Victoria council has given the final green light to the project, which includes nine towers, ranging from 10 to 32 storeys, on 10 acres around the E&N Railway terminus.
The developer behind the long-delayed Roundhouse development in Vic West says construction of the first towers could start within a year, after Victoria council gave the final green light for the project.
Ken Mariash, principal of Focus Equities, said the first of nine planned residential towers could be built by private contractors or by his own company.
Development permits are being submitted to the City of Victoria for a condominium tower, two rental apartment buildings and a tower that could include either rentals or condos combined with several floors of hotel rooms.
“Most developers are kind of overburdened right now with things they have going, but we’re always able to do it ourselves if we need to,” Mariash said in an interview.
“We’ve been getting all kinds of inquiries for hotels, and we haven’t chosen anybody, but part of a building could be hospitality-related, where you go halfway up, and part of it is a hotel.”
The Roundhouse development, on 10 acres around the historic E&N Railway terminus, is expected to include 1,827 units in nine towers ranging from 10 to 32 storeys.
Council gave third reading to bylaw amendments for the project in January 2024. Last week, it approved the final legal agreements in a 6-2 vote, with councillors Marg Gardiner and Stephen Hammond opposed and Coun. Krista Loughton absent.
The rezoning includes properties at 251 Esquimalt Rd., 355 Catherine St. and 210 Kimta Rd. near the Johnson Street bridge. The city’s official community plan also had to be amended to allow for the heights and density of the project.
The last hurdle was getting approval from Transport Canada for building heights with the potential to affect flights to and from Victoria Harbour.
City planner Mike Angrove said that approval was granted, adding landings and takeoffs could shift slightly to the west and south if needed.
Angrove told councillors last week that the site is “probably one of the most complex” in the city, with its heritage Roundhouse buildings, a rail line running through it, site contamination, and the harbour airport “pointing right at it.”
“So that would most likely explain the length of time it took to get that master development agreement completed,” he said.
Mariash has been working on the rezoning process and master plan for more than 15 years, and nearly 30 years since he bought the land from the province.
Dell called it an exciting day to see the Roundhouse project proceed, calling it a “wonderful addition” that will bring a lot of new people to downtown and add vibrancy to the city.
“This particular project site has essentially been vacant since the railway closed down, and I think a lot of residents are looking forward to a new development here. It’s a huge accomplishment for staff, the proponent, and our council for pushing this forward.”
Gardiner wasn’t convinced, however, saying more could have been done to “give more presence, and perhaps even sunshine” to the Roundhouse site, which she said has national historical significance.
“The towers overpower the modest scale and character of this historic place,” she said.
Mariash said the development will include restoration of the national historic site, including the railway car storage house and several other brick buildings.
He said he is relieved to finally finish what he started more than 25 years ago when he envisioned the first phase of the Bayview development on a 20-acre site. The new development area is west of the Bayview One, Promontory and Encore condominiums that have already been completed.
The first phase of the Roundhouse development is likely to include a 215-unit affordable housing project, heritage remediation work and some amenities as buildings start to rise, he said. Work could also begin on what is known as the 25-storey E&N condo tower at the south end of the site.
Mariash said the bulk of the buildout could be done in 10 to 15 years.
With high construction costs and interest rates, he said the federal government has to provide some sort of relief or incentives for renters and buyers to be able to afford some of the new housing stock coming on stream.
Mariash said there hasn’t been an overbuild of housing stock in Victoria quite yet, at least not to the same degree it’s affecting Vancouver and Toronto.
The Roundhouse development approval from the city followed approval of a large project in the Harris Green area on the east side of downtown, where Starlight Developments is planning to build five towers — the tallest at 32 storeys — with 1,500 rental suites and 100,000 square feet of commercial space.
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