Public hearing set for downtown rental housing project
A model showing The Hudson Mews tower along Fisgard Street. The model features some details of the green roof element on the podium. Photo © Victoria Downtown Residents Association.
The redevelopment of the historic Hudson’s Bay department store property, between Douglas, Blanshard, Fisgard and Herald streets in downtown Victoria, will feature approximately 90 rental units in an upcoming phase dubbed The Hudson Mews, VibrantVictoria.ca has learned. The 12-storey, 120-unit development to be built by Vancouver-based Townline Group of Companies will also include 30 market units (condominiums) and ground floor retail space. A green roof element is planned on the roof of the lower floors jutting out from the western side of the tower.
In a market that has year-round rental vacancy rates at or below 1%, an influx of 90 units into an area that typically absorbs new condominium housing is already spurring excitement. Robert Randall, Chair of the Victoria Downtown Residents’ Association, said that he welcomes the development as it adds a different and much needed housing type to the downtown core. Referring to new rental housing availability, Randall added that “this proposal is downtown’s first significant purpose-built, new construction, rental building since I became a resident of downtown some 10 years ago.”
While great news for the city as a whole, Townline’s rental housing aspirations do not end in downtown Victoria. Just across the harbour in Vic West, a stalled project dubbed The Wing has sat empty and uncompleted for several years until Townline acquired the development with plans to transform it into a subsidized rental building. Construction on The Wing has picked up since Townline became involved, although there are few details as to the progress and the release of the units onto the market.
Townline’s other major construction site in Victoria is The Hudson, a massive transformation of the historic Hudson’s Bay Department Store at Douglas Street between Fisgard and Herald streets. The transformation from a retail store to a residential building has faced financial difficulties stemming from the economic downturn, although progress is once again being made after a multi-month hiatus. The Hudson is the first phase of Townline’s multi-phased project on the old Hudson’s Bay property with future phases planned to include the City’s tallest tower, currently approved for 24-storeys and some 72-meters in height, and a slightly shorter tower along Blanshard Street, both of which will be preceded by The Hudson Mews.
The public hearing for The Hudson Mews is scheduled for December 10th at 7:30PM at Victoria City Hall.
To stay up to date on the latest news concerning the transformation of the old Hudson’s Bay department store, refer to the Hudson discussion thread. For the latest news on future phases of the Hudson development, including The Hudson Mews, refer to this thread. For a Construction Project List entry on The Hudson Mews, click here.
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Responses to this Headline or Article
The five most recent replies to VibrantVictoria.ca's discussion forum's [Downtown Victoria] The Hudson Mews (or "The Muse?") | Rentals | HBC redevelopment; Phase II | 12-storeys | Approved thread, the most relevant thread to the above headline or article:
Mike K.
May 08, 2012 at 4:31 pmQuote: Bob Pearce, Townline Developments vice-president, said the next phase of the Hudson site - the 120unit, 12-storey Hudson Mews rental tower - should start coming out of the ground by the end of this month
"We are feeling cautiously optimistic," said Pearce. "We are feeling good about the market. It's certainly not as strong as we'd like it to be but there is interest out there and what product there is on the market is gradually getting absorbed.
According to the Victoria Real Estate Board, there has been a decent level of activity in the condo market of late as April sales increased 20 per cent to 171 sales compared with March. In April 2011 there were 153 condo sales.
I'm not sure I completely understand the situation here. If Townline is building a rental tower then why the concern over the "market" and the tidbit about VREB condo sale stats?
As far as we're aware Muse/Mews has been planned as a 20% market/80% rental but the TC article doesn't mention anything to that effect yet relates the condo sales scene to this project.
Am I missing something, or this rental tower not really a
Kapten Kapsell
May 08, 2012 at 4:54 pmQuote: I'm not sure I completely understand the situation here. If Townline is building a rental tower then why the concern over the "market" and the tidbit about VREB condo sale stats?
As far as we're aware Muse/Mews has been planned as a 20% market/80% rental but the TC article doesn't mention anything to that effect yet relates the condo sales scene to this project.
Am I missing something, or this rental tower not really arental tower per-se but still planned with a mix of market and rental units? :squint:
Maybe the condo bits refer to Hudson Walk (also covered in the article)?
Mike K.
May 08, 2012 at 7:48 pmI thought about that, but then why insert the quotes referring to the market immediately after bringing up Mews, not Hudson Walk?
The sense one gets is Mews is moving forward because of an improving/sustained condo market even though its apparently a rental building. I'm not entirely sure how that makes sense unless Mews is not really a rental building but a (still, as initially proposed) mixed housing (market + rental) project and needs the market housing to make it viable.
G-Man
May 08, 2012 at 8:34 pm^ I think your sense is correct. The funding would come in from lenders with the understanding that Townline needs to build that 12 storey tower of rental before it can start on the market portions of the project. Rental takes a lot longer to recoup money from but perhaps the lenders are thinking longer term. I am hopeful that this actually happens.
Mike K.
May 08, 2012 at 8:41 pm...but again, why drop condo sales stats when discussing a rental project? The next phase at Hudson won't be built for a couple of years, according to Bob Pearce, and rental housing can take decades to become profitable.
I guess the article raised more questions for me than it answered, but luckily, if what we read holds water, there'll be answers in the coming days :)
