Big changes could be coming to the northwest corner of the intersection of Blanshard Street and Pandora Avenue in downtown Victoria.
Vancouver-based developer Reliance Properties is proposing to redevelop the site of 1520 Blanshard Street into a 411-ft-tall, 35-storey, mixed-use tower.
If approved, this would become Vancouver Island’s new tallest building, exceeding the record of the nearby 279-ft-tall, 25-storey Hudson Place One tower, which was built in 2020 and was particularly controversial for its height at the time of approval.
Reliance Properties’ proposed height is about 11 storeys or 152-ft taller than what is currently permitted for the site under existing community plans and zoning.
But the developer makes a case that this property, as a “prominent downtown gateway site,” is suitable for a landmark development.
They assert the added height and density would enable significant uses that enhance the area’s vibrancy and offer public benefits, including new major public spaces.
Site of 1520 Blanshard Street, Victoria. (Google Maps)
Existing condition:
Site of 1520 Blanshard Street, Victoria. (Google Maps)
Future condition:
Preliminary concept of 1520 Blanshard Street, Victoria. (Office of Mcfarlane Biggar Architects & Designers/Reliance Properties)
The main reason for the added height is due to the configuration of the tower’s attached five-storey base podium, which is designed to maximize public open space and allow a slimmer, less bulky tower that “maximizes sky view” and minimizes shadow impacts. The design team is led by Vancouver-based Office of Mcfarlane Biggar Architects & Designers.
“We take pride in our contribution to Victoria’s heritage fabric — buying sometimes dilapidated buildings and giving them new life and purpose,” said Jon Stovell, CEO of Reliance Properties, in a statement on Friday.
“Although our rezoning application calls for a brand-new multi-use development, the design blends heritage style elements with modern innovation — honouring the past while looking to the future. We are committed to building a landmark that will be a point of pride for the community.”
Currently, the 37,500 sq ft lot is occupied by a 1981-built, five-storey office building, containing 36,000 sq ft of office space, leased to the provincial government’s BC Ministry of Forests.
The redevelopment proposal is still in the early stages, but it would contain 321 new strata market ownership condominium homes, with about a third of the units sized for families, including 20% of the homes as two-bedroom units and 11% as three-bedroom units. The remainder would be a mix of live/work, studio, and one-bedroom units.
Preliminary concept of 1520 Blanshard Street, Victoria. (Office of Mcfarlane Biggar Architects & Designers/Reliance Properties)
Preliminary concept of 1520 Blanshard Street, Victoria. (Office of Mcfarlane Biggar Architects & Designers/Reliance Properties)
Preliminary concept of 1520 Blanshard Street, Victoria. (Office of Mcfarlane Biggar Architects & Designers/Reliance Properties)
Preliminary concept of 1520 Blanshard Street, Victoria. (Office of Mcfarlane Biggar Architects & Designers/Reliance Properties)
The five-storey base podium would house residential uses within the upper levels, office space (including co-working office space) on the second level, and ground-level retail and restaurant uses, which would activate Pandora Avenue and the building’s new public plaza. It is also noted that this project could potentially acquire off-site permanent artist space as an additional public benefit.
The proposed total building floor area is 404,000 sq ft — including about 49,000 sq ft of commercial space — establishing a floor area ratio density of a floor area that is 7.8 times larger than the 37,500 sq ft lot. Underground levels contain 335 vehicle parking stalls and over 500 secured bike parking spaces.
Most of Reliance Properties’ portfolio is located in Metro Vancouver, but in recent years, the developer has been making inroads into Greater Victoria, including its major 6.7-acre Capital Iron Lands redevelopment (featuring a new home for the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria) on the prominent Victoria Inner Harbour waterfront, and its 134-acre The Beachlands waterfront neighbourhood in the suburban community of Colwood, which is under construction.
Artistic rendering of the Capital Iron Lands redevelopment in Victoria. (D’Ambrosio Architecture & Urbanism/Reliance Properties)
Artistic rendering of The Beachlands (Royal Beach) in Colwood. (Seacliff Properties/Reliance Properties)