Downtown VW

Living in Downtown Vancouver Near Robson Street

On this page (12 sections)

Downtown Vancouver is the city's vibrant core — a dynamic mix of business, culture, cuisine, and entertainment. Whether you're drawn by the energy of Robson Street, the cultural institutions, or the breathtaking harbour views, owning a home downtown puts the best of Vancouver at your doorstep.

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Schools in Downtown Vancouver

British Columbia Institute of Technology, Vancouver Community College, Simon Fraser University and University of British Columbia have campuses in Downtown Vancouver. This is not a complete list of the schools nearby.

Where Downtown sits

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Drive time to Downtown

Drive time from Downtown

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Street address and city, for example 100 Main St, Vancouver.

The time is to the middle of the neighbourhood, not to a specific home. Traffic varies by day and incidents. Directions and traffic data from Google Maps.

Living near a school does not mean a place at it. Your child's school comes from the district's catchment boundaries, and those change, so confirm the address with the district before you write an offer.

Source: BC Ministry of Education and Child Care school list (2025/26, updated July 2026) and the Province's post-secondary locations list.

Common questions

Can I rent out a Downtown VW condo long-term?

Yes — strata rental-restriction bylaws have been unenforceable since November 24, 2022 anywhere in BC, whatever a directory line says. Short-term rentals are a separate question: stratas can still restrict them and Vancouver licences them. The Empty Homes Tax declaration applies if the unit sits empty instead.

Which schools serve a VW-core address?

SD39 catchments are address-based. The VSB directory lists two elementaries under Downtown — Elsie Roy (150 Drake Street) and Crosstown šxʷwəq̓ʷəθət (55 Expo Boulevard) — both at the area's south and east sides, not in the VW core.

Why do sources disagree on Tate Downtown's completion year and 1188 Howe's size?

Tate's strata manager records construction completed and opened in 2018 while current listings record built 2019; 1188 Howe's directory records 185 residential plus 5 commercial units in its description and 190 units in its FAQ, with built 1994 in one line and 1995 in another.

A listing calls a Tate unit a "townhouse." What am I actually buying?

A strata lot in a 333-unit apartment tower (Tate Downtown, 1283 Howe Street) — the documented unit, 513 – 1283 Howe Street, is a 3-storey townhouse-form lot at the tower's base, Freehold Strata. Built form governs: your strata is the tower, with its depreciation report, CRF and levy history.

Can I rent out a Downtown VW unit long-term?

Yes — strata rental-restriction bylaws have been unenforceable since Nov 24, 2022 anywhere in BC, whatever a directory line says. Short-term rentals are a separate question: stratas can still restrict them and Vancouver licences them. The Empty Homes Tax declaration applies if the unit sits empty instead.

What is the Empty Homes Tax hit if I leave a VW-core home empty?

3% of assessed value for a property deemed vacant, on top of the annual declaration duty — Vancouver only; the City's 2025 annual report describes the 3% rate as consistent and stable. The provincial Speculation and Vacancy Tax is a separate filing.

Is Downtown VW a different neighbourhood from Downtown VE?

No — the City has one Downtown local area among its 22 distinct areas; VW and VE are the board/site split of that one area, with this page covering the west-side core.

Is Coal Harbour or Yaletown part of Downtown VW?

They sit inside or beside the Downtown local area but are their own Paragon sub-areas with their own pages — Coal Harbour has its own page — so their buildings and plans are not part of this page.

Which hospital is inside the area?

St. Paul's Hospital, 1081 Burrard Street, on the Burrard corridor in the VW core; it is a Providence Health Care hospital. Vancouver General Hospital, 899 West 12th Avenue, is in Fairview, south across False Creek.

Which transit terminates in the VW core?

The R5 Hastings St RapidBus terminates at Burrard Station, route 22 also runs from Burrard Station, and route 50 starts at Waterfront Station — the core is the hub where the Expo Line, Millennium Line and Canada Line meet.

What Buyers & Sellers Say

Excerpts from Google reviews for Jared Gibbons, REALTOR® at Royal LePage Little Oak Realty (Suite 201 - 15272 Croydon Dr, Surrey). Quoted word for word; initials only.

