Vancouver (Canada) City Council has cleared the way for a new digital wall to be installed above 897 Granville Street. The display will overlook the busy intersection at Granville and Smithe, a prime downtown location that has long been eyed for advertising.
The curved rectangular LED wall will measure 7.5 feet (2.44 meters) in height and 29 feet (8.8 meters) in width, with a total screen area of 517 square feet (48 square meters) – perched 13.5 feet (4.1 meters) above the rooftop.
The approval follows nearly two years of delay. Outfront Media first presented the proposal in October 2023, only to have the city council send it back for further consideration of public benefits. The application then shifted hands after Astral Out-of-Home, owned by Bell Media, acquired Outfront’s Canadian assets in 2024 – adding yet another layer of paperwork. Like many decisions in Vancouver, the process underscored how a bloated bureaucracy can stretch what should be routine into a multi-year saga.
The vote also came the same week the council unanimously adopted its new Public Realm Advertising Framework, an overarching policy regulating the appearance of billboards, bus shelter ads, and digital panels. Until now, the city has lacked a comprehensive digital signage strategy, resulting in inconsistent regulations, lost revenues, and uneven impacts on neighborhoods and business districts.
The framework is pitched as a balancing act – managing the visual and social impacts of outdoor advertising while unlocking millions in new non-tax revenue. For a city grappling with rising costs and wary of further taxing its residents, digital advertising offers a politically palatable revenue stream. At the same time, the new bylaw finally provides Vancouver with a foundation for growth in the DooH space, opening opportunities for media companies and building owners to develop more structured projects.
(Image: Astral Out-of-Home Bell Media)