A distillery, a research program and a new tourist attraction are on the radar as possible tenants of the historic Crystal Garden building.
Macaloney Brewers and Distillers, Ocean Networks Canada and Toronto-based TVM Group all responded to a “market sounding” to test the market from the City of Victoria, the building owner. Initial reports that Butterfly Gardens had expressed interest were wrong.
Butterfly Gardens general manager David Roberts, contacted in China where he was attending the Showcase Asia tourism conference, said the confusion came because he was helping his brother, Amit Sofer, with a submission. Roberts’ business was mistakenly linked to the proposal.
The process of seeking interest in the Crystal Garden has had good results so far, said Paul Nursey, president and CEO of Tourism Victoria.
“It’s great to see business interested in downtown,” said Nursey, who was speaking Thursday at a meeting of Victoria’s governance and priorities committee. “We should embrace all those who have raised their hand and said they are interested in doing business in Victoria.”
Coun. Chris Coleman said the three interested groups that have come forward so far have created an exciting start to determining the Crystal Garden’s future.
The venue would allow Ocean Networks Canada to house its staff of about 90 in one spot, said Nikki Macdonald, executive director of corporate operations. “We’ve got two locations, one here at the Technology Enterprise Facility at the university and the second up near the airport at the Marine Technology Centre,” said Macdonald, adding having everyone in a single facility would be useful.
“It allows our engineers to be with our scientists and our tech innovators.”
Macdonald said a letter of interest was submitted. “There is a lot of work that would need to be done in terms of building a business case and understanding more about what it would mean for us to be located there.”
The Macaloney proposal is for a distillery that would create up to 80 jobs. The company has also looked at other locations in the region.
The TVM Group proposal is for a combination conference centre and tourist attraction. The nature of the attraction has not been specified.
Nursey noted that the days of the “kitschy attraction” are gone. “It’s all about experiences — learning, touching, tasting and smelling.”
The Francis Rattenbury-designed Crystal Garden opened in 1925, and for a time housed the largest salt-water swimming pool in the British Empire. The building closed in 1967 and stood empty for many years, then in 1980 opened as a botanical garden and conservation centre.
That operation ended in 2004 and was followed by the B.C. Experience, a tourist attraction that went bankrupt in 11 months. The Crystal Garden became part of the adjacent Victoria Conference Centre in 2008, and this year came under city ownership through a land swap with the provincial government.
Even though tenants are being considered, the Crystal Garden could continue to provide space for activities associated with the conference centre, centre general manager Jocelyn Jenkyns said at the meeting. “Since 2008, 42 per cent of all the conferences we hosted at VCC did require Crystal Garden,” she said.
An official call for more-detailed expressions of interest is planned for November, Jenkyns said.
