A project to replace 23 buildings of lower-cost housing on Blanshard Street with nine new residential buildings, including multiple towers, has cleared the first hurdle at Victoria city hall.
Victoria council on Monday voted unanimously in favour of a rezoning application from B.C. Housing for redevelopment of Evergreen Terrace, which is spread along two blocks of Blanshard near Hillside Avenue.
The project includes one 20-storey, three 15-storey and five six-storey buildings. It is to be built over 10 to 20 years. The planned 900 residential units would replace 196 currently on site.
Some council members said B.C. Housing was not ambitious enough in its plans for the eight acres.
“This is a really rare opportunity, this development, and unfortunately I think it’s a partly missed opportunity,” said Coun. Dave Thompson. “I was hoping to see something much more ambitious than what we’ve got in front of us. Especially given that this is affordable housing and public housing.”
Thompson said the project should be taking into account what housing needs will likely be in 20 years.
Mayor Marianne Alto called the project “modest,” saying she hopes B.C. Housing will come back and ask for more.
Council has directed staff to discuss with B.C. Housing the potential for adding more affordable homes, including for people with low and very low incomes.
The project currently envisions renting out 341 units at below-market rates.
Lauren Antifeau, B.C. Housing’s provincial director of redevelopment, said the project is the largest in the organization’s history and will replace buildings erected in the 1970s that are at the end of their operational life.
While B.C. Housing won’t make significant new investments in the existing buildings, it will ensure current tenants “remain comfortable for as long as it will take us to build out this master plan,” she said.
Antifeau said the master plan will require ongoing refinement with the city.
The most recent information from B.C. Housing notes that for Greater Victoria there were 3,379 applicants on B.C. Housing’s housing registry and 1,148 people on the supportive housing registry at the end of 2024.
The housing registry is an application database for people in search of subsidized rental housing where rent is no more than 30% of gross monthly income, while the supportive housing registry is an application database for people at-risk of or experiencing homelessness who require housing with supports.
“This is a unique opportunity to address that need in a parcel that is so significant, so large and close to downtown,” Antifeau said.
“It will certainly not be the last time that we’re involved with the City of Victoria on this. As each phase goes forward individually into detailed design, our collaboration with the city will only grow.”
The site currently houses 175 low-income townhouses and apartments and 21 supportive-housing units.
The 21 supportive units are in a building called Spaken House near the corner of Hillside and Blanshard. Erected as a temporary structure following a November 2016 fire, Spaken House is operated by the Aboriginal Coalition to End Homelessness as supportive housing for Indigenous women.
The existing buildings are to be removed in phases, and tenants will be supported throughout the development and relocation process, said Antifeau.
B.C. Housing will retain ownership of the land and develop the new housing in partnership with non-profit and market housing providers.
The project envisions a child-care centre with space for as many as 37 children, about 10,000 square feet of multi-purpose amenity space spread around the community, a plaza and park area, potential commercial space and infrastructure upgrades for the surrounding intersections, including bike lanes and transit stops.
Coun. Krista Loughton said she’s concerned that there is not enough subsidy for very-low-income units, which she called a crucial component to alleviating homelessness in Victoria.
Coun. Susan Kim said as someone who grew up in a low-income apartment in Toronto where her view was the dumpster in a concrete parking lot, she would have given anything to have lived in a place like the one B.C. Housing is proposing.
“The idea of having a mixed-income space is deeply personal and real. It ensures that real social cohesion, not just in the project but for the kiddos growing up there in the future,” she said.
The first phase of construction could start this year.
The construction sequence beyond the first phase will depend on market demand, tenant need and other factors. The 20-storey building is proposed for the northwest corner of the site at the corner of Hillside and Blanshard.
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