Here’s a building that’s just seeing construction completed. Replacing the Farmer Building, a three storey building dating from 1922, the new MCM designed office and retail project adds a bit more volume (and additional office space) at the corner of Robson and Granville, across the street from the re-purposed Eatons/Sears building.
Most of the second floor of the new building (and obviously part of the main floor as well) has been leased to Old Navy, the Gap’s low-budget cousin. The original rather odd perspective image from the architect’s website from earlier in the year shows there have been a few design changes. The top of the building is pale – not black, and the canopies match. An evening image would show green lighting draws attention to the angles, indented second floor glazing. The restoration of the Bank of Commerce facade has also been completed really well, and although you can’t see it in this image, the coloured terra cotta of the storefront looks like new.
Changing City Updates 
Your render does not include the front of the beautiful art nouveau(?) building next to it. I do hope that front is staying. While the corner building was perhaps no great loss, the one next to it was a treasure.
Actually it is in the render – it’s the facade beyomd the new corner block. The new office space is above it, but set back on that part of the building. The 1929 facade was saved, and right now it’s propped up and being tied into the new structure. It’s Townley and Matheson, and it could loosely be called Art Deco as a style. It almost certainly won’t sell pre-owned CDs when it reopens!
This must be at least the 10th or 20th example of facade-preserving heritage revitalization agreement redevelopments in downtown Vancouver. It would be interesting to learn exactly how many there are, and what people think of the trend. It appears to be more common in Vancouver than anywhere else,