VANCOUVER (The News Desk) — The former owners of Pinnacle Towers, a quaint 40-storey luxury condo development in Vancouver, announced today that the building would be demolished this week to make way for a tiny neighbourhood bookstore.

Beloved Pinnacle Towers developer Jerry Gotham lamented the announcement in a Facebook post on Monday.

“Pinnacle Towers has been an integral part of the local community for the last seven years,” wrote Gotham.

“I am sad to announce today that the new owners, book lovers Daphne and George, will tear the building down in order to build a small independent neighbourhood bookstore.”

A frustrated Gotham told press that he wishes there was something he could do to save Pinnacle Towers.

“This 40-storey luxury condo development — the marble baths, the helipad, the green roof — was my life. To see it all come down like this is a damned shame.”

Several members of the community gathered in front of the demolition site on Monday to protest the announcement.

“This tall, expensive glass building is an important part of the cultural fabric of this city,” said Sheila Barthelby, creator of a “Save Pinnacle Towers” petition on Change.org, which as of Monday morning has garnered over 200 signatures.

“They have a Picasso hanging in the lobby.”

Daphne Calvino, owner of the upcoming bookstore, claimed that the decision to demolish the building wasn’t an easy one to make.

“Luxury apartments are important to this city, and we understand that it can be difficult to see an entire building of them simply disappear,” said Calvino.

“But business is business.”

Mark Gregory of the Vancouver Real Estate Group said that the closing of Pinnacle Towers is part of a larger, troubling trend in luxury real estate.

“This is not the first time a lucrative condo development has been destroyed to make room for a small, culturally valuable, relatively unprofitable independent business,” said Gregory.

“I predict that by 2018, there will be fewer than 1 million luxury condos left in all of Canada.” ♦

Image via Wikipedia

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