Reliance Properties is seeking to convert a downtown Victoria, B.C., heritage office building into a compact hotel.

The four-storey art-deco building, located at the corner of Blanshard Street and Fairfield Road, was built in 1949 and is currently used as office and studio space for artists. It once once housed the BC Power Commission, the forerunner of BC.

Reliance is seeking a heritage-alteration permit from the City of Victoria to convert the property into a hotel while preserving much of its historic character.

“It’s sort of sitting here a little bit faded and unnoticed,” Jon Stovell, president of Vancouver-based Reliance, told CTV. “When we bring it back to life, it’s going to be this little jewel sitting in the middle of all these much larger hotels.”

The developer plans to add a single storey to the building while retaining much of the existing facade, including its art deco features.

“The goal of this project is to rehabilitate, and ultimately designate, the existing heritage
structure, and construct a new addition to the heritage building,” said Reliance in its heritage-alteration application.

McFarlane Biggar submitted the application on behalf of the developer.

Inside, heritage elements such as the former chairman’s office, decorative wood panelling and a cast-iron stair railing bearing the initials “BCP” are expected to be preserved.

Reliance acquired the property in 2019 and initially proposed a smaller hotel topped by a 16-storey condominium tower. However, the company revised its plans after determining the project was no longer financially viable following the pandemic, according to multiple reports.

“That proved to be very uneconomic after COVID,” Stovell told CTV. “We also weren’t able to obtain heritage incentives for that larger-scale addition.”

Stovell told his CTV interviewer that the proposed hotel would feature compact rooms aimed at providing a more affordable option for visitors.

“We’re completely surrounded by hotels. If there’s going to be a place where you’re going to put some new hotel rooms, this is kind of hotel ground zero.”

The proposal comes as Greater Victoria faces a need for additional hotel accommodation. A hotel development working group established by Destination Greater Victoria recently estimated the region will require 2,000 additional hotel rooms over the next decade to meet demand.

Victoria Coun. Dave Thompson welcomed the application, citing the need for more activity in the downtown core.

“A lot of the office workers who used to be downtown are just not there anymore,” Thompson told CTV. “So, small businesses, restaurants and cafes really need a boost. The more tourism we can fit in there, the better.”

Reliance hopes to secure permit approval by the end of the year, with construction potentially beginning shortly afterward, according to CTV.

Pictured: Downtown Victoria, B.C., heritage office building slated for conversion to a hotel.

Photo: Historicplaces.ca