  • 5 out of 5 stars

    “It was a great experience working with Jared over the past couple weeks. I was a first time home buyer and his confidence and expertise made the whole process a lot less daunting and honestly quite easy, and saved some money along the way…”

    M. Google review

  • 5 out of 5 stars

    “Jared always exceeds my expectations. He’s honest and straightforward. He’s an excellent negotiator and gives you great advice when looking into buying and selling.”

    J.B. Google review

  • 5 out of 5 stars

    “Jared has been a massive help, both in the purchase of our home and the selling of our previous home. Very responsive to communication and willing to help way beyond my expectations. Can't recommend him enough!”

    R.B. Google review

More real estate nearby

Condo buildings in Downtown VW

"Downtown West Vancouver" would be wrong — West Vancouver is a different municipality. The City of Vancouver has only ONE Downtown local area, one of its 22 distinct areas; "VW" is a board/site distinction, not a City one. (5) Fairmont Pacific Rim Residences and the Paradox Residences are filed under Coal Harbour per their board sub-area, not here.

The Private Residences at Hotel Georgia — 667 Howe Street

A 48-storey tower beside the historic 1927 Hotel Georgia: 156 luxury condominiums on floors 14 to 48 above office and hotel floors, completed in 2012 per current listings and the building's project history (a building directory gives 2013, so sources differ on the year). Listings record Freehold Strata title, concrete and glass construction, and Downtown VW sub-area. The building directory records the strata bylaws as pets allowed with restrictions and rentals allowed.

Tate Downtown (Tate on Howe) — 1283 Howe Street

Strata Plan EPP30416. A townhouse unit at the building's base is documented in the townhome subsection below.

1188 Howe — 1188 Howe Street

Strata Plan LMS1468, at Howe and Davie. The building directory's description records a 28-level concrete building with 185 residential units and 5 commercial units, while its own FAQ records 190 units in total and built 1995 against a description line of built 1994 — both pairs are inconsistent within the source. A current listing describes the building as pets allowed.

Spectrum 1 — 111 West Georgia Street (Concord Pacific)

A current listing records Spectrum 1 by Concord Pacific, year built 2007, Downtown VW sub-area, with city, mountain and BC Place views.

Streets, schools and transit near Downtown VW condos

  • Downtown VW is the downtown peninsula's Vancouver West board side: the central business district and the Georgia / Granville / Burrard / Robson core, on Burrard Inlet's south shore. The City describes the containing Downtown local area as a peninsula bounded by Burrard Inlet on the north, False Creek and Yaletown to the south, the West End and Stanley Park to the west, and Gastown, Chinatown and Strathcona to the east.
  • Detached houses are not a VW-core housing form.
  • Main streets: West Georgia Street, Granville Street, Burrard Street and Howe Street. The City's Downtown history names Georgia and Granville Streets as the city-centre streets the centre moved up to from Water and Cordova Streets after incorporation.
  • Transit anchors: the core is the hub where the Expo Line, Millennium Line and Canada Line meet (Waterfront and Burrard stations); the R5 Hastings St RapidBus terminates at Burrard Station, route 22 also runs from Burrard Station, and route 50 starts at Waterfront Station and runs via Chinatown, Granville Island and the False Creek south shore to Olympic Village Station.
  • Civic anchors in the core: Vancouver Public Library Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street, and St. Paul's Hospital, 1081 Burrard Street — a Providence Health Care hospital, not a Vancouver Coastal Health site.

Local rules that affect condo buyers in Downtown VW

  • Additional school tax: at VW-core price points the Province's additional school tax can apply — 0.2% on the residential portion of assessed value between $3 million and $4 million and 0.4% on the portion above $4 million for 2026, rising to 0.3% and 0.6% on January 1, 2027.

