Excitement Mounts for Waterfront Expansion

Harbour Air is thrilled to be a part of the impressive development in the works at the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre at Canada Place.

If you have flown from our Coal Harbour terminal, you may have noticed the surrounding construction. We apologize for any inconvenience, but rest assured that it is the foundation of great things to come. In response to increasing demand for more facilities, the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre (VCEC) is undertaking an The expanded Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre
will span four city blocks. (Courtesy of VCEC)expansion that will include more space, more flexibility and more functionality, not to mention a new floatplane terminal.

Renowned for its landmark Five Sails and recipient of the coveted Apex Award for the “World’s Best Convention Centre” in 2002, the VCEC already offers 150,000 square feet of flexible space for meetings and functions. Scheduled to open in late 2008, the expansion will triple VCEC’s capacity, covering 1.2 million square feet (or four city blocks) of waterfront space. Pre-function, meeting, exhibition and ballroom space—the combined facility will have it all.

“It’s an exciting development,” says Russ Anthony, President and Project Manager of the VCEC Expansion Project. “And challenging, as it’s built over land and water. But the most diffcult work is behind us.”

Designed to accommodate large, single events or multiple simultaneous events, the new facilities will feature 316,000 square feet of exhibition space, 72 meeting rooms ranging from 500 to 7,500 square feet, Canada’s largest convention centre ballroom at 55,000 square feet, 220,000 square feet of multi-purpose pre-function space and a 90-metre covered harbourview connector. A new hotel will add 400 rooms to the 1,000 rooms already available onsite. To top it off , the building will be crowned with a 2.4 hectare (six acre) “living roof ” featuring 400,000 indigenous plants.

Committed to “green technology” and showcasing spectacular water and mountain views from its floor-to-ceiling windows, the combined facilities will serve as the international media and broadcast centre for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Harbour Air’s new terminal will be located on the 12-acre water lot north of the VCEC, which will be complemented by a retail development and marina. “We anticipate that Harbour Air will be part of a common use facility,” says Anthony.

Shop, stroll, meet, relax, fly—the new waterfront development will service all your needs. We look forward to our new facility and to serving you even better in the future.