[Harris Green] Harris Green Village & Harris Victoria Chrysler/Dodge redevelopment | Multi-phased; mixed-use | Proposed

The 900-block of Yates Street's Harris Green Village, home to retailers that include London Drugs, the Market of Yates and Bosley's, is in-store for a major redevelopment play at the hands of its Ontario-based owners. The group also plans to redevelop the Harris Victoria Chrysler dealership one block east which the company recently acquired. 

Harris Green Village shopping centre and nearby Dodge dealership slated for redevelopment

https://victoria.cit...-redevelopment/

Downtown Victoria’s Harris Green Village shopping, home to retailers that include London Drugs, the Market on Yates and Bosley’s, is the focus of one of the largest downtown Victoria redevelopment efforts in recent history.

Not to be a negative nelly, but I hope this doesn't stall out like the University Heights proposal.

The London Drugs plaza defines Harris Green, and for the most part over the decades it's evolved into a successful mixed-use development. It's a magnet for the neighbourhood, offering just about every service you need. I know whatever replaces it will have more residential density but I hope it also offers similar commercial diversity.

The London Drugs plaza defines Harris Green, and for the most part over the decades it's evolved into a successful mixed-use development. It's a magnet for the neighbourhood, offering just about every service you need. I know whatever replaces it will have more residential density but I hope it also offers similar commercial diversity.

I could be totally wrong, but I sense that additional density on the site might be concentrated at the Yates/Quadra corner (surface lot and existing MoY building) leaving much of the rest of the site 'as is' but with upgraded facades etc.  There is definitely an opportunity to improve the View Street-facing areas of the plaza (around the liquor store) as these spaces are largely less successful from a commercial and pedestrian interfacing perspective. 

The Chrysler lot is a blank slate and could accommodate substantial residential density, but I imagine that the dealership building may wind up being preserved (it's not heritage-listed but it definitely got an art deco flair).  Apparently it was a Volkswagen dealership at one point in its history...

My understanding is the whole block will be redeveloped, save for the condos on Vancouver and View and there might be a small parcel Starlight doesn’t own on the block, but then again they may have acquired the whole thing since the 2016 Harris Green Village purchase.

There are also offices above London Drugs which many don’t realize exist.

Gosh, we're there every week. I hope it doesn't lose London Drugs and turn into some sort of highrise nightmare construction site. My husband's eye doctor is in that building too. He can walk there which is helpful for dilated pupils.

Edited by mbjj, 30 May 2019 - 07:07 AM.

London Drugs will definitely remain a fixture of the project, but I'm not certain about Market on Yates.

I know that there is the option of phasing construction such that, say, London Drugs could remain in operation while its new store is built. Then the switch-over would be relatively seamless. But I don't think that would be possible for Market on Yates unless the store opts to move to the Chrysler property or they can figure out a way to keep the store open while fitting its future space on a smaller footprint, maybe?

My understanding is the whole block will be redeveloped, save for the condos on Vancouver and View and there might be a small parcel Starlight doesn’t own on the block, but then again they may have acquired the whole thing since the 2016 Harris Green Village purchase.

There are also offices above London Drugs which many don’t realize exist.

Mike, are those condos at View and Vancouver? I have never seen one listed for sale, so I always assumed it was a rental building.

Hmm, you might be right. They could be rentals.

Supposedly the Market on Yates is "thrilled" by the redevelopment. 

Per the T-C article: 

"“We are thrilled that Starlight wants to redevelop the Harris Green site, and we are fully supportive of their new development that will include us,” wrote Darryl Hein, owner of The Market Stores in an email."

So what other brand new developments have they done that would compare to this?

The area between the Market and London Drugs also includes the walk-in clinic, which is already stretched by current neighbourhood demand. Somewhere there will have to be a sizeable medical facility.

I think that clinic is already slated to close this summer, if I recall a news story from a couple of months ago?

Edited by gstc84, 30 May 2019 - 09:33 AM.

I think that clinic is already slated to close this summer, if I recall a news story from a couple of months ago?

I think that clinic is already slated to close this summer, if I recall a news story from a couple of months ago?

Yikes! I hadn't heard that. Thanks for the heads-up!

https://www.cheknews...o-close-549461/

Hmm, you might be right. They could be rentals.

From Starlight's website:
 

I remember being disappointed when this residential component was added to the Harris Green Village that something taller wasn't built. The current configuration is far too low density for the neighbourhood.

 

...I would hope we don’t need to cover every single inch of our downtown with multi-storey buildings,” he said. “We don’t want to lose green space...

...

#housingcrisis