Pictured is the landscaped common area between the two Duet buildings, with Victoria's tallest building (21-floor Orchard House) pictured in the background. Rendering © Chard Development.

After nearly a decade of building highrise residences throughout downtown Victoria, developer Dave Chard of Chard Development has embarked on a series of firsts with his latest endeavor, Duet.

The two-building, 90-unit, condo project to rise across the street from the City’s tallest tower, the 21-storey Orchard House, is comprised of two lowrises of eight (concrete) and four (woodframe) floors.  The low-rise nature of the buildings and the woodframe construction of the four-storey building are firsts for Chard whose typical projects are built of concrete and stand about a dozen floors above street level.

The decision to step out of the downtown core with Duet, yet another first, was in response to home buyers seeking modern residences in a more traditional neighbourhood setting and the opportunity to build housing attractive to young families.

“Given the market is relatively small in Victoria we’re having to build a variety of suite sizes with Duet to reach many different buyers. We are offering a location that is desirable for those who may be looking to downsize in James Bay, want to raise a family, or want to live in the city but not in the downtown core,” Chard said.

While families have bought into Chard’s projects in the past, Duet’s smaller woodframe building has young families specifically in mind much to the agreement of the neighbourhood association which worked with Chard over a span of some six years between acquisition of the site and the formal release of Duet.

“The James Bay community wanted more families in this project with South Park Elementary being right around the corner.  The woodframe building has larger suites designed for families and with the price point of woodframe construction we felt we could deliver larger suites,” Chard said of the ability to offer larger units in the woodframe building.

Response to Duet has been strong and phase 1, the concrete building (with units ranging in price from $229,000 to $999,000), sold 10 of 62 units in it’s opening weekend.  Phase 2, the woodframe, will be marketed once construction on Duet has begun later this year and prices will be released then. Completion of both buildings is expected by summer of 2014.

Meanwhile Chard’s Sovereign project at 608 Broughton, an 11-storey luxury tower immediately across the street from the Duet and Sovereign showroom, is months into excavation and groundwork preparation.  Sovereign, currently 50% sold-out, is expected to be completed next year.

A May 6th photo of excavation and site preparations at the site of The Sovereign project in downtown Victoria. Photo © MarkoJ on VV's forum.

With two projects already on the go Chard confirms planning is ramping up for yet another development, this time back on the downtown turf in the 800-block of Yates Street.

Chard purchased the 819 Yates property last year and while short on details, he claims we “ain’t seen nothing yet.”

“We are going to be investigating all options of uses to see what else we can provide to the community.  We do wish to look at a mixed-use office, residential and commercial project and from a downtown resident’s and business owner’s perspective what we are contemplating will be pretty exciting for everybody.”

More formal plans for 819 Yates, zoned for two towers of 17- and 12-floors, will be released next year.

To discuss the Duet project, refer to VibrantVictoria’s discussion thread here. For more information on Duet, click here. To stay up-to-date on the 819 Yates project, click here and progress at The Sovereign can be followed here. For the latest news on Victoria condo developments be sure to connect to our Victoria Condos Facebook page, and follow us on Twitter to stay up-to-date on local construction activity from around the region. Duet’s official website can be accessed here and Chard Development’s website here.

© Copyright 2012 by Skyscraper Source Media. All rights reserved.

Selkirk Waterfront as seen from Vic West. The parcel at 2950 Jutland (forefront) will house a mixed-use office, residential and commercial building with construction slated for 2013. Photo © Skyscraper Source Media.

Jawl Properties has applied to the City of Victoria with a zoning variance request for the last remaining undeveloped parcel at the Selkirk Waterfront Community along the Gorge waterway.

Company representative Robert Jawl says the initial plans for 2950 Jutland Road envisioned a six-storey residential building with commercial space along the groundfloor.  However, strong demand for office space at Selkirk has recently lead to a re-think of the project to include a mix of offices, residences and commercial space.

“Several office tenants at Selkirk are bursting at the seams and would like to remain within the community.  Our plans are for a 65,000 square foot mixed-use building that could start construction by early 2013,” Jawl said.

2950 Jutland Road, previously marketed as the Boardwalk building, is still planned as a 6-storey structure.

A little ways up Jutland Road the Fortis (previously Terasen Gas) property is reaching the end of its twenty year lease and coincidentally marks Selkirk’s 20th year as a burgeoning community.  The natural gas supplier will relocate its entire base of operations to the west shore where a purpose-built project is in planning.  Fortis was the anchor tenant, so-to-speak, at Selkirk Waterfront when the community began taking shape in the early 1990’s.

