More affordable housing will be coming to Victoria in the near future, after a mixed-use development was officially approved by Victoria City Council on Thursday.
Victoria Cool Aid Society, in partnership with TL Housing, are planning to build the large Crosstown development located at the former Tally Ho property at 3020 Douglas Street.
The development will add 102 affordable apartments to the site, plus 52 new homes for the existing supportive housing tenants, and various community amenities.
On June 11, Victoria city councillors approved the rezoning application and development permit application for the project during a scheduled council meeting.
The development project, which is called Crosstown, will create housing units designed for working families, seniors, and singles with annual incomes ranging from $8,000 to $78,000.
Along with the new rental units, the development will also host around 32,000 square feet of commercial space, a coffee shop, a second-floor daycare, underground parking, bike storage, and a public plaza.
According to planning documents available on the city’s website, Crosstown would be comprised of 88 studio units, six accessible studio units, 20 one-bedroom units, four accessible one-bedroom units, four two-bedroom units, nine three-bedroom units and four work-live units.
There would also be 21 adaptable one-bedroom units, which have the ability to be converted into accessible units depending on whether there is funding from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
Crosstown will be replacing 52 temporary units that are currently on the property, which were approved by the city back in 2017, after they granted a temporary use permit allowing Cool Aid Society to provide housing for homeless people.
Tenants in the existing 52 units are expected to remain on-site during the construction phase, and then be relocated into the new building once construction is complete.
Now that the project has been formally approved, the Cool Aid Society plans to begin construction in October. Construction is expected to be completed by October 2022.
Here’s what the new development is going to look like:
