Dozens of new rental units will come on the market later this year to help ease the pressure on Greater Victoria’s housing crunch.
DB Services’ Danbrook One Tower, an 11-storey, 90-unit development on Claude Road in Langford’s downtown core, is well on its way to completion.
“We’ve poured the fourth floor slab now and we’re progressing at a floor every two weeks now,” said Matthew McKay, co-owner and development manager with DB Services.
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The rental tower at 2762 and 2768 Claude Rd., includes a mixture of one-, two- and three-bedroom units, as well as one-bedroom plus den units. The top floor includes six penthouses with two and three bedrooms. There will also be one level of underground parking, and amenities in the area include a dog park, and a grocery store and Starbucks in the nearby plaza.
McKay anticipates the project will be complete by the winter, with tenants moving in around December 2018 or January 2019.
But the project hasn’t been without controversy.
In June 2017, some residents expressed concern over the loss of parking and less room to manoeuvre on Claude Road.
Danbrook One is one of several projects DB Services is in the process of completing on the West Shore.
Railside House at 733 Goldstream Ave. is a six-storey wood frame building featuring 60 apartments, with ground level and underground parking areas.
The project is expected to be complete soon, with tenants moving in on March 19. The show suite will be available to view beginning Friday.
Phase one of Peatt Commons at 2854 Peatt Rd., has 63 apartment units and 5,000-square feet of ground floor retail space over two storeys of underground parking.
Tenants are expected to move in, in the coming months. The second phase of the project, which is expected to begin in the summer and be complete within two years, will add an additional 72 apartments.
The company also recently broke ground on Hockley Corners on Hockley Avenue, which, once complete, will include 63 rental units.
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According to McKay, the attitude of Langford’s council has allowed for a boom in rental developments to help ease the housing crunch.
“It’s been the development opportunities and the political climate here that has made it very easy to turn development around very quickly,” he said, adding DB Services started building rentals about five years ago after the condo market slumped and found they were getting lots of interest from people wanting to rent the condos.
“People want to come here and work, but they can’t because they can’t find housing. We’re trying to provide some sort of means for affordable housing for people to be able to move here and work here.”
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