Lululemon is not only looking to build a new headquarters in Vancouver’s False Creek Flats.

The yoga-inspired athletic apparel company also wants to enliven the area around its future office location at the corner of Great Northern Way and Foley Street.

Because the current zoning permits only high-tech and light industrial uses, Lululemon is asking the City of Vancouver to allow commercial use.

“Our proposal includes retail and restaurant/cafe uses on the ground floor, which will help activate and animate the street; creating a more inviting public realm and use of the space throughout the day,” the company states in a design rationale document.

The document forms part of Lululemon’s rezoning application for 1980 Foley Street.

The application also seeks an increase in permitted building height from the current 120 feet to a new elevation of 250 feet.

The proposed 13-storey building features a carved façade.

The design rationale explains that the carved façade will have “three main green spaces”.

One is a covered entry off Foley Stree.

The second is a “new public plaza along Great Northern Way”, which will be “enhanced and activated with a new public plaza with opportunities for a café and outdoor seating, and lush planting along the eastern edge to reflect the legacy of China Creek”.

The third is a “northwest corner enhanced with view of Downtown Vancouver and the North Shore Mountains”.

Based on the rezoning application, retail space is proposed to be 6,157 square feet.

Restaurant and café use is planned to take up 4,358 square feet.

The application recalls that Lululemon started with one store in the Kitsilano neighbourhood of Vancouver.

It now has 450 stores worldwide.

“There are currently four offices in Vancouver, including the existing Store Support Centre on Cornwall Street, which in total are home to approximately 2,000 staff,” the design rationale document explains.

The paper adds that the number of jobs is anticipated to increase to close to 4,000 by 2032.

“A new headquarters will allow for the consolidation of the offices and provide space for the retention, attraction and growth of talent, and expansion of the company’s innovative capabilities,” according to the document.