Developer submits proposal for nearly 7 acres of downtown Victoria, including new art gallery

Victoria -

Vancouver-based developer Reliance Properties is floating a proposal to rezone nearly seven acres of downtown Victoria for a new waterfront community, featuring a potential new home for the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria.

Reliance recently acquired the property, which stretches from the shore of Victoria's Upper Harbour to Government Street between Chatham and Discovery streets, including the historic Capital Iron building and parking lot.

Reliance CEO Jon Stovell told CTV News last May that the beloved Capital Iron hardware store would not be forced out by the land deal.

Reliance has submitted a rezoning pre-application to the city, seeking to contribute to an arts and innovation district as laid out in the city’s Victoria 3.0 master plan adopted last year.

The Reliance plan calls for a 17-storey residential building at the corner of Government and Discovery streets, and a 13-storey building with live-work studio spaces along Chatham street between Government and Store streets.

A 10-storey building would anchor the block between Store Street and the waterfront, with multiple low- to medium-rise buildings filling in the area from the water up to Government Street.

The city describes its vision for the district as a hub of cross-sector collaboration, featuring a mix of high-tech, industrial, cultural and commercial uses.

Reliance says its plan for the 6.7-acre Capital Iron lands is in line with that vision, proposing a mix of heavy and light industrial, commercial, high-tech and cultural uses. As an amenity contribution to the community, Reliance says it could provide land for a new Art Gallery of Greater Victoria.

“At almost seven acres, Capital Iron Lands is one of Victoria’s largest development opportunities and we look forward to collaborating with the city and local communities to make the Arts & Innovation District a diverse hub of arts, culture, and technology,” Stovell said in a statement.

“The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria is an anchor cultural institution in the region,” said Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps in a statement. “There have long been calls for it to move downtown. I can’t think of a better place than in the newly created Arts and Innovation District. I look forward to seeing this exciting rezoning opportunity come before council.”

Reliance is the developer behind Victoria’s restored Janion building and the recently rezoned Northern Junk site.