Saanich ponders nine-acre project
A wide-ranging development plan by social agencies to map out the future of nine acres in Saanich’s Nigel Valley goes to municipal hall on Monday.
The multi-phase proposal is being led by B.C. Housing, which has worked on the project with Broadmead Care Society, the Capital Mental Health Association, the Garth Homer Foundation, the Provincial Rental Housing Corp. and the District of Saanich.
This site includes 12 properties, five owners and five agencies delivering affordable and social housing, as well as a range of programs.
Saanich council’s committee of the whole will review the application as it determines whether to move the project forward for possible rezoning.
Under the proposal, some property boundaries would change as agencies rebuild and enhance their facilities on land on Vernon and Nigel avenues.
If approved, the zone would permit a building of 16 storeys on Vernon Avenue. The plan includes up to 796 housing units; there are now 186 units in the area. Of the planned total, 581 would be affordable-supportive housing, with the remainder to be market-priced units.
A master development plan, years in the making, lays out a blueprint for a new walkable neighbourhood with outdoor public areas.
A public plaza would be developed on a road right-of-way next to Lochside Regional Trail.
A mid-block neighbourhood park between Darwin and Nigel avenues is planned as well. Nigel Avenue would be extended through the site, and small-scale commercial uses are included in the plan.
Such a rezoning would bring a big change to the area, Saanich Mayor Richard Atwell said. “It’s a multi-year project. It is going to add a lot of supports to people in need in the community. It is also going to bring in a lot of development revenue for the municipality if it goes ahead,” Atwell said.
“It is part of the larger vision of the Uptown-Douglas corridor that’s going to change over the next 10, 20, 30 years, as everything in the area ages and is suitable for replacement.
“It is a rich planning opportunity to maximize the synergies between the municipal hall, Nigel Valley, Uptown, Gateway Village, the Save-On Plaza, the Munro Centre — all of that. It’s all part of a larger vision for this part of town,” Atwell said.
Broadmead Care is aiming to replace its existing Nigel House with a new facility with 41 beds, another 38 units for assisted living and 10 affordable housing units.
Carol Hamill, president of the Mount View Colquitz Community Association, said: “We are strongly supportive of this. This is a very important contribution to the community.”
B.C. Housing has designated two sites, one with the proposed 16-storey limit and another with a five-storey limit, for market-priced housing. Hamill, who has taken part in extensive neighbourhood consultation with B.C. Housing, said that the plan is to sell the sites and she anticipates a purchaser would likely want to build condominiums.
Hamill said the association is concerned that the granting of height approval for the tower, however, would mean losing council’s leverage over the final design of a highrise.
The association is recommending that height be limited to 12, not 16 storeys, a proposal backed by Susan Haddon, president of the Quadra-Cedar Hill Community Association. Haddon said the plans for an inclusive community are “important and exciting. … I think it is a great project.”