MAPPING VICTORIA - April 2026

Esquimalt Approves 21-storey Residential Tower - Posted April 30, 2026

While Esquimalt council did not discuss a potential pause of small-scale multi-unit housing as reported on in our previous story; at an April 27, 2026 council meeting they did unanimously vote to issue a development permit for a 21-storey tower at 1337 Saunders Street. It's an interesting discussion point how many in council believe four and six-storey infill projects are too large and out of character for the community, yet a 21-storey (and quite wide) tower gets kudos and unanimous support.

According to a Victoria News report, the existing "residential buildings at 1340 Sussex Street and 1337 Saunders Street torn down in the fall, making space for a new 21-storey residential building with 327 pet-friendly rental homes." Demolition of the two existing apartment buildings on site at 1340 Sussex Street and 1337 Saunders Street will begin this fall and construction is expected to begin in early 2027 with a 2029 completion date.

For more details check out our MappingVictoria project page for 1337 Saunders Street. You can also watch the council discussion and developer presentation on the project here.

Image © WA Architects

Esquimalt SSMUH Review - Posted April 25, 2026

CHEK News reported today "Esquimalt is considering pausing new applications for small-scale multi-unit housing (SSMUH) to give time to create its own bylaws that align with Bill 44." While Esquimalt is exceeding provincial housing targets there appears to be concerns about how these four and six-plexes are fitting into the community. Of note in the story is the response from local architect and developer Xeniya Vins of XV Architecture. She also posted a response on her Instagram account and if you can handle the stress and daily ups and downs of a small developer in Victoria it's an interesting follow.

City Supports Co-op Purchase - Posted April 17, 2026

Following up on our April 13, 2026 story, City Council voted yesterday to allocate $677,500 from the Victoria Housing Reserve Fund to support Midtown Affordable Housing Society's purchase of the nearly completed Tresah West at 611 Speed Avenue. A CHEK News April 16th report lays out the huge variance in the potential buy-in cost for co-op members based on whether or not the housing society is able to secure federal funding and loans.

The Day the Music Died - The Night Before the Night Before Christmas - Posted April 14, 2026

Believe it or Not (Ripley's sponsorship forthcoming?) the last new development proposal in the City of Victoria was on December 23, 2025. Which means we're now approaching 4 months and counting with no new proposals. The December 23, 2025 submission was for 915 McClure Street; a six storey, 22 unit apartment building. New proposals have evaporated and no one has noticed, commented or raised any alarm bells.

Walking (or driving if you prefer) around town it feels like construction is happening everywhere with roads reduced to a single lane, cranes in the sky and building rising from the ground. When I first started tracking development projects last fall I was almost hoping for a slow down in new proposals so I could catch up and catalogue all those underway or previously approved. So it was me, I cursed it all.

On our MappingVictoria Project Listing there is a sub page for New Proposals. Originally it was intended for proposals submitted to the City within the past 60 days, then I extended it to 90 days. Well, that sub page would be empty even at 90 days so now it'll be a listing of the most recent proposals, likely the past half dozen.

Yes, there have been projects approved and denied since December 23, 2025, but they were from earlier in 2025. The City's Advisory Design Panel (ADP) hasn't met since February 25, 2026 and in the December 10, 2025 ADP agenda it was recorded "Two ADP members have resigned, including our cross appointee with the Heritage Advisory Panel." The purpose of the ADP is to provide advice to Council on the design merits of plans as part of a rezoning application, development permit or special projects referred to the Panel by City Council. With no new proposals to discuss there is no need for meetings I suppose but we can hope with the extra time more attention will be placed on producing minutes that are accurate or at least readable and not sloppy AI generated transcriptions. A snippet from November 26, 2025 which is the last ADP meeting where minutes are publicly available:

Current State - Busy for Now

According to our MappingVictoria Super Computer here's the latest figures as of today. The numbers are for the totals for the City of Victoria only and downtown using Statistics Canada's definition of Downtown Victoria. Keep in mind the City of Victoria covers only 7.52 square miles (19,47 sq km). Small townhouse projects and infill developments are not included. Under Construction:

