Vancouver-based Townline has already leased 55% of its 106-unit residential rental building in Victoria’s Hudson District, even though the leasing centre has only been open a few days.
Executives of the company were in Victoria to launch Hudson Walk Two. With Victoria’s rental vacancy rate sitting at around 0.5%, it’s unlikely they will have to wait long to fill the building.
“We’ve been very fortunate here with all of our rental buildings,” said Chris Colbeck, Townline's vice-president of sales and marketing. “The response with Hudson Walk Two has been unprecedented, and we expect we will be fully leased before we have occupancy permits in August.”
Hudson Walk Two is the fourth of six buildings Townline intends for the Hudson District, which started in 2006 when Townline began re-imagining the historic Hudson’s Bay building as a 152-unit condominium development called The Hudson. After that, there was the 120-unit Hudson Mews and the 178-unit Hudson Walk One.
Hudson Walk Two, which has a gym, lounge, outdoor courtyard with children’s play area and dog run, offers suites ranging from $1,450 a month for a one-bedroom to $3,195 for a penthouse.
“We are responding to what the demand says,” Colbeck said “People want to get out of their cars, they want amenities — like the Victoria Public Market, the yoga studio, the baker, the bank — at their doorstep and they want to be walking distance to the inner city and we are providing that.”
The city could do with a lot more of it, said Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps, who toured the site on Wednesday.
“Having things like this come online really helps. This isn’t affordable housing, but not everything will be affordable. We need housing across the spectrum of housing options.”
Helps said the city is doing what it can to fast-track rental buildings and help developers move forward with new projects to meet strong demand.
“We’re hearing from the tech and tourism sectors, our biggest economic sectors, that their workers are having trouble finding places to live,” she said, adding that between 2011 and 2016, about 5,775 people moved into the city.
“Right now, we have about 1,800 units under construction, about 33% of which is rental, and there’s another 1,800 in the pipeline, and about 50% of that is rental.
“Supply won’t solve the affordability issue, but it will help solve the vacancy rate issue.”
And that is good for economic development and attracting investment, said David Hutniak, chief executive of Landlord B.C.
“We’re excited to see organizations like Townline are embracing the need and are building more and more of this kind of product,” he said. “It’s the kind of thing that will attract more young professionals to Victoria and more technology businesses to Victoria.
“[Lack of housing] is not just a housing issue or social issue, it’s an economic issue,” he said.
“If you want to grow your tax base and employment base, you need to be able to house people.”
There is more housing to come in the Hudson District with two towers planned for the site where the Hudson’s Bay parkade sat for years.
Colbeck said they have not completed designs for the first of the two towers — to be called Hudson Place One and Two — though rumours have swirled that they will seek approval from the city to build a 30-storey building. Townline already has approval for 25 storeys.
Colbeck confirmed the next building will be a condominium project. The company, which is excavating the site near the corner of Blanshard and Herald streets, is expected to file for a development permit in June.
Times Colonist
