Victoria council has approved what is destined to be a major downtown landmark — the controversial Telus Ocean tower at Douglas and Humboldt streets.
The proposal for the glass-sided, triangular 11-storey building elicited hundreds of comments for and against from city residents and organizations. A public hearing was held earlier.
On Thursday, council supported third reading of the bylaw allowing the project to go ahead, with three council members opposed: Geoff Young, Charlayne Thornton-Joe and Ben Isitt.
The vote follows decades of discussion at city hall about what should happen on the site at the south end of downtown.
Eventually, the city put the 767 Douglas St. property on the market, striking a deal for Telus Communications Inc. to buy the 28,000-square-foot lot east of the Empress Hotel for $8.1 million.
Aryze Developments of Victoria submitted the rezoning application to city hall with variances to height, setbacks and parking spaces, on behalf of Telus.
The building, designed by architects Diamond Schmitt, will be 144,397 square feet and 173 feet tall at the parapet.
The height and mass of Telus Ocean within an area noted for its heritage buildings, as well as its impact on views of the Olympic Mountains, troubled some council members.
Others welcomed the building and its public amenities, and the potential to foster the high-tech sector.
Coun. Marianne Alto said the project will be one-of-a kind in the city. A water feature at the ground level, public seating and the ability to stage performances outside are among the development’s offerings. The top level of the building will be a bookable public space for a variety of users.
Mayor Lisa Helps said it is the “exact kind of building we want in our city … I think Telus Ocean is setting a very high bar.”
Helps cautioned that if the proposal was deferred so Telus could come up with a smaller project, amenities would be at risk.
The plan includes 100 long-term bicycle spaces and 42 short-term spaces and a reduction in required parking spaces to 116 from 205. Telus is also providing a minimum of 94 bus passes annually for three years.
Alto called the Telus plan a “tremendous vote of confidence in the potential of the city.” The proposal was approved as the downtown continues to struggle with the fallout from the pandemic. Many employees have still not returned to offices and continue to work remotely.
Thornton-Joe said she would like to see the Telus project go ahead at a lower height and with less mass. She considers the building too large for the site, saying it will reduce mountain views and won’t fit with the area’s heritage properties.
And although Young believes the property should be developed, he, too, questioned the size, height and setbacks of the building, and called for a “fairly substantial rethink” of the plan.
Isitt took a different approach, saying a public plaza on the property would be a more appropriate use.
The property contains a large amount of fill, and Telus and the city are sharing remediation costs.
cjwilson@timescolonist.com
