Hotel win could mean cultural loss for Victoria's creative community
Developer Reliance Properties wants to convert the old BC Power Commission building at 780 Blanshard into a hotel, which would displace upward of 200 artists from four galleries and five non-profit arts organizations.
Developer Reliance Properties is seeking approval to convert the old BC Power Commission building at 780 Blanshard — a yellowish art-deco structure — into a hotel. While the region needs more hotel space, the conversion would come at a significant cost to Victoria's arts community.
Upward of 200 artists from four galleries and five non-profit arts organizations currently call the building home. If the developer gets the go-ahead, all of them would need to find new locations. Logan Ford, executive director of the Vancouver Island Visual Arts Society (VIVAS), said the situation is urgent and solutions have been hard to come by.
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