Sidney council has approved a housing agreement for a new Beacon Avenue development, aiming to ensure the 140 units remain rentals for at least three decades.
The agreement, which still needs final approval, also stipulates that 28 below-market-rental units be provided in the five-storey development on one of the town’s last remaining vacant lots.
The proposed building by Ontario-based Kothari Group on the northwest corner of Beacon Avenue West and Highway 17 was approved by council in May.
The housing agreement for 2180 Beacon Ave. West stipulates that the entire development will serve as rental apartments for a minimum of 30 years, with 20% of the units serving as below-market rental dwellings for a minimum of 20 years.
The below-market units will rent for 80% of the annual market rent for that type of unit and would only be offered to eligible tenants based on their gross household income.
The town’s Official Community Plan identifies the area as a site for higher-density multi-family residential development.
Earlier this year, Mayor Cliff McNeil-Smith noted that the 2180 Beacon Ave. West development marks only the second time in a generation that purpose-built rental housing has been developed in Sidney with below-market units.
The Aranza building at 9830 Fourth St. is the only other new development in recent decades in Sidney to offer purpose-built rental housing and below-market units, the town said.
Mississauga-based Kothari Group is also developing a hotel at Victoria International Airport on land it’s leasing from the Victoria Airport Authority at the corner of the Patricia Bay Highway and Beacon Avenue West. A groundbreaking for the hotel took place on Wednesday.
>>> To comment on this article, write a letter to the editor: [email protected]
