An aerial view of Trailside at the Lake, a two-building condominium development overlooking Langford Lake on Victoria’s West Shore that has partnered with the City of Langford’s Attainable Home Ownership Program. © Seacliff Properties / Keycorp Development
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By Mike Kozakowski of Citified.ca
LANGFORD
The second phase of move in-ready lakeside condominiums along the shores of Langford Lake are now selling as one of the most anticipated new-build home offerings of the summer. The Henson at Trailside at the Lake from developers Seacliff Properties and Keycorp Development, is comprised of one bedroom plus-den and two-bedroom view homes ranging from just over 600 to approximately 1,000 square feet, and nearly every home featuring desirable views of Langford Lake and forested parkland. Future homeowners can also take advantage of the developer’s partnership with the City of Langford that takes advantage of the municipality’s innovative affordability effort providing mortgage assistance for qualified purchasers. Langford’s Attainable Home Ownership Program is open to residents of Langford, Sooke, Metchosin, Colwood or the Highlands, and RCMP members serving on the West Shore, or Canadian Forces members posted to Greater Victoria. Read more here
The West Shore’s tallest highrise building is quietly nearing completion at a height of 18 storeys, and most Victorians will have had no idea it was even underway. One Bear Mountain, located at 2000 Hannington Court atop Bear Mountain Resort, has been under construction since the fall of 2020 when crews began dismantling a concrete shell left behind by a stalled condominium development known as The Highlander. The Highlander came to a halt in 2009 due to fall-out from a financial crisis at the time, after reaching the fifth of 14 floors. With over 200 residences, One Bear Mountain features a 15th floor outdoor pool, a 16th floor lounge, and a fitness centre on the third level. Its homes span from one-bedroom units to three-bedroom plus-den layouts, including expansive penthouses. Read more here
A long-vacant property along Sooke Road just shy of Happy Valley Road is the focus of a development effort, that if approved, will deliver residences and commercial spaces within a mid-rise building. Proposed for 2691 Sooke Road – a parcel situated between Langford’s Happy Valley Road No. 2 fire hall and a Kal Tire location – is a six-storey complex with approximately 70 rental residences and 4,600 square feet of ground floor commercial space envisioned by Victoria-based 531 Studio Architects. The building features a multi-coloured facade with an angled footprint, and large, glass-clad commercial spaces fronting an expansive plaza. The motif is broken up through a light coloured facade on the east side of the building, and an angled footprint with a dark coloured facade on the west. Wooden or wood-like hues are used for the building’s eastern-most flank, and balconies are inset, save for a row at the east side of the building emphasized by wood or wood-like material. Read more here
VICTORIA
An inclined downtown Victoria rental tower has reached occupancy as the first building of its kind in Greater Victoria. Standing 15 storeys tall at 1400 Vancouver Street and Johnson Street in Harris Green, The Wedge has a unique lean, described architecturally as an incline, on its eastern facade towards Vancouver Street. The tower quite literally looms over the John Di Castri-designed former McCall Bros. funeral chapel retained as part of the project to serve as future retail space. Designed by San Diego-based AVRP Studios, The Wedge is the only example of an inclined building among downtown’s towers, and is a noteworthy addition to the city core’s architecture. Development firm Cox Developments has been working on The Wedge since 2020. Read more here
Downtown Victoria rental and condominium unit pipeline
Victoria’s downtown core is expected to have one of the busiest two year periods for rental housing completions between this year and 2025. Six projects, in addition to The Wedge, are expected to deliver approximately 1,300 purpose-built rental units, mostly as market suites, according to Citified’s construction tracking. The majority of completions will occur in 2025. The buildings range from lowrise complexes to 10, 11 and 15-storey towers. There are currently no condominiums under construction in downtown-proper. However, a project called Nest, standing as a 12-storey condominium from Chard Development on Yates Street at Cook Street, is on the Fernwood side of the downtown-Fernwood border, and will reach occupancy this year. Its six-storey counterpart Haven completed earlier this year along the 1100-block of Johnson Street. Over 200 units are split between the two phases. Read more here
Mike Kozakowski is with Citified Media and can be reached at mailto:mike@citifiedmedia.com
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