With Fortis vacating its premises Jawl Properties will have the opportunity to redevelop nearly 3-acres of surface parking currently used as a storage and maintenance yard by the gas supplier and other organizations.  The site will be re-envisioned with the potential to be transformed into mixed-use buildings, although no concrete timeline or concepts are available at this time.

With the push for 2950 Jutland, Jawl Properties has put its most recent land purchase, the Roth Site in the 700-block of Pandora Avenue, into a holding pattern of sorts. However, Jawl does say that the project will encompass the same design principles and hopes to achieve landmark status as did the company’s Atrium Building at 800 Yates Street.  The Roth Site project may include a mix of uses combining office space and residential units together with commercial on the groundfloor. With the pending departure of the Royal Bank from the property and into the Hudson Building, Jawl says the company will be positioned to more vigorously pursue its ideas for the site.

To discuss the Selkirk Waterfront community on the VibrantVictoria discussion forum, click here.  To discuss the Roth Site project, click here.  For the latest news on Victoria condo developments be sure to connect to our Victoria Condos Facebook page, and follow us on Twitter to stay up-to-date on the latest construction news from around the region.

© Copyright 2012 by Skyscraper Source Media Inc. All rights reserved.

Rendering of the Union's Fisgard Street-facing building. Union will span the Buckerfield site between Pandora and Fisgard over two 5-storey buildings. Rendering © Anthem Properties.

After more than a decade of failed proposals and stalled plans the infamous Buckerfield site bridging downtown Victoria’s Chinatown and Old Town districts is finally on its way to a complete transformation.

Union, a five-storey, two-building project spanning the 500-block of Pandora Avenue and Fisgard Street will break ground May 12th and mark the start of Anthem Properties’ first foray into Victoria’s new-build condo market.

Anthem’s Leah Jewell said the project is expected to take approximately 18 months to complete and will be ready for occupancy by the fall of 2013.

Although sales at the Union have been slower than expected, this has been partly attributed to the site’s infamous past stemming from Amadon Group’s cancellation of the Bambu project on the eve of construction nearly a decade ago.  A barren, fenced off “wasteland,” as some have called it, has remained ever since.  When the shovels finally hit the ground at Union, Jewell says she feels confident that buyers will respond accordingly to Anthem’s commitment to the project and the community.

Union’s current confirmed sales represent 27% of the 133-unit total.  Retail space along the ground floors of both buildings will be marketed closer to the completion of the project.  There is no word at this time of potential commercial tenants.

Victoria-based Merrick Architecture is behind the building design and Anthem has partnered with Van Isle Projects to oversee construction.

For more information on Union and to stay up to date with the latest news and construction photo updates for the project, refer to VibrantVictoria’s discussion thread here. Follow VibrantVictoria’s news and updates on local condo developments and activity on our Victoria Condos Facebook page.  Union’s official sales website can be accessed at www.unionvictoria.com.

© Copyright 2012 by Skyscraper Source Media.  All rights reserved.

Excavators dig up the soil in preparation for construction of the Promontory project in Vic West. Photo © Skyscraper Source Media.

Excavators and drilling machines have arrived signaling the start of construction activity for what will become the City of Victoria’s tallest building.  James Bay’s 1960’s-era 22-storey Orchard House tower has held the title for over 40 years.

The 177 unit, 21-storey Promontory condo tower, phase II of the Bayview Project in Vic West, will stand some 66 meters above the neigbhourhood and become a new beacon for the central core of the south Island.

Construction should take approximately two years with completion anticipated in early 2014.  To-date 77 units, or roughly 44% of available homes, have sold according to sales representative Peter Gaby.

In an odd twist of fate project partner Bosa Properties nixed Victoria in the mid 1990’s over a tumulteous rezoning process for it’s first and at the time only Victoria condo project, The Manhattan (on Yates Street across from The Market on Yates).  After vowing never to return to the City, some 15 years later the company has found itself partnering with Bayview Properties to build Victoria’s tallest tower.

The official groundbreaking ceremony will be held on Monday, January 30th, to celebrate the start of construction.  A groundbreaking planned for January 18th was canceled due to inclement weather.

To stay up to date on the Promontory project, refer to VibrantVictoria’s discussion thread for the project here.  To view the Major Construction Projects entry on Promontory, click here.  For a diagram of Victoria’s tallest buildings, refer to SkyscraperPage’s Victoria skyscraper diagram.

© Copyright 2012 by Skyscraper Source Media.  All rights reserved.

This project rendering shows the proposed mixed-use development and the refurbished Northern Junk buildings likely housing an eatery with waterfront views together with other commercial uses. Rendering © by Reliance Properties.

There has been much heated debate over the future of land near the historic Northern Junk buildings at the eastern foot of the Johnson Street Bridge in downtown Victoria.

Multiple contributors to VibrantVictoria’s dedicated discussion thread on the Northern Junk complex have questioned the loss of a tract of public space to make way for commercial and residential buildings enveloping to-be remediated heritage structures, while others have cheered the developer’s vision as representing the prospect of positive change to what is otherwise a crime-ridden nook of Old Town.

Developer Jon Stovell of Reliance Properties, the proponent of the project, has provided the public via VibrantVictoria’s forum multiple clarifications about the proposal in an effort to swing the debate from misinterpretation to fact.

Seemingly unbeknownst to those in opposition to the project’s use of public land, Stovell confirmed that the development will double the public space currently available within the immediate area while opening up access to the waterfront and contributing to the City’s vision for the Victoria Harbour Pathway.  Concern over the loss of a grassy median to make way for the project’s newly built mixed-use buildings was voiced, albeit the public land in its current form has the tendency to draw drug-related activity.

“In the proposal the open space (open to the public) is actually being doubled. It is also better open space being closer to, or actually on the water,” Stovell wrote.

A public plaza along the waterfront together with a connection to the Victoria Harbour Pathway are also envisioned and represent an integral component of the developer’s commitment to public access.  Stovell further confirmed that public access will be guaranteed through legal agreements with the City of Victoria with the only gated portions located at the building lobby.

The re-use of the land for mixed-use commercial and residential units has supporters (including the City of Victoria which welcomed Reliance’s vision for the public median in return for remediating two heritage structures), many of whom welcome the opportunity to reclaim an area of downtown that has both poor pedestrian infrastructure and lacks a sense of place.

A comparison of present-day public space within the vicinity of the Northern Junk proposal and the public space upon the project's completion. Reliance Properties claims their project will double public space and allow public access to the waterfront. Image reproduced from materials © by Reliance Properties.

The Northern Junk complex is proposed with some 56 residential units over 53,600 square feet and 14,600 square feet of street level commercial space spread over five floors.  The design is in the hands of Merrick Architecture, an internationally recognized architectural practice based in Victoria with proven experience designing heritage-sensitive projects.

To stay up to date on the Northern Junk complex, refer to VibrantVictoria’s discussion forum thread here.

© Copyright 2012 by Skyscraper Source Media Inc.  All rights reserved.

A model represents a potential massing of an office building, centre, on the Roth Site, as envisioned by previous Roth Site owner Townline. Photo © by Robert Randall.

The purchase of the Roth Site in the 700-block of Pandora by Jawl Properties and it’s appetite to build an office building on the lot, together with the news that developers of the 15-storey Gateway Green office proposal are fielding calls from the provincial government, hint at yet another race in the making to build downtown Victoria’s next major office building.

Travis Lee of Tri-Eagle Development says the company’s Gateway Green tower has an advantage over every other office proposal in town: the project is only “60 days” away from a construction start the moment a key tenant is signed.

However, Jawl may have acquired a serious contender to Tri-Eagle’s impressive 60-day tenant-to-shovels offering considering the Roth Site is already zoned for highrise office use and a hasty municipal process would yield a greatly reduced planning-to-shovels period.

The bidding war in the making between Tri-Eagle and Jawl Properties is similar to one that played out several years ago.  The duel played out like so: as Tri-Eagle was courting BC Ferries with its offerings at Fisgard and Blanshard in the Gateway Green tower, Jawl Properties, coincidentally BC Ferries’ landlord at the time, purchased the BC Telephone Company property at Johnson and Blanshard streets with plans to build a first-class office building and, according to industry insiders, made BC Ferries an offer that the company could not refuse.  Ultimately BC Ferries walked from Gateway Green, the BC Telephone Company property became the Atrium building and Tri-Eagle put it’s tower on-hold.

