The Royal Bay development has a long road ahead until full completion, and more pieces of the puzzle are coming together in the Colwood community.
GableCraft Homes predicts about a 20-year process from when the project started to full build-out. On July 15, Colwood council gave third reading for amendments to the Official Community Plan related to the Latoria South Lands section of Royal Bay, as well as the rezoning of the lands, with final consideration for adoption scheduled for Aug. 31.
If adopted, the City says, the proposed amendments would bring more specificity to the OCP in terms of outlining areas with distinct uses.
The Royal Bay development, located on the west side of Metchosin Road, calls for 2,100 single family homes in total and up to 40,000 square metres of non-residential development.
But Ben Mycroft, senior development manager with GableCraft Homes, said the number of homes for the area isn’t set in stone yet, and will become more clear as the process evolves.
“We’ve largely gone through a very extensive public engagement process that started back in 2018,” said Mycroft. “We have been busy working on the design side of things, so we have engineers and architects working on designing the shopping centre, roads, park and trails. Our hope is that as soon as fourth reading is achieved in August, that we will start construction in September.”
RELATED: Colwood approves plans to expand Royal Bay development
There are already about 300 homes in the Royal Bay neighbourhood, and the next phase after August will bring construction on the Latoria South Lands.
Two district neighbourhoods will be created: The Quarry and The Commons. The latter is designed as a mixed-use neighbourhood featuring a retail village, a restaurant, a pharmacy, coffee shop, grocery store and some housing. The Quarry will contain about 800 single-family townhomes, a 500-student elementary school, new parks and trails, as well as other potential amenities.
A transit exchange is also planned for the north end of the Commons along Latoria Boulevard, to connect the community to major bus routes.
The Royal Bay Development currently has about 150 workers on site, and at its peak could host up to 500 construction jobs. A small coffee shop is already being built in the area and is expected to be finished this summer for residents to enjoy.
For more information on the project and to view the site plan, please visit liveatroyalbay.ca.
-With files from Shalu Mehta
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