Significant Rental Housing Contributions In The UVIC University Centre
Nicola Wealth Real Estate submits a development proposal to revitalize the intersection of Shelbourne & McKenzie by bringing a mixed-use building incorporating rental apartments, community-building amenities, and retail.
VICTORIA – A 2-acre site in the heart of Saanich near the University of Victoria will be revitalized with a development proposal to supply over 400 purpose-built rental apartments and nearly 20,000 square feet of neighborhood-serving commercial space. Nicola Wealth Real Estate (NWRE) recently submitted a rezoning and development permit application to the District of Saanich for 1555-1595 McKenzie Avenue, the South West corner of one of the area’s busiest intersections, seeking to replace two commercial buildings and above-grade parking structures with a mixed-use building.
The sustainably designed development proposal includes rental apartments ranging from micro-studios to 3-bedrooms & townhouses and aims to bring new life to the major intersection of Shelbourne Street and McKenzie Avenue. In addition, the development will invest in transportation infrastructure along its frontages and is well-serviced by transit, offering future tenants a convenient location to live, work, and shop.
Saanich is already experiencing incredibly low vacancy; with an anticipated 14.7 per cent population increase in the District of Saanich by 2038 and limited new housing underway there will be strong demand for new rental stock. The proposed development contributes not only a significant number of homes but a wide variety of options that are thoughtfully serviced with an amenity package that goes beyond the conventional.
“We are focused on conceptualizing a rental housing community in a post-pandemic world” shares Josh Anderson, Director of Development for NWRE, “the development will offer wide-ranging residential amenities, expanding a tenant’s living space safely beyond the walls of their individual apartments.” The development will include co-working spaces, lounges, games rooms, indoor and outdoor multi-purpose fitness studios, gym space, outdoor kitchens, and seating areas, plus garden plots and dog runs.
Despite the inability to host public consultation events during the pandemic, NWRE has virtually engaged representatives from Mount Tolmie, Quadra Cedar Hill, and Gordon Head Community Associations and will continue broader outreach, safely, to share their vision and gather feedback.
NWRE has been thoughtful through the planning process to create a development that strategically aligns with the District of Saanich’s Shelbourne Valley Action Plan. The redevelopment will not only invite tenants to become a part of the building but a part of the community as a whole contributing towards the broader vision of a vibrant University Centre.
NWRE has several other multi-family rental development projects at various stages in the Capital Regional District; most notably the recently completed conversion of The Harbour Towers Hotel into The James at Harbour Towers, a fully-owned development supplying 219 rental units and hotel-inspired amenities to the James Bay community. The firm has also submitted development plans for 274 new rental homes in the Old Town district of downtown Victoria. To learn more about the Nicola Wealth Real Estate funds, visit realestate.nicolawealth.com
