More rental housing is on the way in Victoria after city council unanimously approved a rezoning application for a James Bay hotel.

The Harbour Towers Hotel on Quebec Street will be developed into a residential apartment building.

According to council, the hotel won’t be demolished, but renovated and renamed to Harbour Towers.

Victoria’s mayor says 219 new rental units are good news for the city’s tight rental market.

“These are units that we could see entering the market sooner rather than later so that’s a good thing,” Lisa Helps said. “It is taking rooms out of the hotel stock, but I have heard murmurs from some developers that there are new hotels on the horizon so we’ll wait and see.”

Renovations on the 13-storey building are expected to begin later this year and be completed in 2019.