A high-end idea sketched out in the back of a van in Chicago officially broke ground as downtown Victoria’s first hotel build in nearly two decades.
Standing in the construction site between the two walls that remain of the original 1892-built Duck’s Building, Byron Chard, president and CEO of Chard Developments, told the tale of how he and Scott Richer of Hyatt Hotels solved a host of problems.
Challenged with existing design, desired uses, heritage restrictions and site layout limitations, he suddenly had a lightbulb moment. Suddenly, the two men were hand-sketching rooms and doing math on the back of envelopes.
A pandemic, inflationary spike and a trade war later, both were on hand for the official groundbreaking of the Broad Street hotel on July 15.
“Only good things happen in the backs of vans,” Richer said, getting a laugh from the crowd on hand to launch the planned eight-storey hotel.
Chard Developments is the University of Victoria’s development partner for the properties at 1306-1324 Broad St., gifted to the school by Michael Williams when he died in 2000. Williams was a businessman, developer, heritage conservationist, art collector and philanthropist who believed in the importance of universities, teaching and research. Williams lovingly revived old buildings in downtown Victoria and his restoration projects were credited with the rebirth of a once run-down part of the city as a lively neighbourhood of restaurants and shops.
Similarly, Chard sees the planned 167-room hotel, with local art throughout and string lights along Broad as an investment in the future of the city’s economy culture and infrastructure. They also expect it will welcome 100,000 guests a year.
“Our vision is that this is more than just a hotel. It will serve as a gathering place, a gateway for visitors to experience the best of Victoria and a source of pride for those who call this city home,” Chard said. “This project is a testament to our belief that development should leave a lasting positive impact on the people and communities it touches.”
It marks the 14th downtown project for Chard Developments, but the first hotel. Developed in partnership with Knightstone Capital Management, it marks the first purpose-built hotel in 20 years, bringing much-needed hotel space as well as supporting retail to the Old Town District.
While there to celebrate the hotel, Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto also called out the Chard family for the 13 other contributions, to housing, in the city. She said a hotel makes for a vibrant visitor industry, which needs to complement the amazing resident community. “Chard has a vision for both,” Alto said.
On hand for the event, B.C.'s minister of tourism, arts culture and sport called the official groundbreaking a great day for both Victoria and the province.
“Acknowledging heritage – as this project does – is difficult,” Spencer Chandra Herbert said. “It’s expensive and it doesn’t often happen and so you lose those vital links to the storied past of this place. And that doesn’t work for Victoria. We know it doesn’t work because residents tell us that. They tell us they want to protect heritage and culture but they also want a vibrant new future for downtown.”
A project years in the making, the planned Hyatt hotel is the continuation of “vision centred on building spaces that enrich lives, strengthen communities and celebrate the heritage and future of this vibrant city here in Victoria,” Chard said.
“We’re targeting guests who place value on local culture, experience and design.”
