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VANCOUVER — The City of Vancouver has announced the opening of a new arts and cultural hub at 825 Pacific Blvd.

The 21,000-square-foot space will be operated by the 221A Artist Society, a Vancouver non-profit cultural organization, as a shared artist production, presentation and administrative facility for more than 40 artists and non-profit organizations, a release said.

“825 Pacific provides much-needed rent stability to artists and arts organizations at a time of extreme affordability pressure,” said 221A Artist Society executive director Brian McBay in a statement.

The standalone, seven-storey facility includes 26 non-market artist studios and co-working spaces, along with 221A’s headquarters, a research library and an event space.

Grosvenor Americas made a $15.7 million Community Amenity Contribution to deliver 825 Pacific and 221A completed a $2.5 million interior fit-out of the building funded primarily through support from the City of Vancouver Cultural Spaces Grant Program, the BC Arts Council, the Province of British Columbia, Canadian Heritage, and the Community, Culture, and Recreation Infrastructure Stream of Infrastructure Canada’s Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.

The building is the tallest certified commercial Passive House development in Canada and is all-electric, producing nearly zero greenhouse gas emissions during its lifespan.

The City of Vancouver requires all new city-owned buildings to be certified to the Passive House standard, the release said.