Victoria city council has approved a development permit allowing Telus to install large corporate logos on its nearly complete Telus Ocean building at 749 Douglas Street, according to the Times Colonist.
The two signs are roughly 15.4 metres wide and 2.9 metres tall, covering about 45 square metres each, which is well beyond the 4.5 square metres that local regulations normally allow in that area.
One sign will face west along Douglas Street at the third-floor level, while the other will face east along Humboldt Street near the 11th floor. The approved permit also opens the door for future tenant signage suspended under the building’s canopy on Douglas Street, which is in the heart of downtown Victoria in B.C.
City staff said the variances were reasonable given the significant employment the development brings to the downtown core. Similar exceptions have previously been granted to major corporate headquarters and hotels in the area.
Council voted unanimously in favour, though not without reservations. Mayor Marianne Alto welcomed the placement of the Douglas Street sign at the third-floor level, noting that earlier designs would have made the Telus logo highly visible to anyone looking east from the Inner Harbour.
Councillor Dave Thompson was more critical of the scale, saying the public is impressed by the building itself but the oversized logos could undermine its beauty. He said he hoped Telus would consider “the impression that they will make on the public and on tenants from slapping a massive advertisement on a beautiful building.”
The 10-storey building offers just over 153,000 square feet of leasable office space, with retail at street level. Underground parking runs three levels deep with 137 stalls, most equipped with EV charging. For cyclists, there are 141 bike stalls and end-of-trip facilities. Two full floors are set aside for amenity space, available for both daily use and private events.
The development was approved by city council in December 2021 and construction is nearly complete.
Occupancy of the Telus Ocean building is expected within the next few weeks.
Want to see more of our stories on Google?
P.S. Want to keep this site truly independent? Support us by buying us a beer, treating us to a coffee, or shopping through Amazon here. Links in this post are affiliate links, so we earn a tiny commission at no charge to you. Thanks for supporting independent Canadian media!
