View Royal council has granted approvals for a two-building, 238-suite rental development at the site of Island Highway’s Cambridge Motel opposite Fort Victoria RV Park.

 

 

Developer Boardwalk with partner Invictus Commercial Investment Corp. initially envisioned a four then later three-building project with approximately 260 residences in massings of up to seven storeys tall, before reducing height and pitching two six-storey buildings with a density of just under 240 homes.

 

Earlier this month, View Royal council held a public hearing for Boardwalk’s and Invictus Commercial’s rezoning application with an official community plan variance for 339-345 Island Highway.

 

Units will range from entry-level studio layouts to family-oriented three-bedroom homes. Parking will be within an underground parkade, and a central square will be constructed between the woodframed lowrises.

 

The properties are currently home to the mid-20th century-built Cambridge Motel (at 341 and 345 Island Highway), which has been converted into a rental community, and a duplex at 339 Island Highway. The lands are between View Royal's new fire hall, and Prince Robert Drive.

 

Project architect Rob Whetter of Victoria-based de Hoog & Kierulf Architects described the existing structures in a letter addressed to View Royal council, as “nearing the end of their usefulness,” and as offering “limited benefit to the community,” and went on to say:

 

"This redevelopment site is uniquely situated to allow for growth with minimal impact to residential neighbours. The RV Park across the road is intended to similarly densify into the new town centre. The firehall flanks the eastern side. The south neighbours are separated from the site by a wooded right-of-way running the length of the property; and these houses sit much higher than the proposed new buildings with views across the peninsula uninterrupted by the proposed new construction.

 

"The two vehicle access points connect with Prince Robert Drive. Street-facing ground floor units connect to both Prince Robert Drive and Island Highway, with terraced patios and individual entries from the sidewalk. The buildings are stepped to follow the natural topography and limit the amount of blasting required. Many of the existing trees will be preserved, particularly where they provide green buffering to neighbouring properties. The retained trees combined with new trees will create an interconnected series of usable outdoor spaces for residents and provide a positive contribution to neighbourhood character.”

 

 

With site access off Prince Robert Drive, the proponents say beautification of the streetscape along Island Highway and improvements to pedestrian and cycling infrastructure will create a cohesive frontage, depicted as a sidewalk moved further from the road, a cycling lane, and a BC Transit bus stop.

 

 

Boardwalk, meanwhile, is currently building Aspire, a six-storey, three-building rental community in View Royal at Helmcken Road and Burnside Road West. Aspire will deliver over 230 rental homes. In Esquimalt, the company has secured approvals for The Marin, a five-storey rental development comprised of over 200-units on Fraser Street at Carlisle Avenue, where work is beginning.

 

View Royal’s Island Highway corridor from the Esquimalt border through to the four-lane portion feeding into and from the Trans Canada Highway has seen a significant volume of development interest in recent years.

 

Completed is Maija London, a four-storey condominium at 280 Island Highway. Several lots to its east, developer TLA has re-started construction at its four-storey Skyeview condominium project at 244 Island Highway. Further east at 167-171 Island Highway, The Grand and Fir (a five-storey condominium) is in pre-sales, while west of all the aforementioned projects, The Royale, a six-storey condominium at 298 Island Highway, is under construction and also selling inventory. C

 

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