The giant lot that has sat relatively untouched in Colwood for years could be a hive of activity within months.
A resubmission of the building plans for Colwood Corners is expected to arrive at City Hall before the holidays, as developer Onni Group looks to begin construction in the first half of 2017 on a 10-building project that could reshape the city’s main commercial stretch.
With this latest submission, the Colwood staff are expecting additional information from the developers, including facade details, parking numbers and a revised traffic study. Colwood received Onni’s preliminary application in June and staff immediately began a review of the plans to ensure that they are consistent with the municipality’s Official Community Plan.
Feedback was provided to Onni a little over a month later, which led the developer to submit a revised plan with additional information in November.
This updated application included an extra commercial building in the middle of the site, bringing the development to 10 buildings totalling 14,212 square metres of retail and commercial space and 485 apartment units.
“City staff are also working closely with Onni’s representatives to forward other aspects of the development process … (Those include) civil engineering approvals and ensuring compliance with the development agreement between the developer and the City (that were) registered when the site was originally rezoned in 2008,” noted Colwood director of planning Iain Bourhill in an e-mail.
The plans call for the existing London Drugs building and the neighbouring strip mall to be refurbished, while the Coast Capital and City Centre sales office buildings would be replaced.
Features of the development include green rooftops, urban plazas with outdoor eating areas, frontage improvements along Sooke Road and Galloping Goose Trail connections, according to Bourhill.
Onni Group has offices around North America, including Vancouver and Toronto. The shutdown of the previously slated $1-billion Colwood Corners project, trumpeted by the now insolvent League Assets Corp., called for development of a 26-storey tower among other aspects. The cancellation of those plans left a fenced area adjacent to the London Drugs on Colwood Corners. For nearly three years exposed rebar has been rusting and rainwater has been pooling along the concrete foundation.