Good to know about Downtown VW condos

  • The city centre moved uphill, and the VW core is where it landed. The City states the first passenger train arrived at the foot of Howe Street in 1887, and that in the next seven years a building boom moved the city centre from Water and Cordova Streets up to Georgia and Granville Streets — the streets at the heart of today's VW core; streetcar service began in 1890.
  • The Hotel Georgia residences start where the old hotel's crown ends. The 156 Private Residences begin on floor 14, just above the crown of the 1927 Hotel Georgia, and run to a penthouse that is the entire 48th floor — a unit's floor determines whether it sits in the historic hotel's podium shadow or the glass spire above it.
  • The VW core has a hospital but no confirmed core elementary. St. Paul's Hospital at 1081 Burrard Street is a genuine in-area amenity on the Burrard corridor, while the two Downtown elementaries sit at the area's south and east edges and no secondary school inside the area was confirmed — family buyers should run the VSB locator before assuming anything.
  • Tate's townhouses hide at the base of a 40-storey tower. The Tate Downtown development includes ground-oriented townhouse units (documented at 513 – 1283 Howe Street) inside a 333-unit strata whose manager records completion in 2018 — a buyer who filters searches to "townhouse" only, or to "apartment" only, sees only part of one development.
  • No park, community centre or pool in the VW core was confirmed by name on a City page pass — the Coal Harbour Community Centre sits in the separate Coal Harbour sub-area and the West End's facilities sit in a separate local area, so neither is claimed here; the Central Library at 350 West Georgia Street is the core's confirmed civic anchor.

The province-wide rules are on one page: BC condo buying rules.

Sources for the condo notes on Downtown VW

Townhome complexes in Downtown VW

Downtown VW is in the City of Vancouver; West Vancouver is a different municipality. The City of Vancouver has only one Downtown local area, one of its 22 distinct areas, and "VW" is a board label, not a City one.

Local rules that affect townhome buyers in Downtown VW

  • Presales (REDMA), where a Downtown VW presale is bought: the buyer must receive the developer's disclosure statement (REDMA s. 18) and has a 7-day rescission period from the later of signing or acknowledging it (REDMA s. 21), with deposits in trust. No known Downtown VW presale is carried in, so this is the standing frame only.

Good to know about Downtown VW townhomes

  • The additional school tax starts at $3 million. At VW-core penthouse and townhouse-form price points the Province's additional school tax can apply — 0.2% on the residential portion between $3 million and $4 million and 0.4% above $4 million for 2026, rising to 0.3% and 0.6% on January 1, 2027.

The province-wide rules are on one page: BC townhome buying rules.

Sources for the townhome notes on Downtown VW

Lots and land in Downtown VW

Fee-simple lots

  • No fee-simple house-lot stock exists to document in the VW core: the Downtown District (DD) schedule of Zoning and Development By-law No. 3575 governs much of the core — the only permitted uses are those in the Downtown District Official Development Plan, including commercial, residential, institutional and light industrial uses, parks and open spaces, and public uses, with development permits approved by the Development Permit Board or the Director of Planning as the schedule states; CD-1 comprehensive development districts and C-3A districts also apply in parts of the area. The tenure position is overwhelmingly strata condominium form, with rental apartment buildings and hotel and office strata also in the mix.
  • Lot character — district position, as the schedules state them: VW-core parcels are governed by the DD, CD-1 and C-3A districts rather than house-lot minimums.
  • Serviced position: homes here are on City water and sewer services, as fully urban serviced stock.

Bare-land strata

  • No bare-land strata plan or bare-land strata community in Downtown VW was verified

Named developments

  • Shangri-La Vancouver (Westbank) — Alberni Street at West Georgia Street: No lot count is taken from it, and it is not a land offering.
  • Assemblies / development sites / rezoning proposals
  • Downtown presale history sells strata units and airspace parcels, not lots.

