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Morgan Block and Watson & McGregor Buildings
Uses: condo, commercial
Address: 1314-1324 Douglas Street
Municipality: Victoria
Region: Downtown Victoria
Storeys: 4
Condo units: (studio/bachelor, 1BR, 2BR)
Sales status: in planning
A proposal to restore the Morgan Block and Watson & McGregor buildings (built in 1891 and 1909, respective... (view full profile)
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Morgan Block and Watson & McGregor Buildings


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#1 amor de cosmos

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Posted 07 October 2018 - 07:16 AM

edit: this is the building with the Burger King & the one next to it which is in this pic

a3-heritage-jpg.jpg

A plan to restore a prominent heritage corner in downtown Victoria has won the support of city councillors.

Councillors authorized a heritage alteration permit for restoration of the two-storey facades of the Morgan Block, built in 1891, and the Watson & McGregor Building, built in 1909, and to add two storeys for 30 condominium units above.

Both buildings are at Douglas and Johnson streets.

*snip*

Merrick Architects, on behalf of 284244 B.C. Ltd. — a trust owned by the Morgan family — say key elements of the restoration include:

• reinstatement of the original raised parapet on the Douglas Street facade

• stripping away paint to expose the original brick

• re-introduction of historically sensitive commercial storefronts

• restoration of wood windows

• reinstatement of an original sheet metal upper cornice on the Johnson Street facade

A city staff report says both buildings are representative of the heritage character and architectural composition characteristic of Victoria’s Old Town district.

City staff say the 1891 Morgan Block “provides visual continuity” along a historic street that contains an entire block of heritage buildings.

The 1909 Watson and McGregor Building is described as “a two-storey brick Classical Revival-Influenced commercial building” that has seen “numerous interventions over its lifespan.”

https://www.timescol...dded-1.23455691

Edited by amor de cosmos, 07 October 2018 - 07:32 AM.

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#2 Cassidy

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Posted 07 October 2018 - 07:22 AM

Can anybody illuminate me as to where the two separate buildings are?

 

Is it the building in the watercolour on Douglas, and the building behind it ... which is actually on Johnson?



#3 Victoria Watcher

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Posted 07 October 2018 - 07:37 AM

ya tc did a poor job of explaining.

 

the one on the photo is douglas.  has the www.newcouncil.ca office in it and pizza and subway.  and fit fix cafe.  used to have a clothing consignment and an optical store.

 

the other building would be on the corner and has burger king and whatever in behind facing on johnson used to be the kite shop.


Edited by Victoria Watcher, 07 October 2018 - 07:38 AM.


#4 Cassidy

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Posted 07 October 2018 - 07:46 AM

The way they "whited out" the Burger King building in the render confused me ... it made it look like it wasn't part of the project.


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#5 Nparker

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Posted 07 October 2018 - 07:58 AM

As the buildings appear today:

Capture1.JPG  Capture2.JPG

 



#6 Cassidy

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Posted 07 October 2018 - 08:43 AM

After a bit of looking around, it seems that the Burger King building on the corner isn't part of the project ... it is indeed the building in behind the building fronting onto Douglas.

 

See attached (it's a COV website, so it takes a moment to load).

 

https://pub-victoria...ocumentId=23504



#7 Brantastic

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Posted 07 October 2018 - 08:44 AM

YES, YES and YES. I stare at this block nearly every time I go for a walk downtown, and imagine its potential. I hope the trend continues around the block to the Mac's building and along Yates street.


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#8 Nparker

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Posted 07 October 2018 - 08:52 AM

After a bit of looking around, it seems that the Burger King building on the corner isn't part of the project ... it is indeed the building in behind the building fronting onto Douglas.

Capture3.JPG



#9 sdwright.vic

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Posted 07 October 2018 - 09:05 AM

This means that crappy Burger King building will never go away. 🤬
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#10 amor de cosmos

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Posted 07 October 2018 - 09:08 AM

whoops I completely forgot that building in the back was there :redface:


Edited by amor de cosmos, 07 October 2018 - 09:10 AM.


#11 Nparker

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Posted 07 October 2018 - 09:57 AM

This means that crappy Burger King building will never go away.

You do realize sd that aastra will be declaring a CoV Heritage Fatwa © against you now.  ;)



#12 aastra

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Posted 07 October 2018 - 03:21 PM

Holy cow, can this really be happening? That stretch along Douglas is a goldmine waiting to be re-discovered.

 

Just check out the sort of good stuff that can happen by going back in time (to Sept 2007) with this little streetscape in Hamilton. Magnificent and restored today, but neglected and waiting for the wrecking ball just a few years ago.

 

Also, the new construction in that Hamilton example would seem to be exactly the sort of stuff that Victoria should be doing in spades.


Edited by aastra, 07 October 2018 - 05:22 PM.

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#13 threePs

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Posted 10 October 2018 - 10:46 AM

Holy cow, can this really be happening? That stretch along Douglas is a goldmine waiting to be re-discovered.

 

Just check out the sort of good stuff that can happen by going back in time (to Sept 2007) with this little streetscape in Hamilton. Magnificent and restored today, but neglected and waiting for the wrecking ball just a few years ago.

 

Also, the new construction in that Hamilton example would seem to be exactly the sort of stuff that Victoria should be doing in spades.

 

This all screams Portland and I absolutely love it.



#14 aastra

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Posted 27 February 2019 - 07:54 PM

So what ever happened with this one?


Edited by aastra, 27 February 2019 - 07:56 PM.


#15 Jackerbie

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Posted 28 February 2019 - 09:38 AM

The two Heritage Designation Bylaws were adopted by Council on January 17th 2019. The Heritage Alteration Permit was endorsed by Council on October 4th 2018 and needs to go to a Public Hearing before it can be issued.



#16 Brantastic

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Posted 11 October 2020 - 09:19 AM

Is this still happening? I don't see it on the development tracker and the building is looking pretty rough right now.



#17 Mike K.

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Posted 11 October 2020 - 09:42 AM

Yes. Sales have been pushed back to 2021.
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#18 Jackerbie

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Posted 11 October 2020 - 10:11 AM

Is this still happening? I don't see it on the development tracker and the building is looking pretty rough right now.


Can't confirm whether the Heritage Alteration Permit was issued, but it wouldn't appear on the Dev Tracker anyways since only HAPs with variances are posted there. Victoria does the same thing with Development Permits: only DPs with variances appear on the Tracker, standard DPs do not.
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#19 m3m

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Posted 20 December 2020 - 02:07 PM

https://www.morganblock.com/

 

Looks like it will be selling soon. 


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#20 Brantastic

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Posted 20 December 2020 - 02:17 PM

A large "Morgan Block" sign went up on the building about 1-2 months ago. I'm very excited for this project. I wish more attention was paid to Douglas Street, and I'm hoping spurs other heritage restorations in the area, like the Circle K building or the former Dollar Tree building. As it is, Douglas Street between Pandora and Yates is looking very sad, as is Yates between Douglas and Broad.


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