Address:
310-338 Michigan Street is a proposal to build two four-storey affordable rental complexes along the 300-block of Michigan Street in the City of Victoria's James Bay neighbourhood. The two buildings will be connected by a multi-storey skywalk above a breezeway.
The development will replace three affordable rental buildings currently comprised of 62-units (known as Michigan Square), while a heritage home along the northern portion of the property (fronting onto Superior Street) will be modernized and retained as a nine-unit apartment.
Click here to learn how to keep your data current and how to upgrade to a Citified Plus project profile.
Citified profile: https://victoria.citified.ca/rentals/310-338-michigan-street/
Click here to view attachment.
An artist's rendering of 310-338 Michigan Street, a two-building, four-storey redevelopment of James Bay's Michigan Square affordable housing complex. Water penetration issues affecing the lower levels of the existing buildings and an underground parking component have necessitated redevelopment of the Capital Region Housing Corporation-owned property.
97-unit affordable rental project to replace aging CRD apartments in James Bay
/news/97-unit-affordable-rental-project-to-replace-aging-crd-apartments-in-james-bay/
Given the fact that the City is contributing a cash grant to the project, is there any realistic chance that this *won't* be approved by council? Don't get me wrong: I'm (personally) not opposed to this project, but if it goes to a public hearing I wonder if anyone opposed to the project would be discouraged from speaking against it if they feel like it's a 'done deal'? Perhaps it's a chicken and egg thing: ideally, grants for affordable housing projects would only be awarded after council approval of the development to preserve impartiality at these public hearings, but presumably some proposals need these cash grants up front to make them viable enough to be presented to council in the first place ...
If rezoning was required, then I'd be more concerned. This one is just a DP with variance, so really the only thing being approved by Council is the look of the thing, not the land use. FWIW, the two variances requested are site coverage (45.2% proposed versus 40% permitted) and setbacks (5.78 m and 6.0 m proposed versus 7.5 m required).
If rezoning was required, then I'd be more concerned. This one is just a DP with variance, so really the only thing being approved by Council is the look of the thing, not the land use. FWIW, the two variances requested are site coverage (45.2% proposed versus 40% permitted) and setbacks (5.78 m and 6.0 m proposed versus 7.5 m required).
The city also allocated a grant to 2558 Quadra Street, which *is* requesting a rezoning, so perhaps that project is a bigger issue than this one.
I assume that some neighbours could object to the design of 310/338 Michigan, but perhaps there will be chances for these concerns to be addressed via ADP (and back to CALUC if changes are substantial enough).

Regional Housing First Program delivers 282-units of affordable homes in Langford and View Royal
The one and two-bedroom apartments are part of a 2,000-unit affordable housing program spearheaded by the Capital Regional District.

97-unit affordable rental project to replace aging CRD apartments in James Bay
Two four-storey buildings are planned to replace a trio of three and two-storey affordable rental complexes along Michigan Street.