Residential Units: City: 3,981 Downtown only: 2,972
Hotel Units: 167 for each

Proposals (at various stages including approved - some will proceed and some will not):

Residential Units: City: 4,726 Downtown only 3,890
Hotel Units: 311 for each

The proposals numbers does not include the various large scale master plan developments in downtown Victoria which would add thousands of new units, but for which the timelines may stretch from 5 to 20 years in some cases. The Capital Culture District, Roundhouse at Bayview, Cathedral District and Rock Bay/Matulia, Evergreen Terrace and future phases of Harris Green Village are all highly likely to proceed in one form or another. Now wait a sec you say, Evergreen Terrace is downtown? Yes, according to Stats Canada, but that's for another day this week where we'll dive into Downtown boundaries.

Of course the new housing pipeline slowdown is not unique to Victoria. Daily Hub Urbanized published an article today on Vancouver's development outlook entitled "'Really, really ugly': Why Metro Vancouver's housing market is struggling right now". Yet Victoria numbers seem to fly under the radar or at least no one is talking about what's next, the impact on the local construction industry and eventual impact on housing/rental prices if there is a prolonged construction slowdown looming ahead. Do we have all the answers? Nope, but let's hope our elected officials, City planners and powers that be are keenly aware of the facts and are looking for solutions or mitigation strategies in the meantime.

Out of the Blue, New Co-op Housing For You! - Posted April 13, 2026

Victoria News reported today that a new non-profit housing society is looking to purchase the nearly complete Tresah West at 611 Speed Avenue by Mayfair Shopping Centre. Midtown Affordable Housing Society will be asking for $677,500 from the City's housing reserve fund to put towards the purchase of Tresah West. In what appears to be a well kept secret the housing society put forward a conditional offer on the building in October 2025. The request for city funding will be discussed at the April 16th City Council meeting and if approved the society will then look for millions in funding from the Federal Government who are now back to funding co-op housing.

City Councillor Dave Thompson posted the news on Reddit on April 13, 2026 asking readers:

"Exciting potential opportunity. A grant from the Victoria Housing Reserve could help the Midtown Affordable Housing Society purchase a 179-unit apartment building for cooperative housing. A $677,500 City grant to leverage a much larger chunk of Federal financing. What do you think Reddit? Should we approve it?"

It's been quite the ride for Tresah West which started off a mass timber construction condo, then changed to a rental building using steel and concrete with prefab modules and perhaps now to co-op housing. Developer Mike Geric Construction's website still advertises "Rentals coming soon".

March 30, 2026 - © John Johnson

Approvals and Rejection - Posted April 11, 2026

This week Victoria City Council approved the rezoning for Glenlyon Norfolk School's redevelopment plans; removed the remaining hurdle for the Admiral Inn development at 257 Belleville Street and shot down a 17 unit infill apartment building at 50 Government Street. Check out the MappingVictoria project pages for more info and links to this weeks Times Colonist stories on each.

CFB Esquimalt Housing - Posted April 5, 2026

Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt has begun work on 400 temporary units of housing for "junior non-commissioned members in training while a more permanent facility is built to replace the aging 480-unit Nelles Block" according to the April 5, 2026 Times Colonist article. Maritime Forces Pacific commander Rear Admiral David Patchell "said they are still determining how long the temporary accommodations at North Naden will be in use."

The Federal Government requested public input on the project back in 2023 and provided more context on the project:

"The project will include construction of temporary accommodations facility with approximately 400 hotel style units with private washrooms. The buildings will be three story structures consisting of approximately 130 units per block. A total of three blocks will eventually be constructed with a total building area of 6,500 square meters. Various support buildings for barrack warden, storage and lockers will also be required. A capacity study will be completed to analyze feasibility of utilizing existing water, sewer, electrical, gas and communications infrastructure to tie into. A new asphalt driveway and parking lot will be required, with the size of the parking lot still to be determined. All construction activities will require excavation/trenching where required. The project site is currently a mowed grass area and is used as a soccer field."

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse