After occupying a flagship location on the North Vancouver waterfront for more than 40 years, ICBC has announced it will be packing up its headquarters there in 2027.The Crown corporation told employees Thursday it will vacate the 300,000-square-foot, six-story office tower on Esplanade Avenue for newer digs across Burrard Inlet at 2150 Keith Drive in Vancouver, a new building going up adjacent to the VCC Clark SkyTrain station.
Currently, the North Vancouver office is only occupied between 20 to 40 per cent on any given day, he said. While ICBC won’t be moving for another three years, the biggest question is what will happen to the prime waterfront property.It’s believed that some kind of transit-oriented housing or neighbourhood development involving the province is the most likely scenario.Eight years ago, a leaked report prepared by ICBC at the direction of the previous Liberal government indicated the costs of maintenance and upgrades to be around $184 million, including $36 million for seismic upgrades.