COLWOOD – The City of Colwood has reported that it is on track to meet the Provinces mandated target of 940 new housing units within the next five years according to current residential construction trends and the Official Community Plan.
The Official Community Plan’s focus is to support “Family friendly neighbourhoods that provide housing choices” and the City has expressed their commitment to increasing housing supply for people of all stages of life.
According to the CMHC Starts & Completions Survey, there are currently 586 residential units under construction in Colwood, with further developments anticipated in key areas such as Colwood Corners, Royal Bay, and The Beachlands.
With the increase in population and housing there will be a need for infrastructure support as stated by Colwood Mayor Doug Kobayashi: “It’s important to consider that as cities like Colwood welcome new neighbours, there is a corresponding increase in demand for services and infrastructure such as roads, sewer service, parks, recreation, education, and protective services.”
Colwood is already seeing infrastructure improvements such as intersection upgrades, transit improvements, new sidewalk projects, the Galloping Goose Pedestrian and Cycling Bridge. A new Waterfront Walkway that will provide a vital active transportation link between Colwood Corners and the emerging waterfront communities in The Beachlands and Royal Bay is underway.
Land has been secured for a new elementary school in the Royal Bay area under School District 62 with provincial funding still pending as well as an updated Sewer Master Plan to guide expansion of the sewer system and ongoing revisions of the Transportation Master Plan.
“Colwood looks forward to working with the Province on funding opportunities beyond recent contributions such as the Growing Communities Fund to implement required infrastructure upgrades including transportation improvements, sewer expansion, and new schools to support an already rapidly growing population,” said Kobayashi.
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