Victoria council has agreed to allow Chard Developments to tweak the design of its already approved mixed-use project at the corner of Douglas Street and Caledonia Avenue, eliminating most of the planned office space in favour of more residential units
Council unanimously approved the changes, which will see an additional 56 housing units in the development, including 43 more rentals, two guest suites and 11 condos.
The project is on a site that had been home to the White Spot restaurant and the Capital City Centre Hotel at 710 Caledonia and 1961 Douglas.
Chard Developments said the changes were required due to the Bank of sa国际传媒’s rate hikes in 2023, which created problems with financing.
Chard asked the city to approve an amendment to the proposal that would allow the company to convert more than 38,000 square feet of office space into residential housing in one of its towers.
In granting approval, council also agreed to slight alterations — between one and two metres — in the heights of the three residential towers and a reduced parking requirement. Residential parking will drop to 221 spaces from 300, and visitor parking will be reduced to 15 from 50 stalls. To offset the parking loss, Chard will expand its bike parking, e-bike and e-scooter share programs, and increase car-share spaces to six stalls from the original two.
The original plan for the Douglas-Caledonia project was to build three residential towers — two 21-storey buildings and one 16-storey building — at the corner of Douglas Street and Caledonia Avenue with about 451 units of housing, 304 of them rental units.
One of the 21-storey towers will house condominiums and the other is planned as market-priced rental units.
The 16-storey tower is planned as below-market-price rental housing to be operated by sa国际传媒 Housing. It will have 133 units and is unchanged by the alterations given initial approval Thursday.
The project will come back to council for final approval in January.
The original plans also called for 97,000 square feet of retail and office space, including a public plaza, a restaurant, childcare facility and full-service grocery store.
There is a related 90-unit supportive housing project, in conjunction with sa国际传媒 Housing, to be built across the street at 722 and 726 Discovery St.
That project, which is being built to house the residents of the Capital City Hotel when it is demolished, will not be affected by the changes.
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