Monday, March 18, 2024

Downtown Victoria spa announces permanent closure due to damage from Plaza Hotel fire

Share

A spa located adjacent to the downtown Victoria hotel that went up in flames nearly eight months ago has announced that it will not be reopening.

In a letter posted to their website Saturday, Sattva Spa states that damage sustained from the fire that consumed the Plaza Hotel back in May 2019 is too extensive for the business to reopen.

“The level of damage is so extensive from a structural standpoint, and from remediation and restoration perspective that the project is estimated to take 3-5 years,” reads the statement.

See also:

“It is our hope that we will have the opportunity to find a home in this extraordinary space again but as of January 1st, we will be permanently closed.”

Patrons of Sattva Spa are directed to visit its sister location, Sapphire Day Spa on View Street, where gift certificates can be redeemed. Several Sattva employees are now working at this second store.

Background

(Mike Draeger / VicPD)

The devastating fire that broke out on May 6th took days for firefighters to extinguish and caused significant smoke damage to nearby properties.

While investigators have confirmed that the cause of the fire is arson, police have not released further details “to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation”.

The caretaker of the Plaza Hotel, Mike Draeger, still remains missing and has not been seen since before the fire.

The most recent update into this investigation provided by police included an image of Draeger which shows him clean shaven, unlike previously released surveillance images.

According to Draeger’s former coworker Wayne Kalnciems, the caretaker was approximately 60-years-old, weighed between 180 and 200 lbs, stood roughly 6 feet tall, and had short grey hair.

“He was a pretty private person,” Kalnciems told Victoria Buzz back on May 15th.

“He pretty much kept to himself a lot of the time. I wouldn’t say he didn’t have any friends but he was a pretty private person.”

Mike Draeger was a maintenance worker/handyman at the century-old establishment and, once the bar shut down in 2013, he assumed the role of caretaker.

A trailer that reportedly belonged to him was located behind the building, and a van was parked out front, but there were no signs of anyone being in those vehicles.

mm
Brishti Basu
Former Senior Staff Writer and Content Manager at Victoria Buzz.

Jump to:

Read more

Latest Stories