Streets, schools and transit near Downtown VW lots

  • Downtown VW is the Vancouver West board side of the City of Vancouver's official "Downtown" local area — one of the City's 22 distinct areas — covering the central business district and the Georgia / Granville / Burrard / Robson core on Burrard Inlet's south shore. The City describes Downtown as a peninsula, bounded by Burrard Inlet on the north, False Creek and the district of Yaletown to the south, the West End neighbourhood and Stanley Park to the west, and the historic districts of Gastown, Chinatown and Strathcona to the east; the VW core within it is the central and western part of that peninsula.
  • Nearby areas: West End (west), Yaletown and False Creek (south), Coal Harbour (north-west waterfront), Gastown / Strathcona (east), and Mount Pleasant and Fairview (south, across False Creek).
  • Vancouver General Hospital, 899 West 12th Avenue, is in Fairview. The City Downtown page states Downtown houses many arts, entertainment and sports venues and is the city's primary business district.

Local rules that affect land buyers in Downtown VW

  • Zoning — Zoning and Development By-law No. 3575, Downtown District (DD) schedule: the DD position in, with CD-1 and C-3A districts also applying in parts of the area.
  • SSMUH / house-lot density: not a Downtown form — there are no house lots to densify; added residential capacity in the core runs through DD / CD-1 development permits, not small-scale multi-unit rules.
  • Floodplain standards: land in the City's designated floodplain is subject to the Vancouver Building By-law Floodplain Standards and Requirements for shoreline setbacks and flood construction levels.
  • Strata block (the operative tenure block for this area): Form B diligence (provided within 7 days, max $35 + 25¢/page); depreciation reports on a 5-year cycle for stratas with 5+ lots since July 1, 2024; minimum 10% CRF contribution since November 1, 2023; rental-restriction bylaws void since November 24, 2022 (short-term restrictions may still apply by bylaw); only 55+ age bylaws valid under SPA ss.123.1/123.2, with May 1, 2023 exemptions; a listing's "45+" line is not a valid BC age bylaw. For strata purchases, review the depreciation report, contingency reserve and any special levies before pricing an offer; BC strata disputes can go to the Civil Resolution Tribunal.
  • If a parcel is in the ALR: subdivision within the ALR requires ALC approval; ALR residences cannot be stratified. On ALR land the main house can be up to 500 m², a suite is allowed only inside it, and an extra residence can be up to 90 m² (186 m² on parcels over 40 ha). For farm class, BC Assessment looks for farm income of $10,000 a year on under 0.8 ha, $2,500 on 0.8 to 4 ha, and $2,500 plus 5% of the value of land over 4 ha; applications are due by October 31.
  • City of Vancouver property taxes + additional school tax: 2026 advance taxes were due February 3, 2026 and main taxes were due July 3, 2026, with a 5% penalty on the unpaid balance after each due date; the home owner grant was also due July 3, 2026. At VW-core price points the additional school tax can apply — 0.2% on the residential portion between $3 million and $4 million and 0.4% above $4 million for 2026, rising to 0.3% and 0.6% on January 1, 2027.

Good to know about Downtown VW lots

  • The core's street pattern is dated City record: the City states the first passenger train arrived at the foot of Howe Street in 1887, a year after incorporation, and that in the next seven years a building boom moved the city centre from Water and Cordova Streets up to Georgia and Granville Streets — the streets at the heart of today's VW core; streetcar service began in 1890.
  • This area is Downtown Vancouver, not West Vancouver. West Vancouver's bylaws, taxes and pricing do not apply to a downtown listing.

The province-wide rules are on one page: BC land buying rules.

Sources for the land notes on Downtown VW

What's nearby Downtown

Times are from OpenStreetMap routing, November 2026.

Transit

  • Rapid-transit stations serving downtown Vancouver include Vancouver City Centre Station (Canada Line) and Granville Station (Expo Line), per TransLink's Buzzer.
  • Route 50 Waterfront Station/False Creek South, TransLink, runs from Olympic Village Station via Granville Street to Waterfront Station, per its timetable.

Parks and recreation

  • Nelson Park, 1030 Bute St, City of Vancouver park finder.
  • West End Community Centre, 870 Denman St, with a dance studio, fitness centre and ice rink, per the City of Vancouver.

Schools

  • King George Secondary, 8–12, School District 39, 1755 Barclay St, Vancouver.

Groceries and shopping

  • Safeway Robson, 1766 Robson St, Vancouver.
  • Urban Fare, 1133 Alberni St, Vancouver.

