A 170-unit rental development in Sooke’s town centre at 2179 Drennan Street is expected to complete in the fall of next year. The three-building project is one of three active purpose-built rental construction sites in the western-most suburb of Victoria. © Mike Kozakowski/Citified.ca
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COLWOOD AND LANGFORD
Following a successful entry into the housing market last year, homebuilder Formwell has unveiled plans to expand its development portfolio to Victoria’s West Shore.
Situated in the emerging Olympic View neighbourhood of Colwood, one of Formwell’s two upcoming West Shore development parcels is located at 641 Latoria Road, at a size of 1.74-acres.
A few blocks away in the adjacent Happy Valley neighbourhood of Langford, Formwell’s second holding at 898-914 Klahanie Drive is a 4.07-acre property.
A mix of family-oriented three and four-bedroom townhomes are envisioned for both projects.
LANGFORD
Another office complex could be coming to Victoria’s West Shore region as the suburban office space sub-market continues to gain traction.
Planned for the 4300-block of the newly-built West Shore Parkway (near Valemount Court) is a five-storey, approximately 29,000 square foot concept that would be built-to-suit for a future tenant or tenants by Urban Pro Developments.
According to municipal documents, the company is requesting a variance to permit a five-storey structure in lieu of the zoning’s four-storey maximum, and to raise the permitted building height to nearly 20 metres from a 15 metre maximum.
REGIONAL
A Victoria-based company is bringing dog wash and pet care stations to multi-unit housing projects nationwide as the in-building amenity gains traction among pet-friendly buildings.
Furever Clean has become a staple of the dog care kiosk industry with its dog wash station product line-up offering a wide array of customizable options available to developers planning new buildings, strata councils seeking ways to address pet care needs, and rental operators looking for new perks.
Furever Clean’s dog wash stations can be as simple as a galvanized steel basin with a hose, or more sophisticated self-serve, pay-for-use kiosks able to take payment in cash, debit or credit cards and Apple Pay, and with automated product disbursements, a built-in dryer, pet tub disinfectant, and a hair filtration system.
Pricing can range from several thousand dollars for entry level and basic solutions, to over $20,000 for heavy duty ‘K9000’ machines.
SAANICH
A boutique condominium project along the Shelbourne Valley corridor is nearing its sales launch by TLA Developments.
The builder/developer recently unveiled Ferrell, a 24-suite, four-storey complex slated for 1544 Christmas Avenue at Ophir Street near the intersection of Shelbourne Street and Cedar Hill Cross Road.
Comprised of nine studio, six one-bedroom and nine two-bedroom layouts, Ferrell’s floor plans will range from nearly 400 square feet to just over 1,000 square feet targeting first-time purchasers, urban professionals and right-sizers seeking attainable new-build housing in Victoria’s core.
SOOKE
Victoria’s western-most suburb is adding a record number of residential units to its commercial centre as the seaside town responds to growth pressures and demand for housing.
Collectively, high density construction now underway and proposed is expected to deliver 736 apartment and condominium homes by the mid-2020s, according to the current project pipeline tracked by Citified, with a further 259, at least, as part of single-family and/or townhome offerings (all totalling 995-units).
VICTORIA
Developers behind a downtown condominium project are offering a unique first-time homebuyer program through lower down-payment requirements and a longer period to contribute those payments.
Mod, a 15-storey, 129-suite mixed-use tower now rising on View Street at Cook Street in the former Pluto’s Diner location, surpassed 50 per cent sold-out status earlier this summer. But one segment of the market developer Fraser McColl believes could use a leg-up to make homeownership possible is made up of younger, and often first-time, buyers working to overcome the down payment threshold.
McColl and partner Dan Robbins have structured a down payment option that lowers the up-front (or pre-mortgage) cost to secure a home at Mod from 15 per cent to 10 per cent, and buyers can make equal instalments of 2.5 per cent over a 12 month period in lieu of the three month standard.
View Royal
The final pre-sale campaign for the upcoming Skyeview condominium has been released with a collection of seven pet and child-friendly two-bedroom homes.
Last winter, TLA Developments culminated its initial pre-sale campaign by reaching a targeted 75% sold-out status for the 37-unit, four-storey project, now rising at 242-244 Island Highway west of Admirals Road at Craigflower Road, with completion earmarked for early 2023.
Mike Kozakowski is with Citified Media and can be reached at mailto:mike@citifiedmedia.com
