Victoria council took just over an hour to give final approval to 43 new housing units Thursday night, as two new projects skated through public hearings without a hint of opposition.
A 39-unit supportive housing project that will breathe new life into the 1000 block of North Park Street and a project that will see two homes with secondary suites built on a single-family lot in the Gonzales neighbourhood were approved unanimously.
The supportive housing project will be a replacement home for residents of 915 Burdett St., a care facility operated by Island Health for a group of people with cognitive disabilities, but owned by a private company.
The group has been living together as a community for years but the existing facility is deemed to be coming to the end of its life.
The five-storey care home will be built on two lots at 1046 and 1048 North Park St.
The owners of 915 Burdett St. bought the two North Park sites to combine the lots and provide a new facility so the residents could be relocated as a group.
The new facility will also be operated by Island Health and will offer long-term supported living units.
Christine Lintott Architects, on behalf of Wild Coast Construction, told council the project fits into plans for revitalization of the North Park neighbourhood.
A number of neighbouring residents who wrote to council said they welcomed the development, though some bemoaned the lack of parking.
Andrew Clark, a neighbour on the block, said the project is a positive step and that residents of the complex will benefit from the transit-oriented and accessible nature of the neighbourhood.
He noted that staff have access to bike parking and shower facilities, and transit is nearby.
“I think that it is more than appropriate to have no parking for the building. The more space provided for the residents, the better.”
Council also gave unanimous approval for a single-family lot at 1768 Chandler Ave. to be subdivided to create two new single-family homes with secondary suites.
The project, which has been in the planning stages for three years, will see the existing home, a 1953 single-storey house with a basement, demolished and replaced with a pair of two-storey buildings with secondary suites in the basements.
Coun. Chris Coleman said the project ticks all the boxes within the permitted zoning and “also complies with our goals for greater density, and the inclusion of the suites [is] an enormous bonus.”
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