Additional floor on the newest rendition looks like a sea can... overall project is quite... fugly, to be respectful. Including the name... Power Commission Hotel :blink:. I hope the city rejects it like the garbage bin it looks like.

Press release:

With office building conversions rising in major Canadian cities, Reliance Properties applied for a heritage alteration permit to convert a historic downtown Victoria landmark into a 126-room hotel. Capitalizing on the city’s critical shortage of hotel rooms, Reliance said the underutilized BC Power Commission building makes an excellent candidate due to its history and location.

“We want to preserve and rehabilitate the building to its glorious character while modernizing it for commercial viability and longevity,” said Jon Stovell, president and CEO of Reliance Properties, a family-owned BC company established more than 60 years ago.

Reliance has undertaken more than 20 heritage restoration projects in Vancouver and Victoria, including the multi-award-winning The Janion. “Our heritage leadership demonstrates how much we value historic buildings,” said Stovell.

▫️Application Calls for Complete Restoration

Built in 1949 as a potential hospital, the four-storey Art Deco building at 780 Blanshard ultimately served as the headquarters for the provincial government’s BC Power Commission, which occupied the space for 70 years until Reliance purchased it in 2019.

Rather than retaining only the outer shell of the building, Reliance’s proposal calls for complete restoration of the original building repurposed for a new function:

Heritage Preservation: Complete restoration of the original paint color, retention of character-defining metal window screens and façade relief patterns, and preservation of the historic and architecturally significant Chairman’s Office and west stairwell.

New Addition: A single-storey rooftop addition set back from existing parapets to respect the building’s original footprint and minimize visual impact.

Architectural Distinction: The extension and re-cladding of a non-original 1970s exit stair adjacent to Blanshard Street, transforming it into a glowing "lantern" focal point that clearly differentiates new architectural elements from the historic fabric.

Structural & Green Upgrades: Upgrading seismic resistance, adding a landscaped roof terrace, replacing windows with high-performance units, and reusing the existing concrete structure to preserve a massive amount of embodied carbon.

Heritage Registry: Currently on Victoria’s Heritage Register, as part of the development, Reliance is seeking full heritage designation through a concurrent application.
"Our proposed conversion will provide vital tourist infrastructure, support local employment, and create an opportunity to welcome the public into an important rehabilitated heritage building. In addition, our ground-level public food and beverage facility will breathe new life into the area,” said Stovell.

Expanding Reliance’s Office-to-Hotel Portfolio

This will be Reliance’s second office-to-hotel conversion project. Later this year, transformation will begin on a 13-storey downtown Vancouver building built in 1966.

Being developed in partnership with Germain Hotels, that property will feature up to 200 rooms.

I can't think of any reason council might reject this.

I'm wondering why they keep saying they won't change the exterior shell, when all the development photos submitted are showing a brick exterior when the current one is concrete.

Click here to view image.