Phillips Brewing has acquired the historic Francis Rattenbury designed brick building which served as the home of Sports Traders until fall 2016.
Brewery founder Matt Phillips will be using the former Sports Traders space of about 16,000 square feet as the company’s wholesale distribution centre. Phillips’ current distribution hub is several blocks away.
The brewery abuts the 502-508 Discovery St. building, which also fronts on Store and Pembroke streets in Victoria’s Old Town district.
Once the wholesale centre relocates, Phillips said the company will be able to do all of its wholesale operations from there and “basically bring all the team together in one location
“It just feels right, and feels better for everybody and makes for an easier operation.”
Phillips has 96 employees.
“It checks a lot of boxes for us,” Phillips said Thursday. “Its proximity to the rest of our operation is a huge win for us.”
Tenants in the rest of the building are remaining, Phillips said. The building houses Ingredients Cafe and Community Market, the Duke Saloon and Victoria Gymnastics.
No date has been set for the warehouse relocation, but “we are going to move on it as quickly as we can,” Phillips said.
Some renovations need to be completed first. A new floor will be installed, Phillips said.
“From the outside, [there will be] very few noticeable changes,” he said. “It’s not in bad shape. The bones of it are in great shape.”
The building is assessed at $4 million. Phillips did not disclose the purchase price. Its previous owners are listed in B.C. records as Linda Dye, Allan Mellett and Donald Bermingham, all of Greater Victoria.
Ana Kraft, real estate agent with NAI Commercial (Victoria) Inc., said the sale closed Feb. 1.
The heritage-registered building is “beautiful,” Phillips said.
“I think as that part of town develops, it starts to shine more as a building and we are excited about that.”
Known as the B.C. Electric Railway Company Depot, the federal government’s historic places website says it was built in 1901, with an addition in 1907.
It is a “large shed-type industrial building located at the northern end of Victoria's downtown,” the website says. “It has two bays that extend between Discovery and Pembroke Streets, with pitched gables at the Pembroke Street elevation, and hipped gables at Discovery Street.”
The building is valued as an “important part of Victoria’s and British Columbia’s industrial and transportation history,” the website says.
“It is an important illustration of a significant phase in the continuum of the company that started as the National Electric Tramway & Lighting Company in 1890, and became the B.C. Hydro and Power Authority in 1961.”
This part of Old Town is attracting interest from developers. Chris Lefevre bought the 20,000 square foot Powerhouse building close to Rock Bay and a nearby three-storey brick building at 502 Pembroke St., across the road from Phillips’ property from B.C. Hydro. The Capital Iron store on Store Street has long been a draw for shoppers.
