They Paved Paradise But Took Down a Parking Lot - Posted June 4, 2026

On May 26, 2026 the City received another set of revised plans from GWG Realty Advisors for their 617 Broughton Street proposal. The 12 storey rental building would replace the Broughton Square Parkade in downtown Victoria next to St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church.  Based on City and public feedback the height has been reduced from 13 to 12-storeys although the two wings are increased from 6 to 7-storeys. The number of units is reduced from 251 to 242 units, while the density slightly increased from 5.9 FSR to  5.94 with vehicle and bike parking remaining unchanged.

The 1960 built Broughton Square Parkade currently has 325 parking stalls and several retail stores at ground level facing Broughton, Gordon and  Courtney streets.  Retail units will again be incorporated on all three street frontages as well as a 583 square metre privately-owned public plaza along Broughton Street opening up the space behind St. Andrew's Church where the parkade currently site within 1 metre of the church.  

The traditional design with high quality materials is one of the best we've seen in the past fifteen years in Victoria, especially for a purpose built rental building.  The question is will height be it's downfall with city councillors?  Likely not considering the voting records on housing proposals lately and the developer noted in their revised plans "the proposal aligns with the existing context of this portion of downtown Victoria, where a range of taller heritage and contemporary buildings already exceed the five-storey guidance within the OCP and DCAP—including the Belmont Building, Yarrow Building, Weiler Building, Magnolia Hotel, and The Sovereign."

Check out our MappingVictoria project page for 617 Broughton, the most extensive we've created to date including a deep dive into the site history.