Vancouver: Top 7 rental buildings near Waterfront Station

If you’re looking at rental buildings near Waterfront Station, the four services that end there don’t run the same way, so the commute shapes which building suits you. The seven buildings below are Gastown heritage lofts and Cordova Street towers, all east of the Canadian Pacific Railway station that opened in 1914 and now ends the Expo Line, Canada Line, SeaBus, and West Coast Express. Statistics Canada put the average one-bedroom asking rent in the Vancouver census metropolitan area at $2,280 a month in the second quarter of 2026, so the building and the commute are one decision.

Which four ways out of town start at Waterfront Station?

Four TransLink services end at Waterfront Station: the Expo Line and Canada Line (both SkyTrain), the SeaBus, and the West Coast Express. TransLink’s SkyTrain page says to enter from Cordova Street through the old railway station, or from Howe Street, Sinclair Centre, or Waterfront Centre. It also says this is where you transfer to the Canada Line, SeaBus, or West Coast Express. If you ride the Canada Line, you can use a dedicated entrance on Granville Street, just south of Hastings.

Service	Where it goes from Waterfront	What to know (TransLink pages read October 20, 2026)
Expo Line	King George (Surrey), Braid (New Westminster), Production Way-University (Burnaby)	Transfer to the Millennium Line at Commercial-Broadway, Lougheed Town Centre, or Production Way-University
Canada Line	YVR-Airport and Richmond-Brighouse	Reached from the Cordova Street concourse or the Granville Street entrance
SeaBus	Lonsdale Quay, North Vancouver	A 12-minute crossing, every 15 minutes in the day and every 10 minutes on weekdays from 7:15 to 9:45 a.m. and 3:15 to 6:45 p.m.
West Coast Express	Mission City, with stops at Moody Centre, Coquitlam Central, Port Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Maple Meadows, and Port Haney	Weekdays only, five trains each way, mornings toward downtown and afternoons away from it

The Millennium Line doesn’t stop at Waterfront, so if you’re heading for a Millennium Line station, you’ll change trains at one of the three transfer stations in the table. Schedules and service alerts change, so check TransLink’s live alerts before you sign a lease.

What time does the last SeaBus or West Coast Express leave Waterfront Station?

The last weekday SeaBus leaves Waterfront at 1:22 a.m., and the last weekday West Coast Express leaves at 6:20 p.m., according to TransLink’s SeaBus and West Coast Express schedules as read on October 20, 2026. That gap decides who each service suits. The SeaBus sails in both directions all day. Its first weekday sailing from Waterfront is at 6:01 a.m., and its last Sunday and holiday sailing is at 11:22 p.m.

The West Coast Express runs one way at a time. TransLink says its trains travel to downtown only in the morning and to Mission City only in the afternoon and evening. Morning trains arrive at Waterfront at 6:40, 7:10, 7:40, 8:10, and 8:40 a.m., and afternoon trains leave at 3:50, 4:20, 4:50, 5:30, and 6:20 p.m. If you live beside the station and work along the Millennium Line, such as in Coquitlam, you can’t take the West Coast Express to work in the morning. Plan on SkyTrain instead, changing from the Expo Line to the Millennium Line. The service is built for the opposite commuter, who lives east of Vancouver, in places such as Mission or Port Coquitlam, and works downtown.

If you’re riding the Canada Line to the airport, TransLink’s AddFare page lists the YVR-Airport AddFare at $6.50. That’s up from $5 in the fare increase that Daily Hive reported would take effect on July 1, 2026. If your job is in Richmond or at the airport, the Canada Line runs there from its own entrance on Granville Street.

Does renting beside Waterfront Station cost more than commuting in?

On the averages, renting in the City of Vancouver costs more than the Metro Vancouver average, but a longer commute costs more too. Statistics Canada’s Table 46-10-0092-01, released September 9, 2026, shows an average asking rent of $2,280 a month for a one-bedroom apartment in the Vancouver census metropolitan area in the second quarter of 2026. That’s the advertised price rather than what current tenants pay, and it covers the whole metropolitan area, not Gastown.

The liv.rent October 2026 Metro Vancouver rent report, published October 2, 2026, puts the average unfurnished one-bedroom asking rent at $2,329 in the City of Vancouver and $2,083 across Metro Vancouver. That’s a gap of about $246 a month, which we worked out from those two figures. For scale, TransLink’s adult monthly pass, in effect since the July 1, 2026 fare change, costs $117.20 for one zone and $211.65 for three zones, about $94 more. A longer commute can offset part of what a cheaper address saves, though how much depends on the zones your route crosses. The Metro Vancouver average also includes the City of Vancouver itself. The averages can’t show any one building’s rent, so check each building’s listing for the current price.

