Photograph by: Darren Stone, timescolonist.com

A band of small businesses will be hunting for new premises if a developer's plan to revitalize the corner of Fort and Cook streets with a six-storey commercial-residential project wins approval from Victoria city hall.

Some shopkeepers fear that it will be difficult to find affordable space in the future, while others are pragmatic.

Nothing is happening immediately. The developer estimates that if everything goes smoothly — rezoning approval is needed — construction could start in early 2014, but any start date would also be subject to market demands.

Several condominium projects are underway or planned in Victoria, including the 177-unit Promontory in Vic West, the 36-unit Sovereign on Broughton Street and the $1-billion mixed-use Capital City Centre in Colwood, where homes for thousands of residents are to be built over 20 years.

Tenant Cathy Sorensen, owner of Sorensen Books at 1027 Cook St., wants customers to know that she's staying put until the new development goes ahead. She's been there since 2005 and the site has housed a bookstore since 1984.

"It's kind of a little destination point," she said. "People come here and they go to all the shops."

Developer N-Vision, a subsidiary of Mike Miller's Abstract Developments Inc., is offering current tenants first refusal in the new building, but Sorensen expects it will be out of her financial reach. No lease rates have been set.

Arto and Pam Arslanyan, owners of Tooks on Cook restaurant and bakery, 1031 Cook St., are willing to take up the developer's offer to relocate into new commercial space in another proposed commercial-residential project at Oak Bay and Foul Bay avenues.

The existing old one-storey building, purchased by Abstract in 2010, is rundown and has "dirt-cheap" rent, said Arto, who has been there for 15 years.

He agrees that the site needs improving. "I'm all for it . . . You can't stand in front of progress. There have been many buildings that have been torn down and rebuilt."

Another tenant, Shawn Shepherd, owner of Polychrome Fine Arts at 1113 Fort St., echoed Arto's comments about the building's condition, saying his ceiling caved in once.

Moving is "not a big deal," Shepherd said, even though commercial storefront space can be expensive. "We just roll along as things take us in different directions."

The contemporary project at Fort and Cook was designed by D'Ambrosio architecture and urbanism, which also designed the Atrium at Yates and Blanshard.

The aim is to "invigorate this end of Fort Street," Franc D'Ambrosio said in a Jan. 18 letter to the city.

The proposed 60,000-square-foot development would consist of three buildings linked together, with upper levels stepped back, particularly on Meares Street, for a more residential feel, said Hussein Lalani, Abstract's vice-president of development and chief financial officer.

It would have 13,500 square feet of ground-floor commercial space, topped by 86 condo units ranging in size from 510 square feet to 875 square feet.

Construction cost has not been established, he said. The exterior would be brick, concrete, glass and aluminum-framed glazing.

An arcade would run between Meares and Fort streets. Underground parking, room for 107 bicycles, boulevard trees and green features such as rain gardens are among amenities.

Lalani said the developer is offering to help tenants set up in interim space. "We are working with them to get them back in the building. Our big thing is supporting local merchants."

Abstract is one of the most active developers in the capital region. Its Foul Bay-Oak Bay project, with 9,000 square fee of commercial space and 21 condos, also requires rezoning. If approved, it would be built first, Lalani said.

cjwilson@timescolonist.com