Measured walking and driving times

Measured on November 2, 2026 with OpenStreetMap routing (OSRM for driving, routed-foot for walking), from Lord Roberts Elementary, 1100 Bidwell St
ToHowMinutesDistance (km)
West End Community Centre, 870 Denman StWalk80.6
Safeway Robson, 1766 Robson StWalk110.8

Sources for what’s nearby

What's nearby, building by building

Times are from OpenStreetMap routing from each building’s address, November 2026.

  • 1188 Howe, 1188 Howe Street

    Transit
    Nearest rapid station: Yaletown–Roundhouse Station (Canada Line), named on TransLink's route 6 timetable as the Davie Street station. Route 6 Davie / Downtown, via Cambie, Pacific and Davie (Yaletown–Roundhouse Station), TransLink. Route 50 Waterfront Station / False Creek South, via Granville Street, TransLink.
    Parks and recreation
    Emery Barnes Park, 1170 Richards St: City of Vancouver park finder. Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre, 181 Roundhouse Mews, per the centre's own site.
    Schools
    Elsie Roy Elementary, K–7, 150 Drake St, School District 39. King George Secondary, 8–12, 1755 Barclay St, School District 39.
    Shopping
    Choices Markets Yaletown, 1202 Richards St. Urban Fare Yaletown, 177 Davie St.

  • Spectrum 1, 111 West Georgia Street

    Transit
    Nearest rapid stations: Stadium–Chinatown Station (Expo Line) and Vancouver City Centre Station (Canada Line) / Granville Station (Expo Line), per TransLink's Buzzer for the downtown stations. Route 6 Davie / Downtown, from Cambie at Dunsmuir via Cambie, Pacific and Davie, TransLink.
    Parks and recreation
    Yaletown Park, 901 Mainland St: City of Vancouver park finder. Cooper's Park, 1020 Marinaside Cres: City of Vancouver park finder.
    Schools
    Crosstown Elementary, K–7, 55 Expo Blvd, School District 39; the Ministry list gives the name in Indigenous orthography, rendered here as Crosstown Elementary.
    Shopping
    CF Pacific Centre, 701 West Georgia St, per the centre's own site.

  • The Private Residences at Hotel Georgia, 667 Howe Street

    Transit
    Rapid-transit stations serving downtown include Vancouver City Centre Station (Canada Line) and Granville Station (Expo Line), per TransLink's Buzzer. Route 7 Nanaimo Station / Dunbar, via Granville and Seymour / Howe, TransLink.
    Parks and recreation
    Nelson Park, 1030 Bute St: City of Vancouver park finder. Vancouver Public Library, Central Library, 350 West Georgia St, per the library's own site.
    Shopping
    Urban Fare, 1133 Alberni St.

Measured walking and driving times from each building

Measured on November 2, 2026 with OpenStreetMap routing (OSRM for driving, routed-foot for walking), starting at each building’s address
BuildingToHowMinutesDistance (km)
1188 HoweChoices Markets, 1202 Richards StWalk40.3
1188 HoweYaletown–Roundhouse StationWalk70.6
1188 HoweEmery Barnes Park, 1170 Richards StWalk80.6
Spectrum 1 (from the street)Central Library, 350 West Georgia StWalk40.3
Spectrum 1 (from the street)Stadium–Chinatown StationWalk70.5
Spectrum 1 (from the street)Vancouver City Centre StationWalk70.5
Tate DowntownElsie Roy Elementary, 150 Drake StWalk60.5
Tate DowntownYaletown–Roundhouse StationWalk60.5
Tate DowntownRoundhouse Community Centre, 181 Roundhouse MewsWalk60.5
The Private Residences at Hotel GeorgiaCF Pacific Centre, 701 West Georgia StWalk30.2
The Private Residences at Hotel GeorgiaVancouver City Centre StationWalk40.3
The Private Residences at Hotel GeorgiaUrban Fare, 1133 Alberni StWalk80.6

Sources for what’s nearby each building

New construction in Downtown Vancouver

Vancouver neighbourhoods

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