An employee works at ePac Flexible Packaging at the Vancouver Innovation Center in east Vancouver. The industrial center has undergone an extensive renovation since developers bought it in 2020. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)Photo Gallery
The campus formerly occupied by HP Inc. in east Vancouver no longer feels like it’s stuck in the 1980s.
Late last year, the Vancouver Innovation Center wrapped up a multimillion-dollar renovation of its nearly 700,000 square feet of flex industrial space off Southeast 176th Avenue.
The new common area includes long tables, intimate gathering spaces, a fireplace, masses of greenery, a grand piano and a café that doubles as a local catering kitchen.
New York developers New Blueprint Partners and Rabina bought the property in 2020 with plans to renovate the campus’s existing buildings and develop the surrounding land into a mixed-use community with retail space, residential buildings, parks and trails.
“We knew that we would be involved in some very heavy renovations,” said Ron Schinik, principal and co-founder of New Blueprint. The buildings were initially built by HP in multiple stages dating back to the early 1980s.
The developers have made some superficial changes. But they’ve also done things such as overhauling the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system.
Then work began on making the center more appealing as a workplace. The partners renovated a central common area, bringing in a café and upgrading the building’s gym space.
“We knew that if we could bring this to life that it would be appealing for both tenants and employees,” Schinik said.
Management brings in regular programming, such as a yoga instructor, live music and health lectures.
These amenities are “all meant to bring a sense of community and make work a little less like work,” Schinik said.
With renovations complete, the center has room for new tenants. Management is looking to fill both industrial and office space.
Schinik said he’s hopeful that as companies expand or start seeking a stronger sense of camaraderie for their business, they’ll be impressed by what the center has to offer.
As for the proposed development surrounding the industrial buildings, the partners are now awaiting city approval. They submitted a revised master plan for the property in May 2023, according to partner Jennifer Rabina.
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