A proposal to convert a vacant Hamilton office building into a 94-room hotel has been turned down over its height and lack of setbacks.

However, a planning inspector said in a report that the Department of Planning was supportive of the redevelopment of Victoria Hall despite the “obligatory refusal”.

“It will rehabilitate a derelict building on the enhanced pedestrian route with a use that will create vitality through increased pedestrianisation,” the report writer said.

“The many instances of discretion required are acceptable. It is worth noting that the application could have been approved under the Draft City of Hamilton Plan.”

According to architect Vanessa Daniel, of the consultancy firm HDH Ltd, the project is intended to breathe new life into the building, which has increasingly showed signs of neglect.

The proposal suggested 40 total employees for the hotel, with about 16 staff for a restaurant at the site.

The plans have won support from the Corporation of Hamilton, which noted that the project stood to create a “significant opportunity to enhance the city and contribute towards developing a more vibrant urban environment”.

Ms Daniel’s proposal for a hotel, to be called Sankofa House after a Ghanaian proverb on reviving the past, called for the restoration of a structure past its best.

Aside from the changes to the exterior, the proposal would include interior renovations; with elevators moved to the centre of the building and hotel rooms lining the outside of each floor.

The redevelopment would also add hotel amenities such as an indoor lap pool, hot tub, gym, business centre and a covered outdoor rooftop terrace.

However, the application noted that the proposal failed to adhere to “several” policies of the City of Hamilton Plan 2015 and requested that the Department of Planning deny the application as a “soft refusal”, enabling the next steps to be pursued through an appeal.

A planning officer noted that the project would increase the height of the building to nine storeys from Park Road and seven storeys on Victoria Street with the roof included, while the maximum allowed height is six storeys or seven with a setback.

As a result of the lack of a setback, the project was recommended for refusal.

According to a decision letter dated February 5, the DAB did reject the application on the basis that the number of storeys and lack of setback for the upper storeys was contrary to policy.

The decision letter said that the applicant would be able to appeal the decision to the minister within 21 days.

The hotel plan marks the latest proposal for the block, which was expected to become the world headquarters of the cryptocurrency firm Arbitrade in a 2018 purchase of the $6.5 million property that never went farther.

In 2023, plans surfaced to repurpose the block for an urban farm, while its walkways have provided occasional refuge for the homeless.

Victoria Hall has also been suggested as a new home for an expanded Bermuda National Library.