A rendering of 937 View Street, a proposal for 269 purpose-built rental apartments in a zero-parking, 23-storey tower adjacent to View Towers. On January 11th, Victoria council unanimously sent the project to a public hearing. © Nelson Investments
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By Mike Kozakowski of Citified.ca
ESQUIMALT
The developer of a residential highrise already underway in Esquimalt is hopeful council will permit the addition of two floors and sixteen units, according to documents filed with the municipality. Metro Vancouver-based Lexi Group says the economic reality for developers has changed since COVID, and housing pressures continue to weigh on communities facing an under-supply of new-build inventory. Rising costs and rising interest rates, meanwhile, have made an impact on existing developments already in the process of being built. Esquimalt’s Design Review Committee supports the change. “The real estate industry is facing significant challenges in bringing new housing supply to market. With interest rates rising at their fastest pace in over forty-years and construction costs soaring 51% since the start of the pandemic,” Lexi Group states as part of its height and density rationale, adding, that “the viability of many projects has been severely limited. This has prompted many builders to reassess and modify their construction plans, often requiring increased density to offset rising costs.” Read more here
VICTORIA
Council unanimously sent a 23-storey, 269-unit zero-parking rental tower proposal for 937 View Street to public comment following a review at this morning’s Committee of the Whole. The Committee’s deliberations ranged from praising the applicant for the volume of proposed rental housing to questioning if additional property should be assembled for a larger, cross-block project. Mayor Alto said that while the application is not necessarily perfect in light of existing guidelines, Council’s job is to consider the future direction of the built form, rather than fall back on existing guidelines or development practices. The Mayor also cited the importance of public input when council and staff do not see eye-to-eye. “While it is important for us to listen to and consider the expert advice of staff, it is Council’s job to listen to the evolution of the city. It’s important for us to provide opportunity for public comment, for what could be something that is an important next step, or not,” Mayor Alto said. Read more here
An approved three-tower mixed-use development in downtown Victoria’s north end could see a significant portion of its 41,000 square feet of planned office space switched over to rental apartments. Chard Development is seeking a post-approval variance for its Douglas Street and Caledonia Avenue project (at the former location of a White Spot restaurant and the City Centre Hotel) to do away with three floors of offices in the podium of a 21-storey condominium tower, and instead replace it with four floors of residential use to provision 64 additional rental homes, while creating nearly 10,000 square feet of co-working space in an adjacent purpose-built rental tower. Read more here
REGIONAL
Citified’s development tracking shows five of BC Housing’s six modular supportive housing projects announced in 2021 reached occupancy in 2023, totalling 221 units of housing across three projects in the City of Victoria (1176 Yates Street, 1053 Meares Street and 865 Catherine Street, totalling 118 homes) and one each in Saanich (52 units) and Central Saanich (39 units). Among them, Kwum Kwum Lelum, a four-storey, 45-unit building at 865 Catherine Street in Victoria’s Vic West neighbourhood, provides supportive housing for Indigenous people. The sixth and final modular BC Housing project announced in 2021 is underway at 953 Balmoral Road in Victoria and is expected to reach occupancy in 2024. Below-market rental apartments totalled 342 units, or just over 60% of all government-built or post-completion social housing-operated affordable housing to come online on the south Island last year. Read more here
Victoria real-estate prices fell in 2023 compared to 2022, as active listings increased and home sales dipped year over year, according to the latest data from the Victoria Real Estate Board. The annual average price paid for a single-family-home on the Multiple Listings Service (MLS) was $1,288,448 in 2023 over 3,005 sales, a 3.41% decline from 2022’s $1,333,869 average over 3,264 sales. The median was $1,150,000 in 2023, slightly below 2022’s $1,180,000. Condominiums saw a 2.2% average price decline to $628,676 in 2023 over 2,042 sales from 2022’s $642,826 average over 2,276 sales. The medians were $550,000 and $580,000, respectively. The townhome market segment had the largest drop of 7.08%, at an $805,619 average over 742 sales compared to $867,002 a year ago, between 760 sales. The medians were $765,000 and $807,000, respectively. Read more here
Mike Kozakowski is with Citified Media and can be reached at mailto:mike@citifiedmedia.com
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