Hotel conversion headed to hearing
Developer wants to change building into apartments
A proposal to convert the 13-storey Harbour Towers Hotel in James Bay to rental apartments will go to public hearing.
Victoria councillors agreed this week to send the proposal to hearing, even though some councillors suggested the building remain rental for 20 years rather than the 10 years proposed by Omicron, which is managing the project.
If approved, the 189 hotel rooms in the building, at 345 Quebec St., would be converted into 219 rental units.
The conversion would see a section of the hotel’s lower two floors demolished to create an interior courtyard with entrances off Quebec and Oswego streets.
New rental units on the ground and second floor would open onto either the courtyard or Quebec Street. New studio, one-bedroom, 1.5-bedroom and two-bedroom units would be created on floors three to 13, with two-level apartments on the 12th floor.
The building would have 179 parking spaces (including 24 surface spots), 219 bicycle stalls and a bicycle repair station.
Omicron had agreed to a housing agreement to ensure the 219 units would remain rental for at least 10 years
Anything longer might deter the company from proceeding with the conversion, Anthony Paes-Braga said in a letter to councillors on behalf of Harbour Towers Ltd.
“While our plans call to substantially replace and modernize all major building components … we are still dealing with a circa 1970s building that does have certain functional obsolescence,” he wrote. “We are not certain that a rental building will be the highest and best use for the site in perpetuity.
“A restriction on the use of the site for a prolonged period of time would adversely impact the value of the property and could deter us from proceeding with this conversion.”
Coun. Ben Isitt, saying the city is in a housing crisis, suggested the term be increased to 60 years, but did not get council support. Instead, council asked that the term be extended to 20 years.
“While I would like to see that [60-year] period more, 20 years is definitely better than 10 years, and I agree with the [other council] speakers that we do need this housing supply,” Isitt said.
Coun. Jeremy Loveday said a 60-year agreement would discourage the conversion, but that 10 years wasn’t long enough. He supported 20 years.
Council also asked that shortterm vacation rentals not be permitted in the building.
If approved, the renovation is expected to take 20 months.
Several other Victoria hotels have been converted to residential units.
The Queen Victoria Hotel, 655 Douglas St., was bought by Concert Properties and converted to Q Apartments with 124 units. Dominion Rocket, the former Dominion Hotel at 759 Yates St., offers rental micro-units, including furnished studios.
Several Travellers Inns have been converted to either rental accommodation or social housing.