The City of Victoria has approved a six storey, 195 unit rental development with nearly 50,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space at 1008 Pandora Avenue.

The project will replace the former St. Andrew’s Elementary School at Vancouver Street and Pandora Avenue that has sat vacant since its closure by the Catholic Diocese of Victoria in 2013.

Developer BlueSky Properties, a subsidiary of Vancouver-based Bosa Properties, will offer units between 453 and 932 square feet in studio, one bedroom and two bedroom layouts. The building will rise to six storeys above Pandora Avenue and Vancouver Street, while tapering to four-storeys along Mason Street. 11-units will be earmarked for rent subsidies as part of an affordable housing initiative. 128 underground parking stalls will be provided for residential use.

Aerial view and approximate massing of 1008 Pandora at Pandora Avenue and Vancouver Street.  Citified.ca.

The ground floor is expected to be anchored by a 35,000 square foot grocery store along Pandora Avenue, while additional commercial units will front onto Vancouver Street. 158 of the site’s 286 underground parking stalls will be reserved for commercial use.

The project’s commercial component supports the City of Victoria’s goal of ensuring 90% of residents throughout the municipality live within 400 meters of a full service grocery store.

Construction of 1008 Pandora Avenue is expected to begin next year with completion by mid-to-late 2017. C

 Article resources

• Learn more about 1008 Pandora on Citified | Discuss 1008 Pandora on VibrantVictoria
• Looking for a new-build rental in Victoria? Search the most comprehensive new-build rental database on Citified
• Share and like this article on Facebook:
   
• Follow Citified on  Twitter
• Connect with Citified on  Facebook:
   

Remaining phases of Railyards development in Vic West revealed