Canadian Pacific Railway Coast Steamship Terminal in Victoria's inner harbour - circa 1950.

14 April 2011

A Second Round at CPR Terminal

We have a better idea of what the Provincial Capital Commission doesn't want to see in the historic CPR Steamship Terminal in Victoria's Inner Harbour.
 
What we need is a sense of what might be acceptable. All three submissions for the building's future have been rejected. We have no idea what will replace the Royal London Wax Museum, the tenant for four decades, when restoration work is completed in four months.
 
The commission's reluctance to agree quickly to a new use for one of its landmark buildings is understandable. It was badly burned, after all, when it closed the Crystal Garden conservation centre and replaced it with the B.C. Experience, an almost immediate bomb. The last thing the commission needs is another mistake, or an attraction that fails to attract.
 
The three rejected proposals included a new home for the Maritime Museum of B.C., a public market proposed by Matt MacNeil founder of the Victoria Pub Co., and a high-tech showcase of First Nations, Victoria, and B.C. history, proposed by Oak Bay Marine Group.
 
It is possible that one of these might appear, in a revised form, in the building some day. All three concepts have merit, so perhaps it might be a matter of sorting out some of the details.
 
The commission says it will talk to the people behind the three proposals, and seek information to fill in "gaps". It will also seek other options by re-opening the request-for-proposals process.
 
If it's time for a new look at the old building, perhaps the commission should consider enlarging the scale. It has other prime real estate adjacent to the terminal building, some in desperate need of renewal.
 
At the top of the list are the Belleville Street terminals still welcoming visitors to Victoria.
 
The welcome mat they provide is tattered and torn, anyone arriving on the Clipper or the Coho gets a poor first impression of our city.
 
MacNeil indicated that he would be interested in taking part in a "bigger picture development" of the properties on the south side of the Inner Harbour.
 
The catch, however, is that there has been talk about improving the ferry terminals for years, but little has been done.