Ming’s restaurant at the corner of Quadra and Johnson streets is expected to be razed in the next couple of weeks after the building’s owners, Toronto-based Starlight Developments, applied to the City of Victoria for a demolition permit.
The restaurant has been vacant since shutting its doors early in 2018.
Starlight has also purchased two buildings across the street from Ming’s — 1314 Quadra St., a former drycleaner, and 851 Johnson, formerly Ageless Living.
A Starlight spokesperson said there are no immediate development plans for any of the three sites.
Starlight is working with the City of Victoria on a rezoning application for the first phase of its proposed transformation of the Harris Green neighbourhood.
The developer is hoping to rezone the first block of the project, 1045 Yates St., the current home of the Harris Victoria Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram car dealership, to allow a mixed-use project.
The plans for that block include purpose-built rental residential towers of 17 and 19 storeys with 510 suites, including 23 affordable units and commercial opportunities at grade.
It’s just the first step in a complete overhaul of the neighbourhood.
Starlight has over the past few years pieced together land parcels making up the entire 900-block and most of the 1000-block of Yates and View streets.
The intention is to tear down all of the existing commercial buildings to make way for the project, which will include residential towers, more than 100,000 square feet of commercial buildings and green space.
