MAPPING VICTORIA - July 2026

Housing Starts - aka Housing Stops? - July 17, 2026

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) released their June 2026 housing starts and construction report yesterday and according to Kevin Hughes, Deputy Chief Economist with CMHC:

“Through the first six months of the year, the rate of housing starts in Canada is lower than last year’s rate, in line with our baseline forecast published in February. There is little doubt that the slowdown reflects rising uncertainty, higher development costs, weaker demand and more unsold homes. Looking forward, we expect that this environment will continue to hold back new housing construction in Canada over the short-to-medium term and drive 2026 actual housing starts below last year’s levels.”

As for Victoria, the June 2026 CMHC data is shown below:

New Victoria housing proposals have vanished in 2026; however, previously approved projects are still coming on line. We've taken CMHC's seasonally adjusted annual rates using a 6 month moving average for June 2026 (to reduce monthly volatility) and calculated the % of single detached housing starts as well as per capita starts to provide greater context for the Victoria numbers.

No Bedroom Windows = No Approval - July 13, 2026

At the July 9th Committee of the Whole meeting Victoria City Council voted 7-2 to send a Vic West 6-storey, 30 unit mixed use building back to the developer for further refinement rather than outright rejecting the proposal. The Times-Colonist reported the main point of contention for the 235 Russell Street proposal was the lack of bedroom windows for 24 out of the 30 apartments. The TC reports "Coun. Krista Loughton said she is not in favour of approving bedrooms without outward-facing windows, saying people shouldn’t be living in those conditions" and "Coun. Jeremy Caradonna said he’s not opposed to a mixed-use residential-light industrial project, but the current application is “a bit of a mess” and needs more work."

Mapping Victoria's 235 Russell Street project page has all the details on the proposal including design changes to date. The fenced off parking lot site is 100 metres from the recently completed 6-storey, 95 unit Ellis apartment building at 480 Esquimalt Rd and 50 metres from the approved but yet to proceed 40 unit supportive housing project by BC Housing at 225 Russell St.

Site of the proposed development is to the left of the former Ormond Biscuit Factory (built 1901) - April 30, 2026 - © John Johnson

March 12, 2026 Revised Plans - © dHK Architects

22-Storey Condo Building Gains Approval - July 10, 2026

City Council unanimously approved rezoning and development permits for 741 Fisgard Street on Thursday, July 9th. Located at Fisgard and Blanshard the site has sat empty for seven years with the building being demolished in 2021. It was previously was the location of a Gold’s Gym, Island Audio and the Frank White Dive Store. Construction is expected to start in 2027.

The 22-storey condo building will consist of 156 units and 5 commercial units. Cascadia Architects notes the "prominent glazed atrium lobby anchors the corner of the site, reinforcing the building’s unique presence. Complementing this is a linear food court along the western edge, which brings energy to an existing through-block pedestrian connector and further activates the public realm."

In addition to the outdoor amenity area on level 4 the building incorporates a series of double-height outdoor patios ‘skygardens’, located on Levels 7, 9, 12, 17, and 19. Each of these elevated amenity spaces is designed with distinct themes, views and solar orientations.

For a deep dive into the project and architecture check out our MappingVictoria project page and the Times-Colonist story on council's approval.

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