A Vancouver-based developer got another chance this week to revise its plans for a 23-storey rental tower on View Street that would dwarf the neighbouring 19-storey View Towers.
The 269-unit development proposed by Nelson Investments — a Vancouver investment firm that bought Pacific Sands Beach Resort in Tofino in 2015 — has been in the works since 2017 and has had to undergo a series of design revisions due to feedback from the city.
The plan for 937 View St. was last rejected by the previous city council on advice of city staff in the spring of 2022. At that time, it was envisioned as a 19-storey, 266-unit building, but council didn’t like its size, shading and failure to conform with design guidelines.
There were also concerns about the livability of the small units proposed, which ranged from 314 to 523 square feet, and the fact there was no parking for the 266 units.
This time, city staff wanted to decline the project again due to insufficient setbacks and the potential impact on adjacent undeveloped sites. There is still no parking and the units remain small — in the latest proposal, the average size of a unit is now 389 square feet.
The project requires a variance, since the site is zoned for 10 storeys, while the downtown area plan guidelines suggest 15. But council decided to keep the proposal alive as long as the developer meets several conditions, including incorporating wind-mitigation features, adding significant indoor and outdoor amenities for tenants, revising its bike and mobility-scooter parking configurations and ensuring the building design does not hinder the ability to construct a building at the vacant adjacent site at 930 Fort St.
Coun. Jeremy Caradonna urged Nelson Investments to consider purchasing the Fort Street site, which is currently for sale, to consolidate the lands for a better overall project.
A motion to refer the design back to staff to work with the applicant again was defeated 5-4.
Some councillors worried about the livability of the building given the size of the suites and lack of amenities and hoped to see changes brought forward before council made a decision.
Councillors Chris Coleman and Dave Thompson both argued that it was time for council to make a decision on the project.
Coleman noted councils have repeatedly said they want something to happen on the site — which is currently a parking lot — and have kept sending it back for revisions.
“I think council, with the best of intentions, has tried to keep this alive and hasn’t taken the tough position of either declining or sending it to public hearing, where it may fail,” he said.
Thompson said council needs to stop “kicking it back to staff with some vague guidance.”
“We’re in a housing crisis, especially acute for people who are perhaps at the middle to lower end of the income spectrum.”
The proponent has volunteered a $405,000 contribution that council said would be split between the housing reserve fund and the local amenities fund.
There is expected to be an opportunity for public comment about the proposal at a future council date.
