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Vancouver's newest office tower is also one of the greenest in the country. The development team of The Exchange, a 31-storey skyscraper ascending from the historic Old Stock Exchange building, joined Mayor Gregor Robertson in celebrating the opening of the landmark Howe Street development on Thursday.
The Exchange is Vancouver's tallest LEED Platinum office tower and Canada's first LEED Platinum heritage conversion, with developers Credit Suisse and SwissReal Investments restoring the 1929-built Stock Exchange. The development now ranks as Canada's eighth largest LEED Platinum office project. To bear only half the energy load of a conventional office building, tenants will enjoy a 35 percent reduction in energy costs and an 85 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.
"When we approached Credit Suisse about building an office tower in Vancouver, critical to their decision was that the project achieve the highest environmental standards and architectural excellence," said Franz Gehriger, CEO of SwissReal Investments.
The $240 million project is the first major project in North America that a real estate fund of Credit Suisse Asset Management built from the ground up. "Vancouver's economy is booming and it's an honour to have a global powerhouse like Credit Suisse choose our city for its first North American project and be a part of our growth," said Mayor Gregor Robertson. "Office space is at a premium in downtown Vancouver and The Exchange offers critical new job space while delivering a world-class sustainable building that preserves the heritage of the Old Stock Exchange."
The heritage portion of the building will be home to a luxury boutique hotel by Executive Hotels, while Smythe LLP and HyperWallet Systems have committed to a total of 50,500 square feet of space. Swiss chocolatier Lindt will sell their delicacies on the ground floor and Sovereign General Insurance has also signed a lease. The building is already nearly two-thirds leased, and National Bank will anchor the office space with 45,000 square feet to call their own.
The staggered glass pinstripe-defined walls of the tower rise in deference to the heritage plinth, which serves as the cornerstone of the building. Swiss architect Harry Gugger designed the complex in collaboration with local firm Iredale. Even before it was completed, the project was racking up accolades. In recognition of the tower's integrative architecture, The Exchange recently earned the 2017 American Architecture Prize for Heritage Architecture.
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