Capital Regional Housing Corporation set to spend $60M on new housing projects in 2023

The Capital Regional Housing Corporation (CRHC) expects to open 148 new housing units in 2023 as it works toward the goal of creating 700 affordable rental housing units over the next five years.

“Too many people in our region cannot afford a decent place to live, our work will continue until everyone can afford a decent home,” CRHC board chair Zac de Vries said in a statement.

In Central Saanich, the Prosser Road development is expected to be complete this spring with 51 rental units while the redevelopment of Michigan Square in James Bay should be done by the end of 2023. The project will replace 62 units across three older buildings with 97 apartments across two buildings.

Pandora proposal headlines 2023 capital spending

The CRHC’s 2023 budget was approved by the board at its final meeting of the year. It has a total of $60 million in capital spending on eight major projects that are underway or in planning, including a new 205-unit rental building proposed for Pandora.

The CRHC would operate 158 rental homes in the building and BC Housing would be responsible for running 47 supportive homes, including offering services like life skills training, employment help, and outreach workers.

The project is the first application submitted to Victoria’s new Rapid Deployment of Affordable Housing initiative, designed to speed up the creation of non-market housing projects by co-ops and non-profits.

The city purchased the Pandora property for $9.6M in April 2020 and announced its partnership with BC Housing and the CRHC in 2021. At that time, the hope was the new development would welcome its first residents in 2024. Now construction is expected to start in 2024 and wrap in late 2027, with residents moving in in 2028.

More information in spring

The staff reports at the latest meeting cover the 2023-27 five-year plan. Spending varies year-to-year due to the nature of planning and construction: $45.1 in 2024 and $49 in 2025 dip to $36.9 in 2026 then leap to $102.7 in 2027 when a lot of projects will be in final construction phases.

The 2024 budget should provide more details on spending when it arrives next spring.

The CRHC, a a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Capital Regional District, already owns and operates 1,880 units across 51 buildings.

The main building projects

What we know so far about the buildings being worked on, based on the CRD tracker page and project info pages. All renderings and photos from CRD site.

Just completed: Twenty-Seven Eighty-Two (Langford)

Units: 58 in five-storey apartment building (11 at provincial assistance rate of $375)

Timeline: Opened 2022

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Caledonia (Fernwood)

Units: 158 rentals in two apartments and three townhouses (32 at BC assistance rate of $375) / Replacing: 18 units in three townhouses, and former site of Fairey Tech

Timeline: Broke ground 2022 / Budget: $71M

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Michigan Square (James Bay)

Units: 97 in two four-storeys / Replacing 62 in three buildings

Timeline: Opening late 2023 / Budget: $34M

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Prosser (Central Saanich)

Units: 51 (10 at BC income assistance rates, 41 for low to moderate incomes)

Timeline: Opening in 2023 / Budget: $19M

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‍ ‍ Planning: Campus View (Saanich, beside UVic)

Units: 119 / Replacing: 12 units in townhouses

Timeline: End of 2025 completion / Budget: $52M

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Planning: Village on the Green (Victoria)

Units: 151 / Replacing: 38 units in townhouses

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Planning: Pandora (Downtown Victoria)

Units: 205 (158 affordable rental + 47 supportive housing) in 20-storey tower along with amenities

Timeline: Begin 2024, move-ins early 2028

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With files from Cam Welch