MAPPING VICTORIA - August 2026

Construction Start for a View Tower - August 31, 2026

Located directly beside the infamous 19-storey View Towers (of which there is but one) a 23-storey rental tower at 937 View Street began construction today with the removal of asphalt from the existing parking lot. At 73.4 metres or 241 feet, it'll be significantly taller than View Towers which stands at 187 feet. Only time will tell how well this new building with 266 apartments averaging 389 square feet and zero vehicle parking will fare. There will be 5,500 square feet of amenity areas for residents including a dog run, community garden, shared patio and gym as well as space for a cafe with patio facing View Street. Developer Nelson Investments along with dHK Architects have been working on this project since 2017 and presented at least seven different designs to the City - check out the 937 View St project page for an overview.

If I can share a personal opinion (thank you in advance) the May 2021 plan had incredible promise, while the final plan may end up rather bleak despite a decent podium level. 937 View is very close in design to another dHK Architects project underway at 930 Pandora Ave, a 20-storey affordable rental and supportive housing tower.

Why the City didn't embrace the May 2021 version with open arms will one day be explored on Unsolved Mysteries. But for now we'll give this project the benefit of the doubt, because Be Kind and MappingVictoria does not have the final say on all proposed developments in Greater Victoria, although we're working on it.

May 2021 Plans - © dHK Architects

Latest Plans - © dHK Architects

Start of Construction on August 31, 2026 - © John Johnson

More Small Things - August 30, 2026

The month of August kicked off with the start of construction for Uptown's 24-storey residential tower consisting of 318 residential units and 6 new commercial units. As we near the end of August we can report on a much smaller infill project received by the City of Victoria on August 27, 2026. Cascara Construction has submitted plans by Fold Architects for two three-storey buildings located at 1778-82 Adanac Street which will provide 12 strata condo units just a block from Royal Jubilee Hospital. The project dubbed Jubilee Flats will replace two single family homes built in 1940 and 1942; check out the MappingVictoria project page for all the details.

August 2026 Plans - Rendering © Fold Architects

Fort and Quadra Development Revisions - August 23, 2026

We've covered the planning process for Parc Retirement Living's three building downtown proposal extensively on MappingVictoria, so in the interest of not rambling on, check out the 899 Fort Street project page for a detailed overview and update.

City planners recommended City Council outright reject the proposal at the May 22, 2026 Council meeting; however, the mayor and council instead directed the City planners to work with the developers "to revise the proposal for greater consistency with City policy and applicable guidelines, refer the proposal to the Advisory Design Panel, complete a land lift analysis, and then return to a future Committee of the Whole meeting for Council's consideration."

Informed by those meetings the developer has redesigned the 329 unit project comprised of 27, 11 and 10-storey buildings to 289 units in three buildings of 23, 12 and 11-storey buildings. Whether or not this will earn the support of City Planners is questionable considering they had recommended a height limit of 12-storeys to align with City of Victoria Official Community Plan and the Downtown Core Area plan. However, the revised plans are more likley to gain support and possible approval from the mayor and council, whenever that finally occurs - stay tuned!

August 2026 Revised Plans for 899 Fort Street - Image © Low Hammond Rowe Architects

More Fernwood Infill and a Big Langford Temple - August 22, 2026

In a June 20, 2026 MappingVictoria post we revealed the mystery location of a new proposal shared on Instagram hours earlier. We can now report the proposal for a four-storey infill rental building with 16 apartments, one commercial unit and no vehicle parking has been submitted to City Hall. 1252 Gladstone Avenue next to Fernwood Village and Vic High sees developer Tonny Kiptoo and architect Colin Harper teaming up once again as they have a couple doors down at 1276 Gladstone Ave.

Not to be outdone by a mere infill project, suburban Langford has fired back with a Pretty Big Mormon Temple. Our June 25, 2026 story showed the site preparation already underway and the Times-Colonist reported this morning on the official ground breaking ceremony planned for later today. Check out reporter Darron Kloster's story, an excellent read with plenty of history, context, and insights.

Langford Mormon Temple - Image © Intellectual Reserve Inc. - source

Kloster reports LDS spokesperson Graham Sanderson "said the church may also consider another B.C. temple location outside of the Lower Mainland in the future as travel becomes increasingly difficult on congested highways amid threats of wildfires."

Just a thought - congested highways running through a burning province, isn't that end times anyways?

Saanich Approves and Disapproves - August 20, 2026

The Times Colonist reported today on Saanich council's approval of three projects this week and rejection on a technicality of a 349 unit rental project in two six-storey buildings next to the University of Victoria. The proposal by developer Invictus Commercial Investment Corp at Edgelow St and Finnerty Rd overlaps a Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) area, where provincial mandates allow for greater residential density. Saanich council noted five of the seven lots fall outside of the TOD area and until all lots are consolidated into one the proposed development doesn't fall under the TOD designation. According to the Times Colonist story:

"Coun. Colin Plant said provincial requirements require a municipality to approve certain developments if they meet the criteria, but in this case, council has been given the ability to “consider a delay.” “There has not been consolidation, and therefore, we have the ability to say, ‘not at this time,’ ” he said. “I acknowledge the applicant has worked hard. I acknowledge that this is rental housing that we need in Saanich, but I am struggling with the amount of density that is being envisioned here." He also noted the project provides few amenities.

