Downtown Victoria’s Fountain Tire automotive shop and several adjacent parcels between Herald and Chatham streets could soon make way for a significant redevelopment effort in Old Town.

 

 

Nicola Wealth Real-Estate and Denciti Development are in the early stages of seeking a development permit with variances to transform 611-635 Chatham Street and 610-618 Herald Street into a two-building, nearly 275-unit rental complex with ground floor retail space.

 

The property site plan extends from 611 Chatham Street, a two-storey vacant building that spans between the Victoria Transmission and Island Torque Converter buildings at 1885 Government Street, to a surface parking lot mid-way down the block at 635 Chatham Street. 610 Herald Street, the location of Fountain Tire, includes half of Government Street’s 1800-block frontage, and extends east to a single-storey building at 618 Herald Street. An adjacent surface lot is not included in the mix.

 

An aerial view of the 600-blocks of Chatham and Herald streets between Douglas and Government streets in downtown Victoria. A proposal to redevelop 611-635 Chatham Street and 610-618 Herald Street into mixed-use rental apartments and commercial spaces, identified in blue, is in the early stages of the municipal planning process.  Citified.ca

 

The proponents envision a duo of five-storey woodframe structures comprised of a mix of studio, one-bedroom, one-bedroom plus-den, and two-bedroom layouts, with one-third of homes offered as two-bedroom floorplans.

 

An underground parking garage would be accessible via Chatham Street, while the building footprints would yield an internal courtyard to break up massing in the area.

 
Nicola Wealth's and Denciti's acquisition does not include the Victoria Transmission and Victoria Torque Converter facilities at 1885 Government Street.

 

The northern perimeter of downtown Victoria has undergone significant change in recent years, with multiple developments transforming surface parking lots or under-utilized parcels into mixed-use residential and commercial buildings.

 

Recent completions include the Hudson District’s Hudson Place One condominium tower, rising to 25-storeys and standing as the Island’s tallest building a block to the east at 777 Herald Street, and Ironworks, a low-rise condominium one block to the west with frontage onto Chatham and Store streets.

 

Recent land deals in the immediate area include the purchase of Paul’s Motor Inn on Chatham Street at Douglas Street by the provincial government for use as a temporary housing facility for homeless individuals, and Reliance Properties’ acquisition of the Capital Iron lands, a multi-acre holding that includes waterfront property at the foot of Chatham Street at Store Street and an expansive surface parking lot opposite the Ironworks development. C

 

Receive Citified's timely real-estate news straight to your inbox. Sign up for our newsletter, and connect with us on Facebook: