Central Block’s Portage Rooftop, an amenity space atop the six-storey project coming to 1175 Tillicum Road, yields picture-perfect views towards the Gorge Waterway, downtown Victoria, and across Esquimalt’s lush urban canopy. © Abstract Developments
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CENTRAL SAANICH – Plans to redevelop the Sassy’s Restaurant property at 6719 West Saanich Road are crystallizing following the submission of an updated proposal to the district.
Envisioned is a three-storey, 20-unit residential complex with studio, one and two-bedroom residences fronting West Saanich Road, a three-storey mixed-use building with 12 short-term rental apartments and ground floor retail space overlooking the West Saanich Road and Keating Cross Road intersection, and a two-storey mixed-use building housing a cafe and a caretaker’s residence at the south end of the property, along West Saanich Road.
Parking will be in the form of an underground parkade and a surface parking lot, totalling 109-stalls between them. A public plaza will be situated at the intersection in conjunction with a patio associated to the business operating from within the building housing short-term rental apartments.
After 43 years of food services operations on the property, Sassy’s Restaurant marked its last day of business on August 21st. The restaurants had operated as Porter House and Smitty’s prior to Sassy’s.
ESQUIMALT
On the heels of a near-sell-out at Abstract Developments’ Cadence condominium in Saanich, the Victoria-based builder-developer is set to make a final release of homes at Central Block, a 99-suite pre-construction offering, prior to a construction start in March of 2023.
Planned for 1075 Tillicum Road at the entrance to Esquimalt Gorge Park, Central Block’s pre-sale release, slated for early September, will include a collection of one, two and three-bedroom homes with junior and den options attainably priced from the mid-$300,000s.
Rising to six-storeys, the future landmark presents a rare opportunity to purchase a Gorge Waterway residence in a central location with direct transit access to downtown Victoria, UVic and CFB Esquimalt, and in proximity to walkable amenities like a grocery store, parkland, restaurants, and more.
MALAHAT – The proverbial ‘top of the Malahat’ on southern Vancouver Island has been put up for sale at a price point of just over $42,000 per acre.
Listed for an asking price of $46,900,000, the Goldstream Heights Drive properties – all 1,116-acres of them – now on the market are described by its listing agent as “a one-of-a-kind land assemblage,” that is “unique in terms both of its massive scale and close proximity to a major metropolitan area,” that being Greater Victoria.
The assets are comprised of 63 land titles which include 44 “estate-sized” view acreages overlooking Finlayson Arm, the south Island’s Sooke mountains, downtown Victoria, BC’s lower mainland, and Washington State’s Olympic Mountain Range along with the Salish Sea. There are an additional 19 larger tracts described as having “development potential.”
The Goldstream Heights subdivision, as the area south of Shawnigan Lake Road paralleling Highway 1’s Malahat Drive is known (which falls just north of the Cowichan Valley Regional District-Capital Regional District border) has been under development for approximately two decades. Multiple residences have already been constructed on acreages along Goldstream Heights Drive, the development’s main thoroughfare stretching some eight kilometers from Stebbings Road to its terminus near the CVRD-CRD border.
SAANICH – A boutique condominium in the Shelbourne Valley is launching sales this weekend with 24-suites of studio, one and two-bedroom attainably-priced homes targeting first-time purchasers, urban professionals, right-sizers and investors.
Four-storey Ferrell, from homebuilder TLA Developments, will be constructed at 1544 Christmas Avenue and Ophir Street, northwest of the Shelbourne Street and Cedar Hill Cross Road intersection. Ferrell’s location is in walking distance to UVic, close to desirable amenities, and connected by frequent-service transit routes.
Construction is expected to get underway by early 2023.
VIEW ROYAL – WestUrban Developments has begun construction of what will become the town’s largest purpose-built rental community to-date.
The Blueprint, a four-building project at 9 Erskine Lane and Watkiss Way, will deliver nearly 340 rental apartments across 5.3-acres of land situated on a hill immediately south of Victoria General Hospital‘s main entrance
At heights of five-storeys, Blueprint will feature layouts in studio, one, two and three-bedroom suites, with views of the surrounding area and the greater expanse of southern Vancouver Island, thanks to the development site’s higher elevation spanning from Watkiss Way along the short length of Erskine Lane.
View Royal, meanwhile, has seen a surge in development activity in recent years with multiple proposals moving through the planning process or having already been approved that will deliver significant density to the district.
Mike Kozakowski is with Citified Media and can be reached at mailto:mike@citifiedmedia.com