This time around no one major tenant has yet revealed itself, other than loose interest expressed by the “provincial government,” and Jawl has some legwork to do before it is ready to present its plans to City staff, let alone potential tenants.

“We have designers looking at massing possibilities for the site and it is too early to say whether the project will be all office or maybe a mix of uses,” said Jawl Properties representative Robert Jawl, stopping short of making a preference for a slimmer, taller point tower design or a shorter, wider building.  Jawl did confirm that D’ambrosio Architecture + Urbanism, the team behind the Atrium building and several of Jawl’s newer residential buildings, is on the roster once again.

The zoning currently allows for almost 200,000 square feet of space and heights in excess of the typical 12-storey office building height.  The previous proposal on the site was for two residential buildings, one of which was to stand some 54 meter talls over 19-storeys.

Asked if any tenants had their sites on Jawl Properties’ upcoming project, Robert Jawl said the company has a solid grasp of public and private office space demands in the region and as of yet no one formal potential tenant has expressed definitive interest in the project. VV

To stay up to date on and to discuss office proposals throughout greater Victoria, view the Office space and office development thread on VibrantVictoria’s forum.  To stay up to date on Gateway Green click here and follow the discussion of the Roth Site development by Jawl Properties here.

© Copyright 2011 by Skyscraper Source Media Inc.  All rights reserved.

Two additional residential towers could join this changing north downtown skyline with the sale of the Roth Site property on Pandora Avenue between Douglas and Blanshard streets. © Copyright by Skyscraper Source Media.

One week after Vancouver-based developer Dave Chard purchased the Emaar property on Yates Street, Victoria-based Jawl Properties, developer of downtown’s Atrium office building, has taken ownership of the Roth Site in the 700-block of Pandora Avenue.

The land’s previous owner, Richmond-based Townline (developer of the Hudson’s Bay Department Store site at Douglas and Fisgard streets), had envisioned a two-tower residential complex, dubbed Centro, on the Pandora lot situated just a stones throw from Victoria City Hall.  Due to the economic downturn of 2008 the land was never developed and eventually put up for sale.

Prior to the downturn an active re-zoning was under way for two residential towers of 19- and 14-storeys with a commercial base.  It is unclear, however, if approval for the two towers was granted although the City’s Advisory Design Panel was in support of the project.  The only use for the property in recent memory prior to and since the rezoning proposal has been surface parking. VV

To discuss the Roth Site and the sale of the land to Jawl Properties, follow the Centro discussion on the VibrantVictoria forum.

© Copyright 2011 by Skyscraper Source Media.  All rights reserved.

Site preparation has begun for Tri-Eagle Development's 1590 Cedar Hill X project, a three storey office building at Shelbourne Village Square in Saanich. Photo © VibrantVictoria.ca.

A laundromat at 1590 Cedar Hill X Road in Shelbourne Village Square has been torn down to make way for Tri-Eagle Development Corporation’s latest office project in Saanich.

Receiving unanimous approval from Saanich council on October 4th, construction of the three storey, 15,000 square foot building is expected to start soon with occupancy anticipated by the end of 2012.

Travis Lee of Tri-Eagle confirms that the anchor tenant will be VanCity Credit Union and the remainder of the space is eyed for medical offices.

Artist's rendering of 1590 Cedar Hill X. Image supplied.

Tri-Eagle’s Saanich development activities have intensified in recent years with the completion of the award winning Raven Building at Tri-Eagle Plaza along West Saanich Road, a seniors residence also in the same neighbourhood, and making its way through the municipal process is Thunderbird Building, a 5-storey, 50,000 square foot LEED Gold office project that will mark the last phase of Tri-Eagle Plaza.

The company is also banking on Uptown’s future as a major transit hub with the recent purchase of property bordered by the Pat Bay Highway, Rowland Avenue and Huxley Street just a stones throw to the north from the Saanich mega-project.  Tri-Eagle is partnering with Michael and David Jawl to build either condos or townhomes.

“BC Transit has invested heavily in property around Uptown for use as a major transit hub and the site on Rowland is perfect for a residential development with easy access to transit and alternative transportation options,” Lee said. VV

To learn more about 1590 Cedar Hill X Road, follow the VibrantVictoria discussion on the project.

© Copyright 2011 by Skyscraper Source Media.  All rights reserved.

The Capital Region grew by 1% between 2010 and 2011. Photo © by VibrantVictoria.ca.

