Preserving the Past Building the Future
Middle Beach Lodge

A Quiet Place on a Wild Coast

Old Town Old Town past development projects
Le Fevre & Company
Le Fevre and Company is well known for it's creative and clever property developments.

From resorts and condominiums on the wild West Coast near Tofino, to historic buildings in British Columbia's capital, Victoria to the award winning RailYards inner city residential development.

Winners of numerous awards, Le Fevre and Company re-constitutes century-old buildings into innovative living and working spaces and also creates new, modern, eye-catching, "green" buildings as the world adapts to the reality of the "global village".

The Biggerstaff Building, 532 Herald Street.
Award winning heritage restoration – Old Town apartment rentals.

- Established 1901

In 1901 Richard Biggerstaff Wilson hired the noted architectural firm of Hooper and Watkins, to design the Biggerstaff Building, a warehouse and office complex at 532 Herald Street. On the west side of the building he emblazened a large sign: Wilson Bro's Wholesale Grocers. In 1989 Le Fevre and Co. bought the disused Wilson Bros. building from David Wilson and converted it into thirty-one, seismically upgraded, loft style suites, with commercial space on the ground floor, within the original, re-strengthened outer framework.

The Biggerstaff suites proved an instant success attracting renters to the building's proximity to downtown Victoria, the enormously high ceilings, the huge wooden pivot windows, the exposed brick walls, the natural wood floors and the incorporation of period materials such as massive re-cycled timbers from an old bowling alley in Esquimalt.

Location Victoria's Old Town
Type Heritage Restoration
Usage Residential & Commercial
Completion 2000
B. Wilson Building, 536 Herald Street.
Old Town apartment rentals.

- Established 1909

A contemporary rental apartment infill project located in the heart of Victoria's Old Town. 3 level cold storage warehouse converted into 24 units of rental housing with retail on main floor and a new commercial addition to the rear of building. Full seismic upgrade throughout.

Location Victoria's Old Town
Type Heritage Restoration
Usage Residential & Commercial
Completion 2000
The Leiser Building, 524 Yates Street.
Le Fevre and Company purchased the Leiser Building at 524 Yates Street and reconfigured it into thirty-two living spaces with commercial space on the ground floor.

- Established 1896

Built in 1896 by grocery wholesaler Simon Leiser, the building boasted the latest in technology. Two sets of tracks, complete with turntables, allowed freight to be loaded or unloaded in both directions to and from a large electrically powered freight elevator. It also featured: "a well ventilated, cement-floored basement, hot water heating and cigar and smoking rooms".

Now, with a spacious courtyard, the refurbished Leiser Building offers the latest in modern amenities to residents in the heart of downtown Victoria.

Location Victoria's Old Town
Type Heritage Restoration
Usage Residential & Commercial
Completion 2009
Morley Soda Building, 1315-1317 Waddington Alley.
When Christopher Morley built his Soda Water Factory in Waddington Alley in 1884 it was one of the earliest masonry buildings in the area.

- Established 1884

From it, for the next twenty years, Morley ran a very profitable business, manufacturing soda water, lemonade, medical lake water, essences of peppermint and ginger and "all kinds of syrup".

In 2008 Le Fevre and Company purchased this historic edifice and added a third storey to create nine modern residential suites. As part of the renovation the builder created a wonderfully expansive green-space behind the Morley building amalgamating its inner courtyard with an already existing courtyard at the back of the adjoining Leiser Building which Le Fevre and Co. had reconstructed and renovated in 2007 and which backs onto the Morley Soda Water site. An oasis of greenery in the heart of downtown.

Location Victoria's Old Town
Type Heritage Restoration
Usage Residential
Completion 2010
The Oriental Hotel, 550-552 Yates Street.
One of Victoria’s most recognized buildings in Old Town has been reborn.

- Established 1883

Built in 1883 as a gentlemen’s hotel, it was fully renovated in 2012 for downtown living. 32 affordable studio style lofts with common area courtyard & rooftop terrace. Bicycle & storage vaults included in the heritage conversion.

Location Victoria's Old Town
Type Heritage Restoration
Usage Residential & Commercial
Completion 2012
The New England Hotel, 1312 Government Street.
Heritage restoration – Old Town apartment rentals & commercial space.

- Established 1892

A former gold rush hotel with upper floors unoccupied for over 30 years. Restored and seismically upgraded into 22 units of residential rental housing and commercial on the main floor.

The New England Hotel is an excellent example of late nineteenth century state-of-the-art architecture. Built in 1892 as a forty room luxury hotel and the site of the New England Restaurant (which was famous on the west coast of North America at the time), this building is a unique hybrid of technologically advanced, Sullivanesque design and evocative Victorian Romanesque detailing. 

Location Victoria's Old Town
Type Heritage Restoration
Usage Residential & Commercial
Completion 2015
The Lee Chong Building, 533 Fisgard Street.
Heritage restoration – Old Town residential & commercial space.

- Established 1892

The Lee Cheong Building is a two-storey, brick-clad commercial and residential building located in the heart of Victoria's Chinatown.

The Lee Cheong Building is valued as part of a grouping of early buildings that contribute to the historic character and urban pattern of Victoria's Chinatown, the oldest and most intact Chinatown in Canada. 

Location Victoria's Historic Chinatown
Type Heritage Restoration
Usage Residential & Commercial
Completion 2017
The Lum Sam Building, 534 Pandora Avenue.
Heritage restoration – Chinatown residential.

- Established 1884

The Lum Sam Building is a two-storey, Late Victorian-era brick commercial structure. It stands on the north side of Pandora Street on the southern edge of Victoria’s Chinatown.

It is also located across the street from historic Old Town and Market Square, a rehabilitated complex of late-nineteenth century buildings with continuous streetfronts. The exterior is richly articulated with stringcourses and corbelled brickwork. 

Location Victoria's Historic Chinatown
Type Heritage Restoration
Usage Residential
Completion 2017
Powerhouse Exterior View
Powerhouse Exterior View
Powerhouse Wall Detail
Powerhouse Exterior View
Powerhouse Interior View
Powerhouse Interior View
The Powerhouse Building.
Heritage restoration – Old Town Commercial.

- Established 1892

Located in the historic Old Town district The Powerhouse building will feature character industrial spaces with distinct features, high ceilings, heavy duty floor systems, grade level loading and ample parking. Originally designed by John Teague, the Powerhouse building is a rugged, heavy concrete and steel structure.

Powerhouse Interior Detail
Powerhouse Exterior Detail
Powerhouse Interior Detail
Powerhouse Exterior Detail
Location Victoria's Historic Old Town
Type Heritage Restoration
Usage Commercial
Completion 2020
Powerhouse Lobby Sign
Ironworks Interior View
Ironworks Exterior View
Ironworks Interior View
Ironworks Exterior View
Ironworks Exterior View
The Ironworks.
Old Town Residential & Commercial.

- Established 2020

Located in the historic Old Town district The Ironworks features refined urban design with an eloquent architectural expression. The Ironworks champions ideals of heritage revival, mixed-use planning and contemporary culture.

Ironworks Exterior Detail
Ironworks Exterior Detail
Ironworks Exterior Detail
Ironworks Exterior Detail
Location Victoria's Historic Old Town
Type New Build Condominiums
Usage Residential & Commercial
Completion 2020