MAPPING VICTORIA - 780 Blanshard

780 Blanshard St

Building Info

A 124-room hotel with a public café in the renovated heritage building and a new one-storey rooftop addition
5 storeys in total - two rooftop terraces for hotel guests and an extension
Re-cladding of the existing non-original stair adjacent to Blanshard Street
Structural and seismic upgrades
Parking - 2 on-site parking stalls and 25 off-site stalls, 18 long term bike stalls

Developer

Architect

Context

The BC Power Commission Building was a late Art Deco building completed in 1949 - heritage recognition
Currently houses Rockslide Gallery and provides studio spaces to more than 80 artists in partnership with 4 other arts organizations.

City of Victoria Development Tracker

Status

September 2026 - Revised proposals received by City on June 3, 2026 and August 31, 2026; however changes from the November 2025 submission primarily address errors or omissions, and issues raised regarding right-of-ways, civil engineering, sidewalks and landscaping.

Media and Images

June 6, 2026 Times Colonist story on revised proposal (the TC story states 126 rooms; however the latest available planning docs show 124)
June 1, 2022 Times Colonist story on proposal

CHEK News story aired on June 8, 2026

2025 Revised Plans (note - the renderings do not differ from the plans received in June 2026 or August 2026) - images © OMB

Location

Google Street View

Current State

Photos © John Johnson - taken on December 7, 2025

Planning Deep Dive

Previous 2023 Proposal:

- 20 storeys - original Art Deco 4 storeys at the base plus 16 storeys for a new hotel and condo units to be built on top
- 69 room hotel, cafe in the renovated heritage BC Power Building at the base as well as 98 condos

OMB's May 20, 2026 letter to the Mayor and Council summarizes the restoration and new addition elements:

The principal heritage rehabilitations to the building will include:

Replacement of all windows and doors with high-performance units that are similar in form and materiality to the originals
Restoration of the original paint colour based on the heritage consultant’s investigation
Retention of significant character-defining elements, including metal window screens, corrugated glass, and facade relief patterns
Preservation of the west stairwell - Rehabilitation and adaptive re-use of the Historic Chairman’s Office
Extension and re-cladding of the existing non-original exit stair, originally added to the building in the 1970’s, to provide a more distinguishable architectural character and clearer differentiation from the historic heritage fabric, aligning it with Standard 11 of The Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada
Removal of the secondary entrance on Fairfield road and replacement with a Juliet balcony complete with a guardrail that references the heritage metal window screens

Additional building upgrades include:

New one-storey rooftop addition
New shearwalls to improve the structural capacity of the existing building
Upgrading the seismic resistance of the existing structure in the North/South direction to be at least equal to the existing East/West direction, which is 55% of current Code requirements for new buildings (refer to structural seismic report)
Removal of combustible wood roof structure and concealed attic (refer to code report)
New elevator core and exit stair - New fire alarm system (refer to code report) - New sprinkler system (refer to code report)
Improved accessibility throughout

Construction Progess

Northstar General Contracting June 29, 2026 Instagram post showing work previously done as part of the heritage paint investigation

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