Which seven rental buildings near Waterfront Station are worth a viewing?

Seven Gastown and Cordova Street buildings stand out for renters who commute out of Vancouver: The Taylor Building, Terminus, Woodward’s W43, The Paris Block, Carrall Station, Koret Lofts, and Captain French. All seven are on the liv.rent buildings list (September 2026). Most are strata-titled, so an individual owner is the landlord and the strata’s bylaws apply. They aren’t purpose-built rental towers. If you own a suite in one of them and plan to rent it out, confirm the strata’s rental bylaws before listing. This guide gives street addresses rather than walking times, so check each route on a map.

Building	Address	What it is	Key fact
The Taylor Building	310 Water St	1911 warehouse converted to lofts in 2003	22 residential units with 10 to 14 foot ceilings
Terminus	36 Water St	Two heritage hotels joined in a 2008 redevelopment	46 units on seven floors
Woodward’s W43	128 W Cordova St	Tower in the Woodward’s redevelopment	366 apartments
The Paris Block	53 W Hastings St	Heritage building rehabilitated by Salient	29 live-work units, completed 2008
Carrall Station	1 E Cordova St	Brick-faced loft building from 1997	81 to 82 units, depending on the source
Koret Lofts	55 E Cordova St	1906 hardware warehouse converted in 2004	118 live/work strata units
Captain French	41 Alexander St	1909 warehouse, now housing	Six storeys, 20 units on liv.rent

Water, West Cordova, and West Hastings streets

The Taylor Building at 310 Water Street keeps the 1911 Edwardian clay-brick facade of a warehouse commissioned by Walter Taylor of the Empress Manufacturing Co. Its 2003 conversion for The Salient Group created 22 residential units with original brick walls, according to engineers Glotman Simpson. The liv.rent page shows an elevator, in-suite laundry, bike storage, and parking. It suits you if you want a brick-and-beam loft on Water Street.

Terminus at 36 Water Street joins the 1889 Grand Hotel and the 1901 Terminus Hotel, redeveloped in 2008 by The Salient Group. Acton Ostry Architects says the project won a 2014 Heritage Canada National Trust Award and shows a shared rooftop amenity. The liv.rent page shows 46 units on seven floors, an elevator, in-suite laundry, and bike storage.

Woodward’s W43 at 128 W Cordova Street is a tower of 366 apartments, a figure that Wikipedia’s building entry and the liv.rent page both give. The same entry says the Woodward’s complex also holds Nesters Market, London Drugs, and a TD Canada Trust branch. The liv.rent page adds a library, clubhouse, exercise centre, and hot tub. It’s on West Cordova Street, the same street as the station’s Cordova Street entrance, with address numbers rising toward Waterfront.

The Paris Block at 53 W Hastings Street was rehabilitated by Salient between 2007 and 2008 into 29 live-work units and one retail unit, says Salient’s project page. The page adds that the building housed Pierre Paris shoes, makers of logging boots, for more than 70 years. The liv.rent page shows high ceilings, in-suite laundry, a terrace, and underground parking. Live-work units suit you if you work from home, though ask the landlord what use the strata allows.

East Cordova and Alexander streets

Carrall Station at 1 E Cordova Street was built in 1997 on a corner left as a parking lot. The Gilmore and Clark Block, one of the first brick buildings after the Great Fire of 1886, was torn down there in 1963. That history comes from Vancouver Heritage Foundation’s Heritage Site Finder, which counts 81 units of loft studios and one-bedrooms. The liv.rent page counts 82, and shows a garden, patio, exercise centre, and bike storage. The strata information at BC Condos and Homes lists rentals as allowed and two pets.

Koret Lofts at 55 E Cordova Street occupies the McLennan and McFeely Building, a hardware warehouse built in 1906 and designed by Edward Evans Blackmore. The Heritage Site Finder says it became 118 commercial live/work strata units in 2004. Canada’s Historic Places notes that the City of Vancouver designated the building in 2003. The liv.rent page shows in-suite laundry and bike storage.

Captain French at 41 Alexander Street is a six-storey warehouse from 1909. Its first owner, tugboat captain George H. French, operated the first log-towing business to run out of Vancouver, and a 2013 City of Vancouver council report lists it in category C of the Vancouver Heritage Register. The liv.rent page shows 20 units with high ceilings, an elevator, and in-suite laundry. It gives 1991 as the completion year, which appears to reflect its conversion to housing rather than the 1909 original.

Is Gastown a good place to rent if you commute every day?

