1802 Chambers Street, Victoria, BC

I just found out about this place in May, even though I've lived within walking distance of it since moving to Victoria. 

stupid sun :P

left side

right side

back (what I could see of it...)

This is another pretty interesting one (and one that actually has a good future!). It was built in 1912 (or 1913 according to some sources) to house single women teachers employed by nearby Victoria High School (and is thus known as the teacherage). Eventually it ended up as apartments, first called the Shirley Apartments and later the Grant Street Rooms. Sydney Edwin Matthew (1866-1967) was the proprietor. In December 1914 it was advertised in the Daily Colonist (just as 1802 Chambers--at least I think that's an 8) under the "housekeeping rooms" section: "To let--1, 2 or 3 rooms".

Here it is in the 70s:

source

And another, a bit later:

source

It "most recently contained four rental suites", according to page 3 of the October 2007 issue of Fernwood's Village Vibe (which also has a photo, post-wood frame removal but pre-boarding up). It's given as someone's address here, but who knows how legit that is. This document states that it ended up vacant because it "had a severe fire" (pages 70-71), but doesn't say when that occurred.

This was its state in June 2009 (courtesy of Google street view's time travel):

And June 2012, the entryway looking nicer than in 2009 or now:

complete with "land use application" sign

Google's current street view photos are from April 2014.

In spring 2007 Bill McKechnie purchased it to be part of Fernwood Urban Village, a co-housing community. It's to be refurbished (and raised 18 inches) and "will contain residential units, laundry facilities, workshop space, and other common areas to be decided by the residents." According to Village Vibe (previously linked), "Bill talks of revitalizing, rather than restoring the building" and he has "significant experience" with heritage building renovations, including the Beaconsfield Inn and Abigail's Bed and Breakfast Inn (which I think is now called Abigail's Hotel). I hadn't heard of either of those before, but I Googled them and they're both gorgeous, so I bet he'll do a good job with this place.

left side again

Construction just began recently (lots of rezoning stuff had to happen first--apparently that always takes forever). One person has expressed teacherage-related concerns; he believes that "it will be an expensive restoration and he fears it will pull the co-op apart". But for the most part, people seem enthusiastic about the project (see the rest of the comments in that document). Here's the new floor plan (page 7), and for a site map, see page 5 of this pdf.

Finally, good news about a boarded-up building! I enjoy walking by knowing it won't be demolished, but will soon be given new life.