To locate a full-service dealership in a snug space in downtown Vancouver, Jim Pattison Auto Group built upward — visibly taking three levels of a 13-storey building — but also downward, with five floors underground, housing service, washing and detailing, and new and used inventory.
The innovative design allowed Jim Pattison Toyota Downtown to keep its address in the core at a time when dealerships are often driven to the suburbs by the high cost of prime central real estate and zoning rules. The revamped Toyota store boasts eight levels, which include a huge display area and extensive service department, all on a comparatively small footprint.
It reopened in late August in a gleaming new commercial-residential tower complex on the southern edge of the city core. The dealership held a grand opening in late November.