The proposed redevelopment of the Christie Point lands in View Royal has prompted much discussion in the community.
There are those who feel that creating 473 housing units where there is currently 161, in an area with only one road in and out, would further hamper traffic flow during commuting times on Island Highway no matter how that road’s intersection with Shoreline Drive is reconfigured. And there are people who argue that this environmentally sensitive strip of land jutting into Portage Inlet is not the place for a project that dramatically increases the density over the existing layout.
And not least are the current tenants of Christie Point, who worry where they’ll go if forced to leave this pet-friendly complex, even though they have been promised first right of refusal on the new rental suites by Toronto-based Realstar Management, which owns and manages the 15.8-hectare property.
The company is looking to “reimagine” the setting by replacing the existing 1960s-built two-storey apartment and townhome buildings with a collection of modern, purpose-built rental buildings between four and six storeys each, as well as upgrading the landscaping and contributing to infrastructure improvements in the general area.
Mayor David Screech has heard the concerns of tenants – they're scheduled to speak at the start of tomorrow night's (Jan. 17) council meeting – as well as neighbours and environmental groups as the Realstar proposal moves through the consultation phase with Christie Point residents, the Town of View Royal, local First Nations and the public.
Some have voiced support while others are lukewarm to the proposal, he said. As to who is contacting him most frequently, Screech said it is “overwhelmingly” the existing residents, who, he said, “wonder about their future.”
Tenants of the two- and three-bedroom units on site, especially, worry about the availability of similarly priced or configured suites nearby, he said, not to mention the vacancy rate in the region of less than one per cent. “I’m meeting on Friday with four or five of them,” the mayor said last week.
Concern over the placement of the current residents is of paramount concern to Realstar, said Heather Grey-Wolf, its vice-president of development. Company representatives have always tried to meet with residents first with any news or updates, she said, so they hear it from the source rather than in the media.
Realstar has put together a package for those who may be displaced by the project, one that Grey-Wolf said “far exceeds the requirements of the Residential Tenancy Act.” Not only would the company give six months notice instead of the two months required for demolition or improvements, they plan to give one’s month rent compensation and cover relocation costs including moving expenses, service disconnection and reconnection fees and mail forwarding.
The current sprawling apartment and townhome complex, which is not considered a subsidized housing project, has about 30 per cent turnover annually, Grey-Wolf said. With plans possibly calling for a phasing of the redevelopment, a certain number of displaced tenants could move into vacated suites in the interim.
“Once we know we’re proceeding, we’ll start holding vacancies to allow some residents to move within Christie Point,” she said, adding that the reality is the majority of residents will likely move elsewhere. “We recognize that with the market being as tight as it is, that’s going to be a big challenge for people.”
While this project addresses the need for more rental housing in the region, Grey-Wolf noted, Realstar is not in the affordable housing business. That is part of the reason the company has committed to donating $1 million to the region’s Affordable Housing Trust Program, she said. “We’re trying to do our part to help address that challenge.”
From a technical standpoint, Realstar has made a number of changes to its original plans for the estimated $200-million project, taking away the nine-storey buildings and further reducing the massing of the buildings from the plans shown to the public last fall.
“The official community plan approved in 2011 always envisioned redevelopment at Christie Point and spoke to density that’s higher than what we are proposing,” Grey-Wolf said, acknowledging that the OCP calls for three- and four-storey structures. “I think [by] ranging the buildings from four to six storeys … we’re pretty close to the spirit and the intent of that policy.”
Barb Fetherstonhaugh, who chairs the View Royal Community Association, said for the general community, the issues of traffic and right-sized, appropriate development are of foremost importance.
“Traffic is the worst part of it no matter what. It seems like it’s just going to be accepted that there’s going to be more traffic, more congestion in that area,” she said.
Grey-Wolf stressed that the new development would have “almost zero impact” on traffic congestion in the area, based on modelling done by their consultants. She added that Realstar has taken the step of asking for a reduction in parking requirements, and also plans to make serious efforts to encourage new residents to ride share or use alternative forms of transportation.
Screech, cautious not to come across as either publicly supporting or opposing the project at this early point in the process, said any concerns over the future of the intersection of Shoreline Drive and Island Highway are “all very legitimate questions … how does that get reconfigured?”
While consultants’ renderings of the proposal from points of view around Portage Inlet show the buildings fitting well into its surroundings, Fetherstonhaugh noted, “there’s still a big possibility that this is going to completely change that area for the residents who live on the water.”
Not only that, she added, there’s a very real possibility that the development will be out of the price range for the people who are living there now.
The latest version of the development proposal is available at christiepoint.ca.
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Residents speak out via petition
Christie Point residents gave reasons why they signed a petition at change.org organized by Christie Point Advocates against the current proposal by Realstar.
Here’s a few of their postings:
“Unfortunately my husband and I (and most tenants here), if the rezoning/redevelopment goes through, will not be able to afford the rental cost for the water view apartments Realstar plans to build … In my opinion, the timing for this redevelopment is off … finding other accommodations in the current rental climate in and around Victoria will be extremely difficult, if downright impossible for folks who moved here because they could have pets. – Barbara Cowling, 24-year resident
“Because we really enjoy our home and would like our situation to remain the same if this goes through … we need our rent, pet and traffic safety to remain the same.” – Tina Fudge
“My partner and I are elderly seniors with a loving dog that is family … [we] are going through physical health problems, can not handle the stress, besides we know there is no place rentable for us out there! We also know the terrible impact this will have in this Christie Point, View Royal and surrounding areas etc., etc. – Mavis Kennedy
“… there is a combination of 161 units made up of young families and seniors that will be displaced into an already saturated rental market that will cause a lot of unnecessary stress and tears for a lot of the residents. One of the great things about Christie Point is the cost. That being said Realstar just has the dollar signs in their eyes and are trying to sugar coat their proposal to town council by offering donations, upgrades to the area at their cost to get the job done … unfortunately if this goes through we will lose our sense of our little community and [be] priced out of the area. – Ray Cluney, he and his family just moved from Alberta