The City of Victoria has made a $3.95 million investment in the arts community by buying 751-753 View St., the home of Hermann’s Jazz Club and the View Street Social, Mayor Marianne Alto said.
Hermann’s is the longest continually running jazz club in Canada.
Purchasing the venue reflects the city’s commitment to preserving and investing in music spaces downtown, part of her council’s four-year strategic plan, she said.
“This venue’s importance was also identified during development of the Victoria Music Strategy, and I hope it will continue to contribute to Victoria’s vibrant arts and culture scene for years to come,” Alto said.
With the purchase price comes the building, business assets and the need to find a tenant for the upper floor.
The Arts on View Society, which has been operating the building’s live music venues, gave notice to the previous owners it would not continue to lease and operate the upper floor, known as Hermann’s Upstairs Lounge, after March 31.
The society intends to focus instead on operating Hermann’s Jazz Club and the View Street Social on the ground floor. “The city’s commitment to our vision — to create and sustain a performing arts centre in downtown Victoria — could not have been better expressed than their recent purchase of the building in which we operate the iconic Hermann’s Jazz Club,” said Clay Barber, executive director of the Arts on View Society.
Barber said the society has been well-supported by the city since it leased the business operations of Hermann’s Jazz Club from the Nieweler family in July 2019.
Thomas Soulliere, deputy city manager, said the timing of the sale came down to acquisition finally becoming an option.
“We have been exploring that and completed our due diligence around what would be involved and we were able to successfully negotiate a deal with the owners,” he said.
The 1920s building has been owned by the Nieweler family. Hermann Nieweler, who died in 2015, founded Hermann’s in 1981. His family took over ownership after his death and worked with the Arts on View Society to maintain Nieweler’s legacy. Nieweler’s son, Stephan, who co‑owned the property with his siblings, Ingrid and Edward, believes the city will be “good stewards” for his father’s legacy.
Various developers attempted to purchase the property during the past decade but Nieweler said he never felt the right deal materialized. “There have been a lot of conversations with various people over the years, but nothing came to fruition. … I felt very strongly about my dad’s vision for the arts and music, so I’m very happy we were able to do this.”
“I don’t think they would have purchased it if they weren’t committed to working with Arts on View to continue on with and further build on that legacy.”
Jazz singer Heather Ferguson, chair of the Arts on View board, was thrilled with the news Monday. Ferguson performs twice annually at Hermann’s, which she considers the best venue in Victoria. The closure of Hermann’s would have been a substantial hit to present and future members of the Victoria music community, she said.
“Hermann’s has long supported emerging artists. We have a lot of young musicians that play there, who are going off to university. That gets them a gig and gets them experience.”
That the purchase aligns with the city’s arts and culture master plan and music strategy and bolsters the arts and culture economy is a win-win scenario, she added. “Having a landlord that really gets that is so exciting because there are so many more opportunities we can give musicians.”
Soulliere said buying the venue was a strategic move as buildings like it are at risk while the city continues to grow and redevelop.
“The city has made it a priority to be open to exploring opportunities that include the potential acquisition to preserve live music rehearsal performance spaces that align with the city’s strategic priorities,” he said.
The purchase price comes in about $691,000 more than the assessed value of the building. B.C. Assessment’s valuation of 751 View St., as of July 2023 was $3.26 million. Soulliere said the city believes the city and taxpayers got good value for the money.
He would not be drawn into offering an opinion on how residents may react to the news other than saying the purchase “aligns with the existing strategic priorities, which council has endorsed.”
The city will act as a landlord for the building, which features nearly 15,000 square feet of space over its two floors.
Soulliere said the city will enter into commercial leasing arrangements with tenants, as it does with other city-owned properties.
“The city will be exploring opportunities for another tenant to operate [the upper floor] space once the deal is closed and we take possession of everything,” he said. “Our focus is making sure that we see that upstairs venue utilized to its maximum capacity and continuing to be an arts and culture and hopefully music venue for many years to come.”
The rent will not be subsidized, but will be set at market rates.
Because the $3.95 million comes from the land sale reserve fund, which has been established by the proceeds of land the city has sold over the years, the purchase will have no impact on this year’s budget.
The fund, which can only be used for land acquisition and capital expenditure, will have a balance of $100,000 unallocated after the sale closes.
