Over 1,600 purpose-built rental units are under construction throughout metropolitan Victoria, according to Citified’s data.

 

The construction spurt comes at a time when the regional apartment vacancy rate is hovering at or below 0.5%, resulting in tight competition among renters and upwards pressure on rental rates.

 

Just under one-third of the upcoming inventory is spread among projects in Victoria’s downtown core, including the 15-storey, 106-unit Hudson Walk Two tower along the 700-block of Caledonia Avenue, the 209-unit Yello on Yates – a 15-storey tower between the 800-blocks of Yates and View Streets – and 1075 Pandora, a 13-storey complex with 134-units rising on Pandora Avenue at Cook Street. Also underway along the 1000-block of Pandora Avenue at Vancouver Street is a 195-unit six-storey development that will reportedly be home to a Safe-On-Foods, the first full-size grocery store in Victoria’s downtown core.

 

On the Westshore over 70-units are nearing completion in the Hoylake Road area of Millstream Road in the form of a five-storey woodframe building, as is a 51-unit complex along Goldstream Avenue near Veterans Memorial Parkway. On Jacklin Road at Jenkins Road the Cherish Living Group is building Cherish at Central Park, a 169-unit seniors housing complex with 130 purpose-built rentals.

 

On the Saanich Peninsula The Generations, a 48-unit, five-storey building with ground floor retail space is nearly completed along East Saanich Road at Wallace Drive and marks the first purpose-built rental project built on the peninsula in recent years. And in Brentwood Bay a complex that will eventually yield 103 multi-level townhome rentals is underway along Stellys Cross Road near West Saanich Road. The first phase of construction is expected to complete soon.

 

Several hundred affordable rentals make up a significant portion of the upcoming rental inventory. In downtown Sidney the five-storey Aranza mixed-use project is now underway and will yield over 50-units of workforce housing. In downtown Victoria the seven-storey, 65-unit Azzurro is nearing completion on Blanshard Street at Caledonia Avenue, and at Vic West’s Dockside Green development 49-units of apartments and townhomes are underway in the form of two three-storey buildings. Over in Saanich the Mount Douglas Seniors Housing Society has started work on a three-storey, 84-unit seniors housing development on Arrow Road, and along Hillside Avenue near Blanshard Street the Capital Regional District is moving forward on the 320-unit Summit at Quadra Village residential care facility for seniors.

 

The majority of units currently under construction are expected to be completed by 2018.

 

For a complete list of new-build purpose-built rental housing projects rising throughout the region and a list of planned developments, visit Citified’s rentals portal and use the filters to display your desired projects. You can also specify seniors housing and affordable/subsidized housing projects as part of your search. C