centre/1325 62 or 64 floors altogether.
Not counting the antenna or flag pole, the Harbour_Centre is about 480 feet and would be equivalent to a 37 to 40 story office tower. https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/harbour-centre/4144 However, Vancouver refuses to allow any office building to have a 40th floor.
| Height | 143 m (469 ft) |
|---|
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MNP_Tower 2014
Even a century after Seattle's tallest in 1914, Vancouver wasn't allowing office buildings to reach 500 feet & having a 40th floor.
