Pacific Arbour Six’s application to redevelop multiple properties along the 800-blocks of Fort and Broughton streets is depicted at-centre with a 27-storey tower as its key landmark, while approved and proposed highrise density is marked in jade. © Pacific Arbour Six
By Mike Kozakowski of Citified.ca
SAANICH
The District of Saanich will proceed with a two-tower design at the site of Greater Victoria Public Library’s Nellie McClung branch on Cedar Hill Road at McKenzie Avenue, according to municipal documents and architectural designs from HCMA Architecture + Design. After two years of public consultation and planning, the district has issued a development permit for the project, paving the way for a construction start as early as this year and completion targeted for 2029. Building heights will reach nine and 18 floors at the 3950 Cedar Hill Road site, with a 29,000 square foot library at the base of a shared podium and 210 residences in the towers above. The housing make-up is currently described by the municipality as “affordable rental housing units.” Earlier communications from Saanich noted the suites would be allocated as 70% affordable, and 30% of homes will be priced at or just below market rental rates. Read more here
VICTORIA
The former United Church property on Fairfield Road at Moss Street will get another shot at redevelopment nearly a decade after initial plans were first aired. In 2016, JN Development Corp. had acquired the United Church lands at 1303 Fairfield Road in Fairfield’s ‘Five Points’ area with plans to raze the church and build United Commons, a mixed-use 15-unit rental, at-grade retail and worship complex within a four-storey massing. Although the City approved JN Development’s plans in the spring of 2019 and demolition of the church was completed that fall, the proposal failed to proceed to construction, and the site has sat vacant for nearly six years. Now, Burgoyne Consulting & Development Corp. has submitted fresh plans to the City calling for a six-storey rental or strata project comprised of 20 or 21 suites in one, two and three-bedroom layouts, along with a cafe space and a commercial live-work unit. Read more here
A major real-estate play in Victoria’s downtown core has re-surfaced with a new vision and a drastically different massing concept nearly a decade after planning began. Parc Retirement Living under the banner of Pacific Arbour Six Ltd. has re-conceptualized its intent for 829-899 Fort Street and 846-856 Broughton Street (at Quadra Street, kitty-corner from View Towers) to deliver 337 residential units and around 8,000 square feet of ground floor retail space in the form of 10-storey, 11-storey and 27-storey towers comprised of market rental, seniors rental and condominium suites. Pacific Arbour Six’s 2017 massing evolved over the span of several years into a 10-storey project with a formidable presence and site coverage, before plans quietly hit the back burner. 280 units were part of that prospect, plus upwards of 35,000 square feet of commercial space. Read more here
A growing volume of unsold one-bedroom homes in downtown condominium market has created a scenario not seen in years, according to a Victoria realtor that has been closely monitoring local real-estate trends. Slow sales, falling prices and lukewarm demand for smaller units in the city centre has many sellers considering their options, including price breaks and malleable terms that may present a rare entry point for first-time and downsizer buyers in search of entry level units, says Ryan Cook, an agent with local brokerage Remax Camosun. “We have not seen conditions quite like this in the downtown condo market in a long time, where buyers are holding much more bargaining power than sellers,” Cook says, adding that “when looking at the re-sale data available via the Multiple Listings Service, this spring and summer appear to be poised for negotiation and opportunity.” Read more here
A vision for Rock Bay’s First Nations-held Matullia Lands north of Victoria’s downtown has been received by the City. The document provides the public with the first glimpse into a potential future for one of the largest undeveloped sites in the Capital’s urban core. Spanning multiple acres on Victoria’s Upper Harbour waterfront in Burnside Gorge, Matullia Lands (a partnership between the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations) is currently vacant following a lengthy remediation effort that completed in 2016 and transformed the holding from a former power generation plant to bare land. According to plans, Matullia’s Government Street frontage will provide the only zone with residences in towers of up to 18 storeys. The remainder of the site will provide a mix of retail, industrial and commercial spaces in lowrise buildings. Read more here
Mike Kozakowski is with Citified Media and can be reached at mailto:mike@citifiedmedia.com
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