A vital influx of housing and creating a new community hub that will bring people together in an underused plot of Vic West, versus building a monstrosity of towers that will overpower the neighbourhood. The public was split when it got to speak on the Roundhouse at Bayview Place proposal.
The public hearing for the project, which includes 1,900 housing units spread across several towers ranging from 10 to 32 storeys, began on Jan. 11.
The comprehensive reimagining of the area within Catherine, Esquimalt, Sitkum and Kimta roads – bisected by the E&N Railway – is the second phase of the 20-acre project after the Hillside redevelopment directly to the east. It will also feature commercial spaces, new public plazas and dedicate about 40 per cent of the property to open space.
In a presentation that preceded the public hearing, representatives for the proposal billed the Roundhouse as a complete community with a broad range of housing types to accommodate a diverse resident population. They also said the project will add almost $90 million in public amenities to the site, improve adjacent parks, serve as a transit and active transportation hub and rehabilitate the site’s heritage elements.
Over the course of 2023, the plans have been updated to reduce the density by creating slimmer towers. That would also see five storeys added to a building hosting affordable housing along with seven additional stories of rental housing across the condo-driven proposal.
Jonathan Tinney, one of the proposal’s representatives, said while it’s true the project’s density eclipses that in Victoria’s Official Community Plan, he argued “that increasing the density here is wholly within the intent of the OCP and the goals it is trying to achieve.” During the public hearing, many detractors also took aim at the heights and density being more than what’s in the OCP – though absent was any mention that the planning document is being updated.
The updated Roundhouse plans reduced the height of a building along Esquimalt Road by 13 storeys to make the structure less imposing on industrial buildings that hold National Historic Site status and are set to be revitalized. The project site is located in the vicinity of a historic Songhees village and was used by the Lekwungen people for thousands of years before it became industrial land.
Many opponents still said the project would overpower the heritage buildings and diminish their value, while supporters pointed to how the development would revitalize those elements and the derelict area where they stand so people can appreciate the heritage site.
The applicants said a major goal of the proposal is to bring new life to the historical site.
“Heritage has always been at the heart of the project and through redevelopment the site’s history can be reserved, celebrated and experienced by the community,” said Jennifer Kay, a planner with the project.
Several among those against said they’re not opposed to more housing, but that the proposal represented the wrong kind of housing. Supporters said the location – situated under a kilometre from downtown – makes it ideal for development and emphasizes walkability, cycling and transit.
Opportunities for people to speak live or call into the hearing have concluded but the public session continues on Monday night when council will watch hours of video submissions.
READ: January public hearing eyed for 1,900-unit Vic West redevelopment