A rendering of 1112 Goldstream Avenue, a two-storey office project with a ground floor retail component coming to Goldstream Avenue at Leigh Road in Langford on Victoria’s West Shore. © Keycorp Developments
LANGFORD
A pair of rental buildings in have sold to a Halifax-based real-estate investment trust. Killam Apartment REIT acquired Ledcor Property Development’s newly completed Crossing at Belmont rental complexes along Reunion Avenue comprised of 156 one and two-bedroom homes. $60 million was paid for the two buildings.
A 20,000 square foot office complex with a ground floor retail component is coming to the corner of Leigh Road and Goldstream Avenue. The two-storey building at 1112 Goldstream Avenue will feature modern spaces for professional services and what is likely to be a café-style tenant at the building’s southeast corner overlooking the intersection. West Shore-based developer Keycorp Developments intends to begin demolition of the single storey building currently on the property as early as this June, followed by land remediation necessitated by the site’s former use as a gas station.
SAANICH
A proposal to redevelop several land parcels in the Carey neighbourhood will include the former home of the Bird of Paradise Pub and its still-operating Bird Liquor Store. Development and construction firm Mike Geric Construction has submitted a rezoning application to the District for over 250 residences, plus 11,000 square feet of light industrial and 17,000 square feet of retail spaces within three buildings rising as high as ten-storeys at 750-760 Enterprise Crescent and 4291 Glanford Avenue. From street level along the primary (western) frontage, given the land’s slope towards the Highway 17 corridor east of the properties, building heights will appear to rise to four and eight-storeys. At the centre of the project lands a public amenity area will serve as a community gathering space. The unit make-up under the current design would include a mix of studio, one and two-bedroom suites while parking would be situated below grade. Of the 251 total residential units, 38 are targeted as rentals, with 19 managed by CRD Housing alongside 15% below-market rental rates.
SAANICH & NANAIMO
After 45 years in business, owner-operator Bob MacRitchie of Illuminations Lighting will be switching off the lights at the company’s two locations, in Saanich along the 600-block of Boleskine Road near Uptown Shopping Centre, and in Nanaimo along the 4300-block of Wellington Road. Shoppers will still get a chance to tour the Illuminations showrooms and find bargains for their homes or work spaces at upcoming closing out sales.
VICTORIA
The City of Victoria has purchased a high-profile set of properties along the 900-block of Pandora Avenue. The municipal government is said to be the new owner of two parcels at 926 and 932 Pandora Avenue sold by development firm Kang & Gill, which had been in the process of securing approvals for a ten-storey residential complex containing some 150-units and approximately 5,500 square feet of retail space adjacent to the avenue’s McDonald’s restaurant, and across from the Our Place Society social services centre and shelter.
A mixed-use rental and commercial project in the Quadra-Hillside neighbourhood is garnering attention for its ties to a pop culture phenomenon. Ross Terrace, a five-storey rental complex now rising along the 2500-block of Fifth Street between Bay and King streets, is perhaps the only project of its kind, anywhere, based on the Friends television show that aired between 1994 to 2004. Aryze Developments confirms Ross Terrace will feature interior design elements in-keeping with the program’s sets, and aspects of the build will tie in with several key characters.
Developer Le Fevre & Company has submitted a fourth revision to the City for what will become the final phase of the Railyards project in the Vic West neighbourhood. The new site plan calls for a four-storey building, known as Building 2, on the eastern half of the development site overlooking the Galloping Goose Regional Trail that runs below the Bay Street Bridge and along the eastern perimeter of the Railyards community. 42-units will be situated in Building 2. Building 1, rising to six-storeys along the Tyee Road frontage near the intersection of Bay Street, will encompass 53 homes.
A proposal for a rental complex in Fairfield is back before the City with a third design revision and a new development partnership. Empresa Properties has been pursuing approvals for a residential building at 1120-1128 Burdett Avenue for several years, with plans initially calling for a 36-unit, four-storey condominium before switching gears in favour of a 44-unit, four-storey rental building. In early 2020 the direction shifted once more with a new architectural firm (Cascadia Architects) at the helm having unveiled a five-storey concept encompassing 42-units, and Victoria-based Curate Developments teaming up with Empresa.
