A proposal to redevelop a James Bay multi-unit heritage home into a below-market rental complex is now before the City of Victoria.

 

Proposed by Oak Bay-based Oeza Developments is a 24-unit, six-storey studio and one-bedroom project at 50 Government Street that, if approved, will rise as a book-end at the western edge of Battery Street (a small thoroughfare connecting Government Street with Douglas Street). Currently on the property sits a non-designated heritage home dating to 1910 that is broken up into four suites. The condition of the structure is described by the applicant as being in “poor repair," “not attractive,” and as “non-heritage.”

 

Oeza describes its plans as both environmentally forward – through a pledge to build the apartments to “the highest tier of step code” (a BC Building Code cascading set of goals for energy use and efficiencies) while targeting a green building standard known as Passive House – and affordable, by way of collaboration with BC Housing to secure low-interest financing among other options in order to provide the units as below-market rentals.

 

In a letter drafted to the City of Victoria, Oeza says the building will include “generous bicycle infrastructure, including e-bike charging, and that “all parking stalls will be able to accommodate electric vehicle charging.” Architectural drawings show six surface parking stalls below the second-storey.

 

A rendering of 50 Government Street, as seen from Battery Street.  Oeza Developments

 

Already zoned for a six-storey structure, the developer is seeking a rezoning and an official community plan (OCP) amendment to increase the floor space ratio relative to the property size, a higher lot coverage, less parking, and decreased building setbacks.

 

Architectural firm Waymark has drafted a design calling for small suites of up to 600 square feet in size, with balconies and a rooftop amenity space for residents. In terms of architectural design, the facade along Government Street is of a see-through material facing east, while mono-coloured panelling is used throughout the building’s north, south and west facades, accented by window panes balcony railings.

 

Oeza also describes its effort as furthering decolonization by way of a three-storey art piece designed by a local First Nations artist that will be installed along the Government Street facade and prominently viewable from Battery Street. A conceptual design of the installation depicts a vertical form featuring three salmon in a First Nations style.

 

“This offering to the public realm is meant to promote decolonization and promote the importance of integrating First Nations culture into future developments in Victoria,” Oeza states in its letter.

 

Although the proposal’s height is a departure from the immediate area’s built form dominated by turn-of-the-20th-century single-family-dwellings (some already used as multi-unit housing), nearby buildings are scaled at similar and even taller massings, including heights of up to 12-storeys. C

 

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