A proposed 14-storey rental unit building at the corner of Quadra and Johnson streets is heading to a public hearing.
The building at 1400-1402 Quadra Street would offer 113 suites, including 12 studios, 56 one-bedrooms, 42 two-bedrooms, and three three-bedroom units, ranging in size from 430 sq. ft to 880 sq. ft., as well as ground floor commercial use.
The rental units would sit right next to one of the largest single low-barrier housing facilities in the province at 844 Johnson St., which has received public push back as well as complaints about living conditions from building residents, many of whom lived in the Courtney Street Tent City in 2015.
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When the proposed rental building was discussed with the Victoria Downtown Residents Association in May 2018, members asked the representative of the architectural firm, de Hoog and Kierulf Architects, if the proposed building would “improve the neighbourhood.”
The response was that having more residents in the area would provide more “eyes on the street” with the expectation that there would be an improvement to local conditions.
| A 14-storey rental unit building at 1400 Quadra St. has been approved for rezoning and will go to a public hearing. (City of Victoria) |
City staff have recommended that City Council decline the rezoning application for the project, citing inconsistencies with the Official Community Plan (OCP), which sees the area as a business oriented, or the Downtown Core Area Plan (DCAP), which sites improper density ratios between business and residential units.
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Despite these suggestions, City Council approved the project’s rezoning application, after noting the appeal of having over 100 permanent rental units in the downtown area.
The next step for the project is to go to a public hearing, but a date has not been set yet.