VICTORIA -- The proposed redevelopment of two downtown Victoria waterfront properties is expected to go to a public hearing next month, 43 years since the heritage buildings were left vacant.

The Northern Junk buildings at 1314 and 1318 Wharf Street have been slated for redevelopment by Reliance Properties for over a decade.

Reliance president Jon Stovell estimates the company has poured more than $1 million into design work for the site.

The company’s plans for the properties next to the Johnson Street bridge call for 47 dedicated rental units and a commercial restaurant on the ground floor.

“We’re trying to find a solution to rehabilitate these buildings,” Stovell said Wednesday. “To bring that sort of dead corner of the city, which is a very important part of the city, back to life.”

The developer’s plans also include the extension of the David Foster Harbour Pathway behind the site and the rejuvenation of Reeson Park.

Victoria council voted in September to send the rezoning and development plans to a public hearing in the spring.

In the decade since Reliance started working on developing the site, heritage preservationists have taken issue with the proposed height of the project, which at one point included a 12-storey tower.

The current plans call for a six-storey structure spanning the two building sites, while maintaining the two-storey brick facades of the existing buildings.

“We never take anything for granted at a public hearing,” said Stovell. “We think that this is a very compelling proposal and should be approved by the city.”

The Reliance president acknowledged the company has been frustrated by the years of back-and-forth discussion on the project without anything to show for it.

“We’re coming to council with a building that’s been vacant for 43 years,” he said. “It just makes no sense on a waterfront property in downtown Victoria and it’s a blight on the community.”

If rezoning and developments permits are approved following the public hearing, the company estimates the new development would be completed by 2025.