Construction is underway in the Township of View Royal on a 234-unit rental community on Helmcken Road at Burnside Road West, while moving forward in tandem is a 55-unit condominium complex on Helmcken Road at Island Highway.

 

 

A three-building rental project, with heights rising to six-storeys, is replacing 12-units of rentals that have reached their end-of-life at 3, 5 and 9 Helmcken Road and 1449 Burnside Road West.

 

Developer Boardwalk REIT has dubbed the project Aspire, and will deliver a mix of one, two and three-bedroom units with over two-thirds of layouts sized at two or three-bedrooms.




Aspire’s three buildings will stand at the perimeter of the Helmcken and Burnside roads development site, with an inner courtyard called a woonerf featuring extensive landscaping at the centre of the land.

 

Victoria-based architectural firm de Hoog & Kierulf describes the design as contributing to a “pedestrian-friendly streetscape with individual at-grade unit entries and green buffering” that “promotes eyes on the street with extensive patios, decks windows and doors at-grade all around the buildings [and] residences [fronting] onto streets.”

 

The architects chose a “west coast character” for the exterior, utilizing wood elements and “high quality” durable materials.

 

Parking will be in the form of a 300-stall underground parkade, with limited short-term surface spots within the woonerf.

 

The project site is just a stone’s throw from the Eagle Creek Village commercial area on Helmcken Road at Watkiss Way opposite Victoria General Hospital, where three rental buildings, an office complex and a shopping plaza were constructed between 2014 and 2019.

 

Aspire will be built over several years.

 

At the southern end of Helmcken Road, a six-storey, 55-unit mixed-use condominium and retail development called The Royale is getting started at 298 Island Highway.

 

Ranging from studio through three-bedroom suites, The Royale will also include a large commercial ground floor that could house a boutique grocery store, such as a Red Barn Market.

 

During the project’s municipal approvals phase that began in 2020, Vancouver-based Ankenman Marchand Architects on behalf of the developer said the development team had been “in discussions with Red Barn Market who have expressed a strong interest in this location and the size of the retail component being offered.”

 

Completion for The Royale is pegged for 2024. Pre-sales are on-going.

 

The two construction sites have padded View Royal’s upcoming home inventory to 570-units of high density rental housing plus 91 condominiums, according to Citified’s data. Aspire and The Royale join The Blueprint, comprised of 336 rental units on Erskine Way, and Skyeview, with 37 condominums, at 242-244 Island Highway. C

 

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