An ambitious plan to transform seven acres on the edge of Victoria’s downtown into a working waterfront, living and working spaces, and the future home of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria will get underway this month.
Reliance Properties is expected to submit its master plan to Victoria council on April 18 for the first rezoning application for the lands around the Capital Iron building.
The massive redevelopment covers two city blocks and 400 feet of waterfront on the Upper Harbour, and would create an arts and innovation district extending from Chinatown to Rock Bay
“It’s city-building,” Reliance Properties chief executive Jon Stovell said in an interview. “Now we’re going to find out if [council] believes in it or not.”
The plan includes preservation of three existing heritage buildings — Capital Iron, Valhalla Pure and a small brick building, all along Store Street — and construction of up to 12 buildings that will be a mix of light industrial, office, commercial and residential apartments ranging from three to seven storeys and two more of 15 and 20 storeys.
The entire plan, designed by architect Franc D’Ambrosio, would create 873,000 square feet of building space, representing the city’s most significant land and marine development in several decades.
Many of the new buildings will be built in the existing Capital Iron parking lot and replace current retail stores along Government Street. Others will be built along the waterfront and next to the heritage buildings.
Stovell said as many as 500 residential units are in the plan, with a mix of market and affordable rentals, strata units and live-work artists’ studios.
The look and design of the new structures will come later, during permit stages, said Stovell, but will be inspired by history and likely include a mix of new and old elements, such as glass, brick, wood and stone with some nautical and First Nations designs.
A new art gallery will be the centrepiece at Store and Discovery streets, along with an adjoining large public square. Both land pieces are being contributed by Reliance as public amenities as part of the proposed rezoning.
Stovell said the Capital Iron lands, bordered by Chatham, Discovery and Government streets down to the waterline, are underutilized, with few job spaces, no homes and an inactive waterway.
He said the master plan envisions the commercial and office portions providing spaces for companies employing up to 1,800 people, including restaurants, a daycare, art studios, various shops, and technology and arts companies.
Stovell said the proposal offers “limitless economic growth potential and spin-off benefits that will ensure the district is unique, attractive and exciting for arts, innovation and entrepreneurship.”
Nancy Noble, chief executive and director of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, said in an interview the gallery board is awaiting city council’s approval to begin a fundraising campaign to start building a new venue.
She said a new art gallery building could be as high as six storeys, but everything will depend on rezoning and permitting over the next several months.
“We are very anxious to make it happen,” said Noble. “Reliance Properties and Jon Stovell have been so great to work with on this project. I think everyone agrees that a new, larger gallery to display our collections will be a great thing for the province and the city.”
Stovell believes a major feature of the plan will be light industrial buildings on the waterfront, which will provide a key access point for companies in ocean technologies and the fishing industry.
Finest at Sea Ocean Products, now based in James Bay, said it wants to relocate to the Capital Iron water frontage on the Upper Harbour, a move the owner and developer say would re-invigorate the city’s working harbour.
Finest at Sea owner Bob Fraumeni said he has engaged support from the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations for deep-water berthing and is now awaiting approval from Transport Canada for docking on the foreshore.
“We envision a move that helps revitalize the local fishing industry, including collaborating with First Nations groups, as our proposed water lot falls on traditional territory,” Fraumeni said in a statement this week.
Fraumeni has eight boats plying the seas, catching everything from halibut in Haida Gwaii to albacore tuna off the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Stovell said the fishing trawlers would potentially unload and process on the site.
The waterfront plan also includes a portion for a public plaza and refreshment business and an extension of the Victoria Harbour waterfront walkway.
Users of the walkway, which is now cut off at Value Village, would be able to get through to the Capital Iron site and then proceed up through a narrow alley between the heritage buildings into the art gallery square.
“You could go from the Royal B.C. Museum all the way to the new art gallery .. it would be a special connection there,” said Stovell.
While city staff’s preference might be for a route along the water, Stovell said a working foreshore area where boats and tech companies would be active would not be safe for a public path.
“I think the alley, which would be very similar to Fan Tan Alley, is a good alternative and it keeps the shoreline for working companies,” he said.
The project will be built in phases over more than a decade, starting with the art gallery building and public square and one of the residential buildings.
Noble said moving to a vibrant new space in a central district dedicated to arts and culture will create more opportunities for the gallery to showcase its collection. The province’s largest publicly held collection of art, it includes more than 23,000 objects.
“We have so many that not many people realize the depth and breadth of the collection simply because we don’t have the space to display them,” said Noble.
Pending approvals, Noble said the gallery will initially hire an architect to design the new building while raising funds through donors, grants and provincial funding. It will also likely use the proceeds of the sale of its Moss Street buildings and property.
She said it will be about two years, maybe more, before a shovel hits the ground.
Eventually, everything will shift downtown, including the famous Moss Street Paint-in held every July. The streets around the new proposed gallery will be designed to close for the gallery’s special events, said Stovell.
Capital Iron, meanwhile, is expected to reopen this spring under new owner Fred Aram, who purchased the Capital Iron brand last year when the long-time owners filed for bankruptcy in December 2022. Stovell said Reliance has signed a 10-year lease with Aram.
Reliance Properties has been active in the region for several years, owning and rebuilding the Janion and Northern Junk properties, among other heritage buildings. It’s also a partner in the massive $1.2-billion Beachlands development underway on Colwood’s waterfront.
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