Vancouver’s Main Street called one of North America’s coolest streets

Main Street has been named one of North America’s 15 coolest streets.

The report by real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield highlighted the street’s transition from “working class to arts class”, focusing on the area between Terminal Avenue and 16th Avenue.

“This transition has been on steroids over the last five years. Nowhere have the changes been more profound than near the intersections of Main Street and Broadway, which is ground zero for this Cool Street and the nexus of the neighborhood’s two primary retail arterials,” they write.

The area, which is given a designation of “Up & Coming”, receives high marks from respondents for food, arts, music and nightlife offerings, as well as being bicycle friendly.

“Worldwide attention is the worst thing ever, because then the rents go up, but it’s nice to be recognized.”

The only other Canadian street to rank in the top 15 was Toronto’s Queen Street West.

Cushman & Wakefield also ranked Vancouver’s Gastown, which received similar scores to Main Street, except for “Diversity” and “Access to Higher Education.” In those categories, it received the lowest possible score.

The full report can be read here.