Gastown suits you if you want the station close and you’re comfortable in a heritage district, because it’s a preserved historic core rather than a purely residential one. Parks Canada’s listing of the Gastown Historic District National Historic Site describes 141 buildings built mostly between 1886 and 1914. It says the area is now mainly commercial and office space, with some live/work lofts and ground-floor shops and restaurants. The provincial government designated the area as heritage in 1971.

If your commute starts at a different station, compare apartments near Granville Station for a deeper downtown base, or buildings within reach of BCIT’s downtown campus if you study there. The liv.rent neighbourhoods guides cover the rest of the city.

What is being built beside Waterfront Station?

A 22-storey office tower at 601 W Cordova Street, on the site of Waterfront Station, has preliminary city approval. The City of Vancouver’s Development Permit Board approved the preliminary application on May 11, 2026, subject to conditions. The board’s minutes add that the application alters only the heritage station’s below-grade staging and storage area.

The approval isn’t final: the minutes say the applicant must meet conditions, including reducing the tower’s massing, before the board considers a complete application. The proposal is for retail at street level and general office space on levels 2 to 22. If you’re looking for homes, this one doesn’t add any: it’s office space beside the station.

What can Gastown renters and landlords do about rent increases in BC?

In B.C., a landlord can raise rent by no more than 2.3% in 2026 and 2.2% in 2027, and only once every 12 months. They also need to give at least three full months’ written notice on Form RTB-7. Those limits come from the Residential Tenancy Branch’s rent increases page, last updated August 27, 2026, and a Province of B.C. news release of the same date. The 2027 limit takes effect January 1, 2027.

As a renter, you don’t have to pay any part of an increase over the limit, or any increase given with improper notice. Tell your landlord first; if you can’t resolve it, you can apply to the Residential Tenancy Branch for dispute resolution. If you overpaid, you can deduct the overpayment from future rent after explaining the reason in writing. You may agree to a larger increase in writing, but you’re not required to.

If you’re a landlord, the notice must state the exact dollar amount and the effective date, and you can’t round the increase up or carry over an unused increase from a prior year. Going above the limit needs the tenant’s written agreement, or an application to the Residential Tenancy Branch for an additional increase to cover expenses or capital expenditures. If you’re preparing for a new tenancy, you can read liv.rent’s guide on how to screen tenants. This is general information, not legal advice; see the rental laws guides for more.

Featured on liv.rent

If you’d like more options on the same commute, two more Cordova Street buildings on the liv.rent list fit, based on what their liv.rent building pages show. At 66 W Cordova Street, 60 West Cordova has 112 units on 11 floors and was completed in 2012 by Westbank Projects Corp. Its page mentions an exercise centre and in-suite laundry. Van Horne at 22 E Cordova Street has 166 units on eight floors and dates to 1997. Its page mentions secured underground parking and in-suite laundry.

Which services stop at Waterfront Station?

Four TransLink services end at Waterfront Station: the Expo Line, the Canada Line, the SeaBus to Lonsdale Quay, and the West Coast Express to Mission City. As of TransLink’s pages on October 20, 2026, Expo Line trains run to King George, Braid, and Production Way-University, and Canada Line trains to YVR-Airport and Richmond-Brighouse. The Millennium Line doesn’t stop there.

What time does the last SeaBus leave Waterfront Station?

TransLink’s schedule (read on October 20, 2026) shows the last weekday and Saturday sailing from Waterfront at 1:22 a.m. The last Sunday and holiday sailing leaves at 11:22 p.m. The first weekday sailing is at 6:01 a.m., and the crossing to Lonsdale Quay takes 12 minutes.

Can I take the West Coast Express to work if I live in Gastown?

Not in the morning. TransLink says West Coast Express trains run to downtown only in the morning and to Mission City only in the afternoon and evening, on weekdays. The first train leaves Waterfront at 3:50 p.m. and the last at 6:20 p.m. If you live in Gastown and work in Coquitlam, take SkyTrain instead.

Are the rental buildings near Waterfront Station purpose-built rentals?

Mostly no. The seven buildings here, including Woodward’s W43, Terminus, and Carrall Station, are mainly strata-titled heritage lofts and condo towers, so an individual owner is usually the landlord and the strata’s bylaws apply. Each building’s liv.rent page shows its current listings.

How much can a landlord raise rent in B.C. in 2026 and 2027?

The Residential Tenancy Branch says the maximum rent increase in B.C. is 2.3% for 2026 and 2.2% for 2027, taking effect January 1, 2027, as announced on August 27, 2026. A landlord must give three full months’ written notice on Form RTB-7 and can raise rent only once every 12 months. This is general information, not legal advice.