Victoria-based Purdey Group and Aryze Developments have submitted plans to the City of Victoria for a two-building, 13-unit residential complex eyed for a property between the 400-blocks of Parry and Menzies streets in James Bay, Citified has learned.

 

The four and five-storey proposal at 430 Parry Street will replace a single-family-home with a mix of seven studio, live-work and one-bedroom condominium suites plus six two and three-storey stacked townhome residences containing two and three-bedrooms, respectively.

 

Luke Mari, Purdey Group’s director of development, says the project’s primary focus and motivation is to help address the shortage of housing in the Capital Region through a full spectrum of housing choices in an established, inner city neighbourhood. But despite the call for action from politicians and concerns raised by community members over the cost and supply of housing, securing municipal approvals for even small residential developments remains a challenge.

 

“We in Victoria pride ourselves on inclusiveness and openness, yet when it comes to change that could welcome new people into neighbourhoods, our inclusiveness seems to have explicit limits,” Mari wrote to Citified. “We all seem to agree on a macro-scale that something has to be done to improve housing supply, until it impacts our ability to find an immediate parking spot.”

 

The overarching attitude towards developments in Victoria's established residential neighbourhood aside, Mari believes his team's concept will fit in with the overall urban fabric of James Bay with a scale and architectural design complementary to its immediate surroundings and in-keeping with the City of Victoria's official community plan.

 

As proposed, the project’s parking will be limited to nine stalls situated at-grade below the two buildings. A tenth on-street stall will be reserved for a Modo car share vehicle paid for by the developers and available to residents in perpetuity through a membership program tied to the 13 strata units.

 

Private rooftop decks will be offered atop the four-storey building for residents of the two-storey townhomes units while amenities for all residents will focus on the pedestrian and cycling realms. Access to residences will be via outdoor walkways in lieu of shared interior hallways.

 

Municipal approvals are expected this year with a construction start likely targeted for some time in 2019.

 

“In our view,” Mari writes as part of the proposal’s official application package submitted to the City, “this development supports values that ultimately will lead us into the future. It is inclusionary, walkable, amenity rich, and designed to be neighbourly to the existing area. Utilizing principles to support attainability by design, we hope this project will in a small way help maintain the vitality of the neighbourhood, creating a richer environment for everyone to enjoy.” C