A project rendering depicting the ground floor design of 1314-1318 Wharf Street, a proposal from Reliance Properties to restore the heritage facades of the Northern Junk buildings and build rental apartments above in a six-storey complex. © Reliance Properties
Central Saanich
Sassy’s Family Restaurant, situated at 6719 West Saanich Road and Keating Cross Road, is at the centre of a rezoning application envisioning two buildings of three-storeys comprised of rental housing, temporary accommodation, live-work homes for local producers and artisans, commercial units catering to the tourism industry (including a restaurant space) and a plaza for artisan or farmer’s markets.
A five-storey mixed-use commercial and residential building at the intersection of Mount Newton Cross Road and Wallace Drive has been proposed. The site is a stone’s throw from the area’s Thrifty Foods grocery store and various commercial amenities centred on Wallace Drive and East Saanich Road.
Colwood & Langford
Sources confirm commercial real-estate brokerage CBRE has an accepted offer for the Western Speedway lands at the north end of Langford.
The 81-acre property at 2207 Millstream Road, which includes a motor speedway and parcels used for industrial operations, an RV park, a collection of rented single-family-homes and a go-cart track, entertained bids from interested buyers throughout the summer.
A 13-acre parcel on Sooke Road at Luxton Road near Langford’s Slegg Building Materials has sold to Burnaby-based developer Beedie, a firm with significant real-estate holdings in western Canada.
Along the Colwood Strip a Galaxy Motors dealership centred on some six-acres at 1764 Old Island Highway has also drawn a buyer as the future of the corridor transitions towards a high-density, mixed-use thoroughfare from its mostly light industry-dominated role.
An 11-acre parcel next to big-box store Lowe’s near the Langford Parkway and Veterans Memorial Parkway intersection is reportedly changing hands soon, although details of the transaction are limited.
Saanich
Prepared meals using ingredients from some of downtown Victoria’s most popular restaurants will soon be available in dine-in, take-out and cook-at-home format as part of a new venture.
Niche Grocerant, opening next spring at Royal Oak Drive’s Broadmead Village Shopping Centre, plans to bring urban fare to the suburbs with a combined restaurant-and-grocery concept from local businesswomen Ceri Barlow and Jami Wood.
Sooke
Council has approved preliminary plans for an affordable seniors housing complex with an elder and youth community programming facility for Wadams Way in the town centre.
The mixed-use project, spearheaded by the Sooke Region Communities Health Network, will include up to 76 residences for individuals aged 55-plus, with ground floor activity spaces on the northeast quadrant of a municipally-owned parcel known as Lot A.
The Vancouver Island Regional Library has confirmed construction of a new library branch in the town centre is slated to begin following lengthy delays that pushed back a 2019 construction start. The two-storey facility will be situated along Wadams Way.
Victoria
BC Housing has backed a collection of homes at a 49-suite condominium project from Abstract Developments. Known as Sparrow, the building will rise to six-storeys on Hillside Avenue at Cook Street, and will include low down payment provisions for a limited number of qualified purchasers.
A proposal to redevelop the former Pluto’s Diner property at 1150 Cook Street into high-rise residences has unearthed a long-standing disagreement between Victoria’s Downtown Residents Association (DRA) and the City of Victoria.
In a letter to mayor and council issued by the DRA on September 14th, the organization reiterated its call for the City to close what it believes are zoning “loopholes” that ought to be a concern for elected officials in light of development guidelines in community plans, and real-world proposals that emerge before planners.
Proponent Sakura Developments has delivered a vision it says is in accordance with zoning, and supported by planners.
Reliance Properties’ vision for 1314-1318 Wharf Street hopes to deliver nearly 50 rental residences and some 9,000 square feet of commercial space within a brick-clad building at the eastern end of the Johnson Street Bridge that incorporates two heritage structures known as the Northern Junk buildings. Council has agreed, after over a decade of design changes, to send the proposal to a public hearing.
Downtown’s Fountain Tire automotive shop and several adjacent parcels between Herald and Chatham streets could soon make way for a significant redevelopment effort in Old Town.
Nicola Wealth Real-Estate and Denciti Development are in the early stages of seeking a development permit with variances to transform 611-635 Chatham Street and 610-618 Herald Street into a two-building, nearly 275-unit rental complex with ground floor retail space.
