Victoria City Council has approved a proposal to redevelop the long-vacant and historic Northern Junk buildings on the Inner Harbour.

Council voted 5-4 in a meeting Thursday night to approve the project, which will see developer Reliance Properties turn the Gold Rush-era two-storey warehouses into a mixed rental and commercial property with 47 homes and 9,000 square feet of business and restaurant space.

Reliance said it will retain and stabilize the warehouses’ original facades, interiors and structural walls. The developer will also build an extension of the David Foster Walkway with a public-access elevator to the waterfront.

The warehouses have sat unoccupied and aging for 43 years and Reliance has been trying to redevelop the site for the last 10 years, president and CEO Jon Stovell said in a statement Friday.

“When Reliance Properties bought the Northern Junk site in 2010, it surprised and saddened us to know that the buildings had languished under the previous ownership since 1978,” he said.

“What we didn’t realize is that it would take us a full decade of designs and redesigns, community consultation, and city processes to get to a point where we can save these waterfront gems from permanent ruin. Thankfully, we can now begin to bring Northern Junk back to relevant use for future generations.”

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