Despite some objections from owners in the nearby Mermaid Wharf condominium about loss of views, Victoria councillors have given the thumbs up to redevelop the 1891-vintage Janion building into 113 micro-lofts.
“I have heard about concerns of height, and I recognize that does impact on the private individual,” said Mayor Dean Fortin. “I think my larger reflection is that, in a built-out town like we are, nothing can be built without impacting on someone else.”
Two-thirds of the units will be new additions to the rear water side and to the north of the existing building at 1612-1614 Store St. The ground floor of the heritage building will be converted into commercial space, which Reliance Properties president Jon Stovell hopes will attract a micro-grocer.
Total cost of the project could reach $15 million.
Fortin said the most important element council has to consider is the impact the project has on what he called “the public realm.”
“What does it look like? What is the architecture? What is the building? How does it work?” he said.
Coun. Lisa Helps said one of the most difficult decisions councillors face is weighing concerns of people who live nearby against the bigger picture of what’s good for the city as a whole.
“We’re building the future of the city based on the history of the city and, in this case, we’re doing that very literally,” Helps said.
Vancouver-based Reliance Properties will immediately begin marketing micro-lofts, most of which will range in size from 250 square feet to about 350 square feet. Some units will be close to 800 square feet.
Interest in the units, which will start at about $110,000 each, has been high, Stovell said. About 1,400 people have already registered online to receive information.
“I think people are attracted to the location, walkability, the price point and small-space living,” he said. “The overall dollar amounts are much smaller than the typical product just because of the small size.”
Construction is planned to begin early in the new year. The redevelopment will see the derelict Janion, unused for about 35 years, rehabilitated to accommodate residential units above ground-floor commercial space. New additions would be built to the rear and the back of the existing building. The side addition would be three storeys and have an entrance for underground parking.
The rear addition, which would be one storey higher than the existing former hotel building, will comprise residential units and ancillary residential space.
Stovell said the development will include ample amenities including: two bookable social rooms with kitchen facilities, a large rooftop deck, kayak storage, workshop and gym.
“The biggest amenity of all is the city itself. We are saying it’s a 300-square-foot condominium with a two-million-square-foot living room,” he said.
Storage for 114 bicycles is proposed.
There will be access to the waterfront and the proposal includes a five-metre-wide harbour pathway connection.
Reliance Properties bought the Janion for $2.49 million in June 2012. It also bought the Transport Canada land directly behind, creating a site 59 feet wide by 302 feet long for the development.
As well as the Janion, immediately north of the Johnson Street Bridge, Reliance Properties also owns the heritage Northern Junk site on the bridge’s south side. Reliance has proposed a $25-million, five-storey, commercial-condominium development at the Northern Junk property, which Stovell expects will go to public hearing early in the new year.
