Cordova Bay’s Beach House restaurant will finally have some life breathed into the space after the District of Saanich council approved a new art gallery and small café to take it over.
The Beach House closed its doors in March 2023 and has since sat vacant along Cordova Bay Road.
However, the District has given some hope to the space, as they approved a temporary use permit (TUP) for the beach house to open as an art gallery and small restaurant.
According to Saanich staff, a TUP had to be utilized to achieve the goal of having the space reopened, as it is not currently zoned to be a gallery as well as a café.
The TUP granted will allow for a gallery and eatery to open and operate for three-years time.
Additionally, the applicant needed to apply for a development variance permit because it does not have enough off-street parking for a gallery space.
A staff report submitted to the Saanich council indicated that the applicant who plans to open the gallery and café only requires a TUP because they have future plans which would require rezoning.
Saanich bylaws dictate that TUPs can only be renewed once, at the discretion of the municipal council.
One resident wrote to council in support of the notion of opening the gallery, with only one bit of criticism.
“It is my belief that the proposed use for those properties is ideal,” said Murray Robertson, Cordova Bay Road resident.
“Placing an art gallery (across the street from where I live) should improve an already ‘upscale’ neighborhood. My one concern is that it is listed as temporary.”
Prior to 2011, the Beach House was known as McMorran’s Pavilion and the space has been serving food and drinks to the community since the 1940s.
The property is now owned by Lifeways Investments Ltd., a Victoria-based investment company.
