Address:
A proposal to redevelop the Victoria Plaza Hotel in downtown Victoria is envisioned a six-storey new-build wing fronting onto Pandora Avenue and the addition of two-storeys above the historic four-storey hotel fronting onto Government Street. A total of 100 residences were planned along with ground floor retail spaces.
Following a May 6, 2019 fire that destroyed the entire building, the development proposal was rescinded.
Click here to learn how to keep your data current and how to upgrade to a Citified Plus project profile.
Good luck seeing the Cadboro Commons.
You'd think this Government Street hotel site would represent a prime opportunity to showcase everything that we've learned.
But nope, we're feeling "conflicted" because we really want to regress back to the blandscraper era.
Daily Colonist
September 30, 1973
Old Town Area Restored
Historic Lower Yates Now Has a New Look
Adrian Greenbank is one of the men who took a chance on investing money in restoring old buildings, rather than tearing them down...
...Greenbank bought a warehouse at 535 Yates.
"We ripped out most of the interior, dug the main floor 18 inches deeper so we could put in a mezzanine floor, and then rebuilt the interior completely,"
Highrises, Greenbank added, don't have to be inhuman and ugly. They can be blended in with any other architecture.
He blamed architects for not living up to their obligations. A good example, Greenbank said, was the city parking garage, next to his building.
The unimaginative concrete structure painted in a dull red, he said, could be "dressed up" to fit in with the new spirit of the 500 Block Yates, but that would cost money which neither the city, nor merchants were willing to invest.
--
May 8, 2025
...“conflicted” was the key word used by many city councillors leading up to the decision, which butted against city staff recommendations.
After a lengthy discussion on the proposed construction of a 12-storey hotel in historic Old Town, Victoria’s mayor and council neither approved nor declined the developer’s application to build, but instead agreed to send staff back to the developer with a list of questions and considerations, all the while, hoping the list wasn’t so lengthy it deterred the applicant from moving forward. (aastra says: does anybody remember the Northern Junk saga? Anyone?)
I suspect nobody is moving forward with hotel plans right now.
I suspect nobody is moving forward with hotel plans right now.
Nobody is going to move forward with a project that has a mathematical certainty for failure based on height restrictions.
Maybe Mayor Dingdong should circulate a secret memo planning to move the homeless off Pandora to this location. That should get things moving.
New vision for fire-ravaged Victoria Plaza Hotel property to be unveiled later this year
The development team behind an earlier proposal for the property now plans to unveil a new design concept under the direction of Merrick Architecture.
Plans to redevelop historic Plaza Hotel complex into condos and storefronts cancelled after fire
A development applicaton to restore the 109-year-old hotel and convert it into residences has been nixed following a May 6th fire.
Fire ravages shuttered hotel complex eyed for redevelopment into condos and retail spaces
The former Victoria Plaza Hotel, planned for redevelopment into residences, has been heavily damaged by an early morning fire.
Former home of Monty's Showroom Pub the focus of a redevelopment effort
A redevelopment proposal for downtown Victoria's Plaza Hotel will include 100 condominium residences, a restored hotel frontage, and ground floor retail space.
Shuttered downtown Victoria hotel purchased by North Vancouver-based developer
One of Victoria's oldest hotel properties has been purchased by a Metro Vancouver development firm.
STAY CONNECTED TO CITIFIED