The projected budget to fully redevelop Saanich’s operations centre site is likely to be well north of $200 million and construction won’t start for at least three years, says a progress report provided to Saanich council.
In addition to new facilities for municipal services, the site would have residential and commercial spaces with buildings that could be as high as 18 storeys, to be built with developer partners. Restoration of Public Works Creek, which runs through the property, would be included in the project.
Saanich will likely lease rather than sell land to developer partners.
To redevelop the site, Saanich plans to move its parks maintenance group to a three-acre industrial property it bought from Don Mann Excavating in the 4000-block of Lochside Drive. That would allow for a new operations centre concept that could include 1,200 residential units, commercial space and office space for Saanich’s departments.
The report noted that construction would not start before the fourth quarter of 2027 and that Saanich requires an electoral approval process — likely in the fourth quarter of this year or the first quarter of 2025 — to permit the district to borrow for the project.
Mayor Dean Murdock asked when council will know what the project will cost and how much the district will have to borrow, but there was no solid answer.
Staff told him a firmer figure would be available at the next update in the fall.
About 300 staff are based at the current operations centre. They look after transportation, parks, water, sewer and solid waste. There’s also a mechanical services area that maintains most municipal vehicles.
“The replacement and redevelopment of the Saanich operations centre is a priority,” Murdock said.
“And while there’s a tendency to want to giddy-up and go, I do think that staff have been very prudent in the approach and setting down very appropriate and prudent markers to guide this process to ensure that what we end up with is the best possible outcome in terms of cost and ensuring that we achieve the operational needs of the district going forward.”
The reference to speeding things up came after staff noted costs are expected to rise each year.
Coun. Colin Plant pointed out neighbouring Victoria is facing a pool replacement that will cost more than $200 million, partly because of cost escalation over several years.
“Understanding that these projects get more and more expensive the longer you wait,” he said. “This council’s been pretty clear that we need a new operations centre, so it’s a little bit of a catch-22 — if we weren’t to advance this, then the services that people want us to provide are going to get worse, so I do want us to get on with it … knowing that every month it’s going to get more expensive.”
The aging site at Borden Street and McKenzie Avenue has been deemed unfit to handle future growth; the buildings on site are 40 to 70 years old, don’t meet building code requirements and have been deemed to be past their useful life.
Murdock expects details to come into better focus as staff work through the process to identify a private sector partners to work with on the project.
As for whether there will be a large affordable housing component, as there is with the redevelopment plan for the Nellie McClung library, Murdock said that will depend on the opportunity developers see and what kind of senior government funding may be available.
“We’re open to that as a possibility. I think that the site is conducive to creating affordable housing, but that has not been included as a hard expectation, but something that should be explored,” he said.
>>> To comment on this article, write a letter to the editor: [email protected]
