A development proposal for the 2400-block of Eastdowne Road in Oak Bay could deliver the first medium-sized rental building to Oak Bay since the 2017 completion of a three-storey complex along Oak Bay Avenue.

 

 

Oak Bay-based Hillel Architecture has submitted plans to the District for 18 one and two-bedroom suites across four storeys and surface parking accommodating ten vehicles, on a roughly quarter-acre lot on Eastdowne Road at Fair Street not far from Oak Bay high school. A rooftop patio is depicted as accessible to residents as a common space, and bicycle storage will be available in a basement.

 

If approved, the woodframed lowrise would replace a single floor duplex dating to 1951, according to BC Assessment, which also shows a sale of the property occurred in 2022 for $1.55 million. Surrounding the site are multiple multi-unit buildings standing three and four storeys tall.

 

Despite a relatively small density of only 18 units, the project would deliver the largest infusion of purpose-built rental housing to Oak Bay in recent years, eclipsing a 17-unit three-storey rental development known as The Clive, built seven years ago just east of Oak Bay Village along Oak Bay Avenue. The density also surpasses a recently approved, albeit highly contentious, 15-unit condominium near The Clive along Oak Bay Avenue, known as The Quest.

 

The largest residential project built in recent times in Oak Bay is Bowker Collection, a 43-suite condominium completed in 2020 on Bowker Avenue at Cadboro Bay Road. It followed a lengthy redevelopment of the Oak Bay Beach Hotel that completed in 2013, and included 14 luxury homes that hit the market in 2017. Earlier this year, six rental homes were built as part of a redevelopment on St. Patrick Street at Central Avenue.

 

Oak Bay has been the focus of much housing-related debate since the provincial government released housing completion quota for the municipality calling for the delivery of 664 net new residential units by the late 2020s. Based on the current volume of development applications, it is unlikely the provincial target will be met.

 

 

However, the municipality is currently engaged in a planning process for lands formerly occupied by the Oak Bay Lodge, a seniors housing facility replaced by a modern long-term care home along Hillside Avenue in Victoria. The lodge was razed soon after it was vacated in 2020. The lodge lands could accommodate hundreds of residential units, theoretically.

 

A redevelopment opportunity is also possible at Turkey Head overlooking the Salish Sea, where the Oak Bay Marine Group leases land, but recently closed its long-time Marina restaurant that drew diners from across the Capital Region. Turkey Head is currently used as public parking, primarily. Several years ago, a plan was afoot to utilize the waterfront acreage for market spaces and public events. That agenda, despite receiving approval from Oak Bay council, has not materialized. C

 

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