Plans to redevelop the downtown bus terminal include an expanded public garden running from Government to Douglas streets and a high-end, long-term rental building designed to complement the historic Fairmont Empress Hotel.
Conceptual plans for the project, spearheaded by hotel owner Nat Bosa, a Vancouver developer, are being presented to nearby community groups.
The site is part of the Empress grounds, a National Historic Site, tourist destination and Victoria landmark.
Preliminary plans would see construction of a building of 85,000 to 90,000 square feet, architect James Cheng said from Vancouver on Thursday. It would include about 5,000 square feet of ground-level commercial, including a sidewalk coffee shop.
“We don’t want to copy the Empress, but we still want to be inspired by the Empress,” said Cheng, who is also the master-plan architect for Empress renovations now underway. “We have not designed the building yet.”
The overall height would be below that of the Empress, and the upper two storeys would be set back, he said. One side of the building would be curved.
Approximately 70 units are planned, at 1,000 square feet and larger. Units would be rented on a one-year basis and would be operated by the hotel, Cheng said, adding if all goes smoothly, construction could start within a year.
Because plans are still being developed, it’s too soon to say what type of application will be presented to the city, he said.
Discussions have been ongoing with Concert Properties, owners of the nearby Crystal Court Motel site at 701 Belleville St., where a seniors development is planned, and with the Royal B.C. Museum, Cheng said. “That whole corner could become a much more lively place.”
Retail has struggled over the years in the 700 block of Douglas Street. Cheng said the plan is not to duplicate what is there, but to attract more people with new features. That could include running retail that’s already inside the hotel out to the street.
Extension and improvement of the hotel’s garden facing Belleville Street would complement other large green spaces nearby, such as the lawn of the legislature and Thunderbird Park at the museum, Cheng said. “It would be a network of gardens.”
A mini-plaza is envisioned on the west side of the building, with benches, new trees and a pedestrian walkway through the gardens. In the past, the grounds had “beautiful arbours” and that historic landscaping is inspiring today’s ideas, which include a lawn, rose garden and paths, Cheng said.
“We are going to bring some of that back.”
It’s too soon to estimate construction costs, said Cheng, named an officer of the Order of Canada in 2012 for “helping to develop the Vancouver style of architecture, influencing the face of a city and a generation of Canadian architects.”
The first phase of the Empress renovations is expected to be complete in mid-May and the second stage is set to start in October. Empress manager Indu Brar earlier said the final renovation bill will be between $30 million and $50 million.
Bosa, who was in Victoria Wednesday to view the improvements, bought the hotel in mid-2014 with his wife, Flora.
The sale included the bus depot at 700 Douglas St., which has been at that location since 1961.
In February, Victoria council agreed to an 18-month trial allowing buses to operate across the street in front of the Crystal Garden. B.C. Transit and commercial bus operators — Wilson’s Transportation, Tofino Bus, and Greyhound Canada — are moving out of the depot by the end of May.
Marg Gardiner, James Bay Neighbourhood Association president, said the group is satisfied with Nat Bosa’s approach to the redevelopment project.
Bruce Carter, Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce CEO, welcomes redevelopment, saying that location, along with the Crystal Court, used to be lively. “I think it is going to be a happening area again.”
Victoria Coun. Margaret Lucas, James Bay liaison, praised the developer for meeting with community organizations to gather response. “It is an incredible opportunity. It is such an iconic building,” she said. “I think if it is done right, it could be spectacular.”
cjwilson@timescolonist
— With files from Richard Watts