The three approved buildings are:

3880 Finnerty Rd, a 49 unit, six-story rental project by developer Glen Zaphkiel
3301 Quadra St, a 104 unit market rate rental building by RG Foster Development Corp - developer project website
3579 Quadra St a six-storey 88 unit condominium project by Abstract - developer project website

Approved - 3880 Finnerty Rd - 49 unit, six-storey rental project - rendering © MJM Architect

Approved - 3301 Quadra St, a six-storey 104 unit market rate rental building - rendering © Aracadis Architecture

Approved - 3579 Quadra St, a six-storey 88 unit condominium project by Abstract - rendering © Abstract

Rejected - a 349 unit rental project - 2 six-storey buildings at 2315-2335 Edgelow St and 3876 Finnerty Rd - © Lovick Scott Architects

It's interesting to note 3880 Finnerty Rd with 49 rental units was approved (green rectangle on the Google Earth image below) while just metres way the 349 unit Edgelow and Finnerty Rd development was rejected (red outline). Meanwhile in May 2026 Saanich council unanimously expressed support for UVic's delayed 17-storey student housing tower with 510 beds at 2477 Sinclair Rd (small yellow rectangle) and Oak Bay is working with UVic on a new mixed-use community with up to 3,800 housing units at Cedar Hill Corner,

University of Victoria (bottom right) and adjacent housing proposals - © Google Earth

Townhouse Projects - August 18, 2026

Finally - a new housing proposal for Victoria, albeit a small townhouse project.

Received by the City on August 14, 2026 is a missing middle infill development of four townhouses at 358 Arnold Ave in Fairfield. We have an arbitrary minimum cutoff level of nine units before we create a project page and start track development progress, but this one is still worthy of a shout out. You can view the plans here on the City Development Tracker and view the Google Street View history here. Although Google Maps shows 361 Arnold if you zoom in on on the house from earlier years you can see the '358' address.

358 Arnold Ave in Farfield - © Rendering © Cuell Design

New to our MappingVictoria tracker is a revised proposal for 3106 Balfour Ave in the Burnside neighbourhood. Originally proposed in May 2025, a revised plan and Delegated Development Permit application was received on August 14, 2026 for this ten unit strata townhouse complex in a single three-storey building. Parking consists of one vehicle share parking stall plus one van accessible stall and 21 secure long-term bike stalls.

Crystal Pool Closing Date - August 11, 2026

Now for the third August story in a row about the slow pace of development in Victoria. Today the City of Victoria announced September 25, 2026 as the official closing date of the 1971 built Crystal Pool. Start date for the demolition has yet to be determined and if you were hoping to see the first renderings of the $209 million new facility - no such luck. A June 15, 2026 water leak in the former YMCA building at Broughton and Quadra street has delayed the opening of that interim facility under City management.

"Recreation programs and services will transition to the City’s interim recreation facility at 851 Broughton Street. The facility, to be named Victoria Recreation Centre, will provide continued access to recreation services while the permanent replacement facility is being built. Repairs and upgrades are underway to prepare the interim facility for City use, with an opening planned for early 2027." - CIty of Victoria

Uptown At Last - August 4, 2026

The residential development on the final lot at Uptown Shopping Centre appears to be finally underway. The two level open air lifestyle centre has seen several residential proposals since 2017 for the corner of Ravine Way and Carey Rd, adjacent to Whole Foods and until this summer home to pickleball courts.

The development will consist of a 24-storey market rental residential tower with a 12-storey wing and feature 318 apartments and 6 commercial spaces. Check out our MappingVictoria's Uptown Residential project page for all the details.

611 Speed Ave - Slow Going En Route to Co-op Status - August 1, 2026

Tresah West, a 12-storey, 179 unit building completed in May 2026 by Mike Geric Construction is still in the process of becoming a housing co-op despite being denied federal funding according to an August 1, 2026 Times Colonist story.

Originally intended as a condo building the TC reports the developer "told would-be buyers who had put down deposits that the company could only complete construction by converting Tresah West to a purpose-built rental building. The company cited rising labour and material costs, delays, supply-chain issues and high interest rates. The building was put up for sale in the spring of 2025."

In May 2026 Mike Geric Construction put three adjacent James Bay properties on the market for $3.9 million, on which they had intended to build a four-storey rental building at 135 Menzies St. A third Geric project at 205 Quebec St, also in James Bay is a 14-storey residential tower which appears to be stalled, perhaps waiting for the sale of Tresah West to proceed as the property is currently not listed for sale.

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