Victoria council has unanimously approved a rezoning proposal to convert the 189-room Harbour Towers Hotel into a 219-unit residential apartment building.
Construction on the 13-storey building at 345 Quebec St., which is being managed by Vancouver company Omicron, is expected to begin this year.
The longtime hotel in James Bay will not be demolished, but extensively renovated and renamed Harbour Towers.
The project is expected to be completed in just under two years.
Harbour Towers will offer studio apartments, in addition to oneand two-bedroom units, with 179 parking stalls for vehicles and 219 bike stalls for residents.
A rental-housing agreement is to remain in place for a period of 20 years.
Repurposing an established hotel for residential use is a trend in Victoria, and is seen as one way to alleviate the housing crunch.
The Dominion Hotel, Queen Victoria Inn and several Traveller's Inn locations have all been converted to rental in recent years.
Victoria council has also amended rezoning applications so that homeowners no longer have to go through a public hearing to build stand-alone garden suites on their property.
