Capital Daily for Tuesday, June 9

Developer Reliance Properties is taking another shot at converting the old BC Power Commission building—a heritage-designated structure at 780 Blanshard, just on the cusp of downtown—into a hotel. The company has applied for a heritage alteration permit to restore the art-deco landmark and carve out 126 hotel rooms.

The four-storey building on a sloped piece of land bordered by Blanshard, Burdett, and Fairfield was built in 1949—originally intended to be used as a hospital—and served as headquarters for the BC Power Commission until Reliance bought it in 2019. The plan back then was to build a 69-room hotel with a 16-storey condo tower, but that got nixed because of market constraints and a dearth of on-site parking.

Rather than just keeping the outer shell, Reliance's application calls for complete restoration, down to the original paint colour. Seismic upgrades would need to be done, and a landscaped rooftop terrace would be added.

The DVBA has long called for more hotels to be built in Greater Victoria. The City of Victoria's Official Community Plan states a goal of 1,500 new hotel rooms by 2035, while Destination Greater Victoria says the region needs 500 more than that.

Camosun College and UVic are looking to the future to preserve the past. Researchers from both schools have been awarded a grant to help Kwakwaka'wakw master carvers navigate modern-day challenges—limited old-growth supply, climate change, and displacement from traditional lands—to use and maintain traditional carving techniques.

The combined research team is developing robotic technology that will help carvers work with a varying wood supply and gather traditional knowledge for posterity. The project is being funded by the New Frontiers in Research Fund Exploration Stream, a program designed to support high-risk, high-reward interdisciplinary research that goes beyond disciplinary boundaries.

Carey Newman, impact chair for Indigenous art practice at Camosun, said the technology will hopefully ensure future generations have access to historic practices. The project aligns with another long-term one that Newman is spearheading: The Seeding Project, which will plant a western red cedar tree, design a virtual 3D totem, and carve the totem design when the tree is mature—600 to 1,000 years in the future.