Six-storey, 104-unit Haven in the 1100-block of Johnson Street is now sold-out, Chard Development has confirmed. The project completed in late 2024 and several homes remained for sale by the developer at the time of occupancy. © Chard Development
By Mike Kozakowski of Citified.ca
COLWOOD
A $270 million Royal BC Museum’s Collections and Research Building (CRB) that will house the BC Archives, Provincial collections and multiple research departments is expected to complete this year, following several years of construction at the City of Colwood’s Royal Bay community. Utilizing mass timber technologies and constructed to high-efficiency standards, the 164,000 square foot CRB (located along Metchosin Road at the new Royal BC Museum PARC Campus [Provincial Archives, Research, and Collections]) will serve as both a centre for research and public engagement through its Royal BC Museum artifact displays and publicly accessible BC Archives collections. The CRB structure is primarily completed, according to contractor updates, with its construction crane removed last June. Work was initially expected to get underway in 2021 with completion in 2024, but project was pushed back to a 2023 start. Read more here
DUNCAN/NORTH COWICHAN
A FreshCo discount grocery store is scheduled to open in 2027 north of Duncan, kitty-corner from a Thrifty Foods-anchored retail centre along the Trans Canada Highway. Calgary-based commercial real-estate developer Royop is reviving the vacant Somenos Marketplace strip mall in North Cowichan along the 2700-block of Beverly Street at Highway 1, with anchor tenant FreshCo that will occupy the former location of McFrugal’s Discount Outlet, Speedy Glass and furniture retailer Island Home Forever. Royop also has plans to add 8,200 square feet of new-build multi-tenant retail spaces to Somenos Marketplace along the Beverly Street frontage. Read more here
The Cowichan Valley will have a new retail and office centre just steps from the Cowichan District Hospital replacement, ahead of significant redevelopment in-store for an expansive community of residential acreages north of Duncan. Known as Parhar Centre, the 150,000 square foot plaza from Island-based developer Parhar Group is coming to the junction of the Trans Canada Highway and Highway 18 at Herd Road, roughly five kilometres from Duncan’s town centre. The project will deliver approximately two dozen retail units at full build-out, with commercial spaces ranging from 1,200 square feet to 15,000 square feet across an eight-acre site. Read more here
SIDNEY
Greater Victoria’s newest hotel is gearing up for its official opening this spring near the Town of Sidney’s commercial core on Victoria International Airport lands. The three-storey TownePlace Suites by Marriott Victoria Airport Sidney has been under construction since 2024 at 2165 Beacon Avenue West, at the hands of Ontario-based developer Kothari Group. According to Marriott’s booking system, TownePlace Suites will open on April 8th, although its 129 rooms are not available for booking online (as of the publication date of this update) until May 1st when starting nightly rates are priced in the range of $300, plus fees. Read more here
SAANICH
The Capital Region Housing Corporation (CRHC) is seeking approvals to redevelop a 59-unit affordable townhome and apartment community near UVic into 259 below-market apartment rentals. Situated on parcels at 1821 and 1827 McKenzie Avenue (at Ansell Road opposite Fleet Street and east of Gordon Head Road), the CRHC’s Willowdene-Rosewood housing will be consolidated under the address of 1800 McKenzie Avenue, and feature three six-storey blocks above a shared underground parkade. The units will range from studio through four-bedroom layouts, with families, seniors and individuals with disabilities targeted for the homes. Willowdene’s 15 two-storey townhomes and Rosewood’s 44 apartments in a three-storey complex are due for replacement, the CRHC says, stating in a project brief that the units are “at the end of [their] service life.” Read more here
VICTORIA
Chard Developments’ final home at the Haven condominium – constructed as part of a two-building project between the 1100-blocks of Yates and Johnson streets at Cook Street – has sold. Six-storey, 104-unit Haven on Johnson Street, developed under partnership with BC Housing to assist homebuyers with entering Victoria’s high-priced real-estate market, reached occupancy in late 2024, while its 107-unit, 12-storey counterpart Nest (on Yates Street) completed in early fall of that year. Haven and Nest were the last condominiums built in Victoria’s city centre, where no pre-sale efforts are planned for 2026. At the time of occupancy, a handful of suites remained for purchase between Haven and Nest, with the final home for sale by the developer finding its buyer during the 2025 Holiday Season. The listing was a two-bed, two-bath unit with parking and storage, priced at $629,900. Read more here
Mike Kozakowski is with Citified Media and can be reached at mailto:mike@citifiedmedia.com
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