One of the oldest and most recognizable houses on the Saanich Peninsula will be moved, divided into apartments and undergo exterior restoration.
It鈥檚 part of a new development that features six market-value townhouses and 40 low-income units to be managed by the Greater Victoria Housing Society 鈥� the first such project in the district in many decades.
The 1911 Verdier house in Brentwood Bay will be moved about 80 feet from its current site at 7247 West Saanich Rd., turned into six to eight rental suites and brought back to heritage-designation standards, said developer Matt Peulen. It will front on Stellys Cross Road instead of West Saanich, with only a standard setback from the road, while a four-storey building aimed at low-income seniors and workers and townhouses will be built in the central area of the lot where the house now sits.
Peulen said he hopes to move the 6,600-square-foot house in March to create the space for the other housing units. The Verdier house is a landmark built for Frank Verdier, who helped to plan the Malahat highway. Local residents and council made it clear that it is 鈥渁 focal point of the community,鈥� Peulen said.
The house now sits 82 feet from the sidewalk on West Saanich and after relocation will be 25 feet from the sidewalk on Stellys, making it 鈥渋n some ways more visible and prominent.鈥�
The project is believed to be the first major low-income housing project in Central Saanich since 77 units of the J.O. Anderson Annex on East Saanich Road went up in the 1960s.
The plan will go to fourth and final reading for rezoning by Central Saanich council this month.
鈥淚t would be a first of its kind,鈥� Mayor Ryan Windsor said.
Peulen, vice-president of Metropolitan Capital Partners, bought the nearly one-acre property in 2014, and approached the housing society after hearing about its affordable projects from a friend on the society鈥檚 board.
The province has committed just over $3 million for the project, funnelled from Ottawa, said society executive director Kaye Melliship.
The 2016 Saanich Peninsula Affordable Housing Needs Assessment Report underscores the dearth of low-income housing for workers, seniors and families on the high-cost Peninsula. Only 30 per cent of Peninsula households are high-income, but 85 per cent of the housing supply now requires a high income to afford, the report noted.
Of the 10,431 social-housing units run by sa国际传媒 Housing in the capital region in 2015, only 280听were in Central Saanich, almost all for seniors, including 89 getting rent supplements, and no units for families.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just really excited to be in Central Saanich, and we do think it鈥檚 an awesome location,鈥� Melliship said, adding it would be 鈥渁t least two years until doors opening.鈥�
听
The height, mass and density of the development came in for criticism from several local residents, according to the minutes of the public hearing held on Dec. 13, although there were also speakers in support. Nor does moving a historic house sit right with some neighbours.
鈥淲e have no issue with it being affordable housing,鈥� Lorraine Butler wrote to the sa国际传媒. 鈥淲e are concerned about the loss of the Verdier house from its place of prominence, located on the rise at the northern entrance to Brentwood Bay, and the height of the apartment building which is surrounded by one-level and two-storey single-family homes, townhouses and a care home.
鈥淚t鈥檚 lamentable that the Verdier house will be lost to the streetscape at the northern entrance to Brentwood Bay, where it has been a landmark for over 100 years.鈥�
Melody Burgoyne told council that the official community plan mandates sensitive residential infill, but 鈥渢his massing is not sensitive,鈥� and questioned where children would be able to play. Despite the density, the development meets and exceeds the principles of the official community plan, said former Central Saanich mayor Alastair Bryson.
John Treleaven, of the Sidney/North Saanich working group on workforce housing, called it 鈥渁n outstanding project,鈥� but nearby resident Rosemary Walters told councillors she had canvassed 60 homes and found 59 were opposed to the development.
鈥淪ocial housing is important, but do we have to destroy one of the district鈥檚 historical treasures to achieve social housing?鈥� she asked. But Sue Stroud, past chair of the Central Saanich heritage committee, called the development extremely important given that helping seniors age in place is of paramount concern.
鈥淚t鈥檚 sad that Verdier house needs to be moved, but it does and requires a new foundation and seismic update,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his development is exactly what is needed, when it is needed.鈥�
Originally, Peulen planned to build five storeys but reduced it to four; neighbours would have preferred three but that would not have been financially viable, he said.
The development will be geared to seniors and lower-wage workers in studios and one-bedroom units ranging from 380听to 585 square feet, with parking underground.
The project is within walking distance to Brentwood village, an aspect that is 鈥渞eally important,鈥� Melliship said. Income testing will help determine the tenants 鈥� 鈥渨ho in the community wants to live there and needs to live there,鈥� she said.
Construction of the apartments is expected to get underway in late summer, with townhouse construction slated for early summer.
鈥淚n spite of fairly significant opposition, it鈥檚 great to see council support this kind of housing. We will work really hard to be good neighbours,鈥� Melliship said. 鈥淚f people want to talk to us about how to minimize the impacts, we will be delighted to talk.鈥�
