The public will have a chance to weigh in on two projects that will change the face of the Caledonia-Douglas intersection on the north side of Victoria’s downtown.
In its final committee of the whole meeting of this term, Victoria council agreed Thursday to move forward with the two separate projects, which are inextricably linked.
Chard Developments and B.C. Housing have proposed a massive project for a site in the 1900 block of Douglas Street bordered by Caledonia Avenue and Discovery Street, which contains the former White Spot restaurant and Capital City Centre Hotel.
The proposal features three residential tower blocks with about 450 units of housing, plus retail and office space.
The other proposal, put forward by B.C. Housing, envisions a 90-unit supportive-housing building to be constructed at 722 and 726 Discovery St.
The Discovery Street proposal is to be built first and is being designed to house residents of the former Capital City Centre Hotel to ensure no one is displaced by construction. The hotel will be torn down to make way for Chard’s larger project.
The Chard project will feature a public plaza, two 21-storey residential towers — one a market condominium building with retail and office space on its lower levels, and the other a purpose-built market rental building on top of retail space, a restaurant, childcare facility, and full-service grocery store. There will also be a 16-storey tower of below-market rental housing that will be operated by B.C. Housing.
The general consensus from council is the larger project can be supported and would make better use of the site and bring much-needed housing of various types, while Coun. Charlayne Thornton-Joe said Burnside-Gorge has long wanted a grocery store even if it’s a little south of its ideal location.
“One of the reasons I like the mixed use is I do agree with Burnside-Gorge that they have taken a bulk of the affordable and supportive housing which is a concern,” she said.
“Because this is a mixed use with a range of sizes and [affordable units] I think it makes sense in this location.”
Coun. Geoff Young said: “I think the project really does fit in fairly reasonably as part of the downtown. I think this area between Douglas and Blanshard is an appropriate place for higher densities and greater heights.”
But the Discovery project did not get such an easy ride through committee. Council indicated it would like to see more work done on its design to make it appear less institutional and to protect Garry oak trees on Discovery Street.
Council instructed staff to work with B.C. Housing on design and what could be done to save the trees and report back, though that report is not expected to stop the project continuing to move through the rezoning process.
Coun. Marianne Alto said she is not confident there is anything that can be done to save all of the Garry oaks on the site, but held out hope one or two could make it under a new landscaping plan.
“I think it is worth the exploration,” she said. “Having said that, it is absolutely essential that we create the opportunity for housing like this.”
Thornton-Joe was adamant that the building do more than just provide shelter.
“I just feel that there could be so much more that could be done to make it not just housing but a home, so I’m hoping that the architect will use some creativity and make it more welcoming,” she said.
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