Excavation has begun at the site of The Wade, a five-storey, 102-unit condominium and ground floor retail complex on the edge of downtown Victoria’s Harris Green district.

 

Comprised of what will become a restored Medical Arts Building – one of Victoria’s most renowned examples of modernist architecture – and a new-build wing to its south, The Wade mixes old with new in an all-concrete lowrise development east of the city centre.

 

“We are very excited to have excavators on-site,” said developer David Price, partner at Victoria-based Tenfold Projects. “Crews are ripping up the surface parking lot today and by Wednesday there will be lots of visible progress.”

 

Although not nearly as big of a visual draw as excavators and trucks, remediation of The Wade’s historic wing began earlier this summer as workers began gutting the interior of the storied office building in preparation for a modern retrofit.

 

“You wouldn’t have necessarily noticed it when walking by but we began construction of The Wade months ago,” Price said, adding that the Medical Arts Building’s remediation was always considered the “first step of moving the project from a conceptual stage to reality” while excavation would signal the start of construction of the new-build wing and its underground component.

 

With unit sales just shy of a full sell-out, Price’s partner Max Tomaszewski says the popularity of the project among buyers, and a large draw for those weighing the region’s pre-sale condominium options, has been its unique urban living amenity package that will introduce Victoria’s first ‘farm-to-table’ vegetable, herb and flower green roof with plots individually assigned to each residence.

 

“A big selling point for us has been a rooftop that brings nature back into the city with private gardens. Our purchasers have been very receptive to the emphasis we’re placing on the shared spaces they’ll get to enjoy,” Tomaszewski said.

 

Tenfold’s premise behind The Wade’s well-apportioned private sanctuary is a reflection of the company’s ‘forward living’ mantra that meshes modern architecture with expansive, usable outdoor spaces, a concept Tenfold believes will become more common as Victoria continues to densify and draw more residents to the city.

 

“Utilizing rooftops and courtyards to their fullest potential is where the industry is headed, but we haven’t seen a lot of that in Victoria,” Tomaszewski said. “Moving to a city centre doesn’t mean you have to give up on the things that matter to so many of us, and we’re excited by the opportunity to redefine what it means to incorporate green spaces in a downtown development.”

 

The Wade’s remaining all-concrete units are priced from $261,900 and are available in studio, junior one-bedroom, one-bedroom plus-den and two-bedroom plus-den configurations.

 

The project’s show suite, situated at 2-1315 Cook Street between Yates and Johnson streets, is open Saturday through Thursday, 11AM-to-4PM. With construction now underway, residential occupancy is expected by early 2019. C