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The pink cherry blossom trees at a Downtown Vancouver plaza didn’t make it for this year’s cherry blossom festival.

The trees were removed to make way for a two-storey building that will sell high-end luxury products.

Known as the Grosvenor Building plaza, the space is at the north side of Alberni Street between Thurlow and Burrard Streets.

In 2014, the City of Vancouver granted an application by Kingswood Capital Corp. to develop a retail building in the location.

A citizens’ petition failed to save the private plaza from the planned redevelopment.

“Since 1985, this plaza has been a refuge for tenants and residents in the immediate and surrounding vicinities – a place to enjoy a morning coffee, soak in the sun, escape from office desks, and socialize with colleagues,” the petition read.

The pink cherry blossom trees at the plaza looked this way before.

High-end retailers have flocked to Alberni Street, making it a shopping mecca for luxury items.

The Vancouver cherry blossom festival runs from March 24 to April 17. The festival is presented by the city’s park board.