Citing rising costs, Chard Developments is asking the City of Victoria to allow it to tweak its already approved mixed-use project at the corner of Douglas Street and Caledonia Avenue, by eliminating most of the office space component in favour of more rental housing.
In a letter to Victoria council, Chard’s chief executive Byron Chard said the Bank of Canada’s rate hikes over the past year have created issues with financing for commercial projects in particular.
He noted it has meant other developers have been forced to cancel or postpone some projects.
“We intend to see this project built, completed and occupied to help satisfy the critical need for housing within the city,” he said.
But to do so, Chard said they want to significantly reduce the office component and replace it with rental homes.
Chard’s proposal would mean an additional 64 rental homes and an additional strata unit added to the project, while the office component, originally anticipated to be about 40,000 square feet, would be reduced to about 10,000 square feet of shared office space to be operated by a co-working company.
“By providing communal office space rather than traditional strata office, the development can offer a more affordable option for professionals who are considering a reduction in operating costs or looking to grow a small business,” Chard wrote.
The proposed changes require slight alterations — between one and two metres — in the heights of the three residential towers and a reduction in parking spaces from 420 to 323.
To offset the parking changes, Chard is proposing an expansion of its bike parking, e-bike and e-scooter share programs, and increased car-share spaces to six stalls from the original two.
The original plan for the Douglas-Caledonia project was to build three residential towers — two 21-storey buildings and one 16-storey building — at the corner of Douglas Street and Caledonia Avenue with about 451 units of housing, 304 of them rental units.
One of the 21-storey towers will house a condominium and the other is planned as market-priced rental.
The 16-storey tower is planned as below-market-price rental housing to be operated by B.C. Housing.
The original plans also called for 97,000 square feet of retail and office space including a public plaza, a restaurant, childcare facility, and full-service grocery store on a site that had been home to the White Spot restaurant and the Capital City Centre Hotel.
Chard said the only component being changed is the office space.
There is also a related 90-unit supportive housing project, done with B.C. Housing, to be built across the street at 722 and 726 Discovery St. That project, which is being built to house the residents of the Capital City Hotel when it is demolished, will not be affected by the change.
“The detailed design of the Discovery site is now well underway and will not be delayed by this change,” Chard said.
>>> To comment on this article, write a letter to the editor: [email protected]