3,525 new residents called metropolitan Victoria home in 2011 according to a population estimate released by the Capital Regional District.

In total, the Capital’s population rose to 360,063 from 356,538 in 2010.

The fastest growing region was the west shore, encompassing Colwood, Highlands, Juan de Fuca Electoral Area, Langford, Metchosin and Sooke, adding 1,846 residents, or just over half of the entire metropolitan area’s population growth.  The fastest growing municipality on the west shore was Sooke with a growth rate of 4% (adding 460 new residents) followed by Langford at nearly 3.5% (adding just over 1,000 residents).

The peninsula, comprised of Central Saanich, North Saanich and Sidney, was the slowest growing region adding only 292 residents over the last year, mostly in Central Saanich.

The urban core, comprised of Esquimalt, Oak Bay, Saanich, Victoria and View Royal, grew by 1,387 people, 823 of whom were in Victoria and 282 in Saanich.  The fastest growing of the core municipalities was View Royal with a growth rate of nearly 1.7% (164 people).  The City of Victoria’s growth rate was 1%.

The population for the entire Capital Region including the Gulf Islands increased to 376,222 from 372,565.

The Capital Regional District (CRD) derives its annual population estimate from the 2006 Census.  The CRD assumes an undercount of 2.9% and targets the estimate for the 1st of June of each year. VV

To discuss the south Island’s population on the VibrantVictoria discussion forum, view this thread.  To view the CRD’s population statistics, including past census figures, click here.

© Copyright 2011 by VibrantVictoria.ca.  All rights reserved.

The Cosmopolitan, pictured above in an artist's rendering, was recently denied approval by City Hall despite falling within existing guidelines and promising to bring much needed rental housing to the urban core. Rendering © by Jurgen Weyland.

The City of Victoria has announced that it is considering giving builders a variety of incentives to develop more rental housing throughout the City.

The Times Colonist reported on September 1st that City Hall’s incentives could come in the form of tax breaks, parking requirement reductions, density increases and fast-tracked municipal handling of applications.

However, for one developer who had planned to bring rental housing to the downtown core and in essence build what City Hall now says it wants to see built, talk of incentives comes two months too late.

Jurgen Weyland had proposed a five-storey rental and commercial building, dubbed The Cosmopolitan, in the 600-block of Fort Street on the property that once housed Lens & Shutter.  Instead of an open armed welcome for proposing to build much needed rental housing when other developers were operating in a condo frame of mind, Weyland was turned away.

“The opposition against the Cosmopolitan was really because of Councillor Madoff and her strong disagreement with the design, especially the colors, and the height. The density increase was within the existing bonus density rules of the City of Victoria for residential use but the height was unacceptable to her,” Weyland said.

The City’s Planning and Land Use Sitting Committee (PLUSC) also denied the project further advancement at the municipal level with a vote of 2-to-1 against the proposal.  That decision was ultimately the last nail in the coffin, and despite The Cosmopolitan’s design falling within City Hall’s own guidelines and matching the height and size of adjacent buildings, Mayor Fortin and council would not overrule the PLUSC decision and forward the project to a public hearing.

The Cosmopolitan proposal brings up the question of whether City Hall and its elected representatives are ready and willing to stand behind any new incentives, or whether opposition will continue unabated.  If one councillor and two members of a City Hall committee can wield enough power to turn down a project that molds to the City’s housing plans and is architecturally in keeping with its neighbours, City Hall will need to do more than simply roll out new perks to builders.

Nevertheless, Weyland is hopeful that new incentives will ultimately make a difference and spur the desired interest among developers.

“While I am disappointed that I lost my project 2-to-1 at the PLUSC, I do appreciate that the City now considers a rental housing incentive plan and I am very much in favor of it,” Weyland said, adding that The Cosmopolitan has been placed “on-hold” which suggests that the project may resurface when, or rather if, the time is right.

“All areas of downtown need as much residential use as possible to be vital and exciting. The economics of building new rental housing are difficult. Every cost saving through a City incentive program helps to make the numbers work. We should all applaud that Mayor Fortin is promoting a rental incentive plan for Victoria.” VV

To discuss The Cosmopolitan project on the VibrantVictoria discussion forum, click here.  To discuss rental housing throughout the south Island, click here.

© Copyright 2011 by VibrantVictoria.ca.  All rights reserved.