The former Now Furniture building on Douglas Street, built 12 years ago and sitting empty for the last eight, is being acquired and renovated by Jordans Interiors.
"Hopefully we are going to take it from a building that borders on a bit of an eyesore to one that I think Victoria is going to be pretty proud of," Jordans president and chief executive officer David Jordan-Knox said Tuesday.
The Vancouver-based, family-owned furniture company is renovating the building and returning it to its roots as a home furnishings showcase. Jordans will move out of its current location at 2680 Blanshard St. at the start of the new year.
While it was vacant, various uses were touted for the Now property, including a contentious failed casino proposal and a fitness centre.
Jordans was attracted to the building because of its large size, high visibility and design. Its original builder, Wales Mclelland, has also been used by the company on some of its other locations, Jordan-Knox said.
Construction quality is "first-class," he said. "It's actually in remarkably good condition."
The Douglas Street building will give Jordans at least double the current 18,000 square feet of display space it now has at Blanshard Street, he said. It measures about 55,000 square feet, including storage.
"Many of the lines that we've shown in Victoria have been limited by space and now that is no longer going to be the case," Jordan-Knox said. "It's definitely an enhanced opportunity."
He said the new location will feature expanded and new furniture lines, more contemporary designs and an extensive display of area rugs.
Staff will likely increase to about 20 from the current 12, Jordan-Knox said.
Workers were at the site Tuesday taking down the old Now Furniture signs. Plywood still lines the interior of windows. A city official said a permit was taken out to perform electrical work to repair damage due to flooding.
"We take possession in another couple of weeks and then we start our own work, a lot of it on the aesthetic side. It is going to take us a couple of months to convert it to the kind of store and presentation that we're happy with. Then we will be ready and open the first of the year," Jordan-Knox said.
Plans include repainting, new landscaping and a complete interior renovation, he said.
Improvement costs are confidential, as is the selling price, he said. B.C. Assessment records show that the property is assessed at $7.13 million. The property is already zoned for commercial use.
The existing Jordans store in Langford will remain, he said.
Jordans was founded in 1929 by Edwin Jordan-Knox, grandfather to David. Jordans' first Victoria location opened in 1940 at 909 Government St. The store was later located at 737 Yates St., and has been in its present spot for about 25 years.
Jordan has 500 staff in 38 operations offering floor coverings, rugs, furniture for home and offices, and more. The Blanshard store is holding a sale to clear out merchandise to make way for new products in the new location.
Family members active in the company include David, his brother, Craig, who is executive vice-president, David's sons, Michael and Quinn, both vice-presidents, and nephew, Paul Cluff, manager of Kelowna operations.
The building is owned by the John Volken Foundation, which was granted possession under a foreclosure in 2010 after former owner John Asfar, owner of the Traveller's Inn Group, went into bankruptcy in 2009.
Bond Development Corp. purchased the property at 2269 Douglas St. and designed and developed the building for use as a furniture store, according to company president Doug Foord. The John Volken Foundation pad for the construction of the building, which opened in 2000.
The building was first opened as a Wosk furniture store as part of the United Furniture group. It became a Now Furniture store but closed in 2004. Asfar bought it in 2005. The building has been vacant since the furniture store closed but was used for a time as the location for the annual Times Colonist book sale.
Asfar tried to open a casino in the building and create a hotel-entertainment complex. But the City of Victoria refused to hold a public hearing into the casino proposal after B.C. Lotteries Corp. indicated it did not support the plan.
The city had earlier said it would hold a public hearing. Asfar launched a lawsuit against the city, but lost when the court ruled that Victoria had the right to change its mind about whether to hold a public hearing.
Late last year, a proposal was made to convert the building into a fitness club for Gold's Gym, but that did not come to fruition.
