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By the end of 2002, the 22-storey Bentall 5 at Burrard and Dunsmuir streets had appeared to conclude construction. The glossy curtain wall office tower featured a contemporary glazed design by the prolific Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership (MCMP). But while it looked like the building would no longer don a construction crane, and indeed the tower would open for occupancy in October that same year, keen observers of the development landscape knew better. That's because right from the beginning, the plan was to construct the building in two phases. And with its second phase would come an additional 12 storeys that would bring its total floor count to 34.
Preliminary plans had outlined a possible mixed-use office and hotel complex, but market realities scuttled those ambitions. Left with just the office portion, Bentall Real Estate Services moved forward with the singular use tower. A waning demand for office space sparked by the crash of the tech market in 2001, coupled with a strike at city hall that spoiled leasing commitments, led Bentall to hold off on the second phase.
When the market bounced back, Bentall proceeded with developing the remaining 238,000 square feet of office space, adding above the existing 325,000 square feet that had already been built. The development employed an innovative construction process known as vertical phasing, a common method of increasing density that has enjoyed widespread use in Asia. Bentall 5 was the first project in Vancouver to implement this technique.
With the building already servicing tenants, it was of utmost importance to minimize disruption as construction resumed. Collaborating with the planning department and existing tenants, construction crews followed meticulous procedures that regulated where, when and how they could work. The installation of a protective canopy above the roof garden of the adjacent YWCA was limited to morning hours so as to prevent waking the children in the facility during their afternoon nap. The atypical construction was finally capped for good in late 2007, making Bentall 5 one of the top ten tallest buildings in the city.
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