1,900-unit overhaul of underused Vic West heritage site faces further revisions

Victoria will try to keep refining the building orientation in a major overhaul of Vic West’s harbour that’s been in the works for about 15 years.

The Roundhouse at Bayview Place development is a comprehensive reimagining of the area within Catherine, Esquimalt, Sitkum and Kimta roads – bisected by the E&N Railway – and is the second phase of the 20-acre project after the Hillside redevelopment directly to the east.

The Roundhouse portion looks to build nine towers, ranging from 18 to 29 storeys, consisting of 76,000 square feet of commercial space, condos, hotels and 156 below-market rental units on a site located in the vicinity of a historic Songhees village and was used by the Lekwungen people for thousands of years before it became industrial lands.

Victoria staff said the site is currently underutilized with much of it left vacant and the project looks to weave numerous public plazas, open spaces and multi-use pathways around the revitalized heritage buildings.

Council on Thursday (May 4) opted to go with 60 days of required consultation with stakeholders like neighbouring residents, Esquimalt, First Nations and the Greater Victoria School District. That will be done concurrently with staff working with the developer to revise some of the proposal’s details.

Bayview Place developer Focus Equities’ updated rezoning package – labelled with “final submission” – includes a master plan that envisions a climate-change-ready, highly livable urban neighbourhood in the heart of Vic West that would provide: housing diversity; a transportation hub for all ages, abilities and modes of transit; and strategic densification near downtown.

The project’s name comes from the E&N Railway Roundhouse and its five other associated buildings that were built in 1913 and hold National Historic Site status. Focus Equities’ application said its proposal would complement the heritage complex by making it the neighbourhood centrepiece and an adjacent turntable plaza would provide cultural and commercial programming.

The developer wants that plaza to be a community gathering spot and would also establish a retail boardwalk along Esquimalt Road. The proposal also looks to add bike and pedestrian paths along the E&N Railway, which would need to be realigned for the project but would have to allow for the potential of light rail transit in the future.

Council is asking the 1,900-unit, condo-driven proposal’s density to land around a 4.4 floor space ratio after 4.75 was pitched in the latest update. That request asks the developer to consider revising the massing of various buildings to include more below-market and purpose-built rental units.

Staff flagged concern about the scale of buildings beside the heritage buildings being too imposing and said reducing the heights of the adjacent buildings while reallocating the density elsewhere “would help to minimize the impact on this historic area and will help allow the precinct to be viewed coherently and from more vantage points as a whole entity.”

Staff said that further revisions will look to create a more gradual transition in building height from the neighbouring areas. That could see the maximum heights of some buildings pushed to around 32 storeys as thinner towers would be placed on wider podium bases. That would increase tower separation, which staff said would reduce the various structures looking like a single mass, allow more light to reach the ground, reduce wind channel effect and increase privacy.

Council has also asked the developer to look at including various aspects like a daycare, health-care clinic, amenities for kids and teens, event space and more.

READ: Bayview Place developers pitch almost 2,000 units for Vic West site