Constructed in 1912 by architect Samuel Hoult Horton for Belmont Ltd., the Belmont Building was designed to serve as an office building with retail shops on the ground floor—a layout it has maintained throughout its history.
The building holds the distinction of being Victoria’s first office structure built with reinforced concrete. According to the original building permit issued by the City of Victoria in March 1912, the eight-story building contained 180 rooms intended for offices and stores, with an estimated construction cost of $400,000.

Among its notable tenants were The Uplands Ltd., the company responsible for developing the Uplands residential area in Oak Bay, and Robert Pym Butchart, famed for the Butchart Gardens. Butchart maintained an office on the third floor while serving as President of the B.C. Cement Company and, during World War I, as Director of Wooden Shipbuilding for the Imperial Munitions Board.

Today, much of the Belmont Building’s office space is occupied by provincial government offices of British Columbia.