The historic Merchant’s Bank of Canada building — also known as the Bank of Montreal building — in downtown Victoria is on the market for $15.98 million.
Architect Francis Mawson Rattenbury designed the two-storey structure, which has been an anchor on the busy corner of Douglas and Yates streets for 111 years.
The Bank of Montreal has been there for most of that time, moving in 96 years ago.
When built, it was the most expensive building in the city in proportion to its size, according to the federal register of Canada’s Historic Places.
Its construction and design tell us something about Victoria’s history. “The Merchant’s Bank of Canada is a symbol of economic strength in Victoria,” the site said, using information from the City of Victoria.
The building is on Victoria’s heritage registry.
Its “original palatial appearance, classical Beaux-Arts detailing and grand interior spaces evoke the sense of longevity, stability, and wealth suited to inspire confidence in its customers.”
Rows of columns and its beveled corner entrance create a strong presence at Douglas and Yates streets.
Rattenbury chose carved ornamentation including lions’ heads and garlands, and rounded and triangular pediments, the website states. The pediments run along the roof line of the building.
Its concrete construction, stone cladding and solid appearance are “physical indications of the affluence of the years before the First World War.”
An addition was built in 1922 and again in 1945, all indications of “twentieth century growth and prosperity in Victoria.”
The Merchant’s Bank was a Canadian chartered bank which started in Quebec, said Archeion, a service provided by the Archives Association of Ontario. The Bank of Montreal bought Merchant’s Bank in 1922.
The building is listed for sale by Form Retail Advisors Inc., of Vancouver, at $15.98 million.
The listing said the building is 100 per cent leased to the Bank of Montreal.
It runs 120 feet along Douglas Street and 90 feet along Yates Street. It was renovated in 2009, the listing said.
Douglas Street Holdings Ltd. of Vancouver owns the property. The building most recently changed hands in August 2017 for $11.809 million, according to provincial property records.
It is assessed at $11.354 million.
The Vancouver address of Douglas Street Holdings is the same address for Value Property Group, a real estate investment, development and management firm. Douglas Street Holdings directors did not want to comment on the sale listing.
