The developer behind the massive Roundhouse project — which was given preliminary approval Thursday night by Victoria city council — says some of the towers listed as potential condos in the development could end up being purpose-built rentals instead.
Council gave third reading in a 7-2 vote to bylaw amendments for the Vic West development, which includes 1,870 residential units in nine towers ranging in height from 10 to 32 storeys.
Ken Mariash, principal of project proponent Focus Equities, said Friday that condos tend to be built sequentially, as they each compete for buyers, while rentals can be built at the same time when there is pent-up demand in the region.
“All the buildings north of the [railway] tracks, I think they should all be rentals so that we can build them all at the same time,” said Mariash, who noted buildings can change from condo to rental, but it’s more difficult to go from rental to condo.
The project at 251 Esquimalt Rd., 210 Kimta Rd. and 355 Catherine St. has been in the works for more than 15 years, and will also include commercial space, community amenities and restoration of a national historic site.
The bylaws are expected to be adopted later after concerns regarding the potential impact on the Victoria Harbour Water Airport have been addressed by the applicant in consultation with Transport Canada.
Only councillors Stephen Hammond and Marg Gardiner voted against the bylaw amendments. Among other concerns, they suggested the project was too big for the site and new towers would dwarf and overwhelm the existing heritage site.
“I don’t want to get it perfect, but I’d like to get it closer to right,” said Hammond.
For his part, Mariash said he is pleased to get the chance to finish what he started more than 25 years ago when he envisioned the first phase of the Bayview development on the 20-acre site.
“It’s kind of a hometown thing,” said Mariash who has lived at Bayview One, the first condo project on the site, since it was built. “Anywhere else, we might not be here.”
He gave credit to city council for having the vision to go ahead with the Roundhouse project on what is currently an under-used 10-acre site west of the Bayview One, Promontory and Encore condo projects.
He said he expects some work could start this year on what is known as the 25-storey E&N condo tower at the south end of the site.
“My interest is getting it finished and seeing what it looks like and continuing what we’ve built so far,” he said. “This is a legacy. This is our mission. It’s our passion. It’s what I do instead of fishing — what else am I going to do?”
Mariash’s team told council Thursday night the intention is to move forward as quickly as the market allows, though they would not indicate a set timeline, saying they need flexibility.
The first phase of development, when it gets underway, is likely to include the 215-unit affordable housing project, heritage remediation work and some amenities as buildings go up.
The expectation is the bulk of the build-out could be done in 10 to 15 years.
Mayor Marianne Alto said while the project is not perfect, it is good, and it’s the second time council has had a chance to make a bold decision to support its priority of providing more housing.
The first was the Starlight project at Harris Green in downtown Victoria, which envisions 1,500 residential units.
In an interview Friday, Alto said she hopes building begins soon, and she was pleased to hear the affordable-housing component is likely to be done earlier than other buildings.
“I think that’s obviously going to respond most directly to the gaps in housing, which are the most urgent,” she said.
“The faster that we see some development here, the faster we see some shovels in the ground, the better it will be.”
Opponents of the project said they were disappointed with the decision, though many said they were not surprised.
In a social media post, Joel Arthur McInnis, who campaigned against the size of the project and height of the towers, said the fight isn’t over. “There are significant hurdles that still have to be overcome and it is possible this project just collapses under its own weight.”
Councillors voting in favour — Dave Thompson, Matt Dell, Jeremy Caradonna, Chris Coleman, Krista Loughton, Susan Kim and Alto — said they were swayed by the amount of promised new housing, a potentially vibrant community in what is now empty space and protection of the heritage site.
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