The Peninsula B次元官网网址 ReviewB次元官网网址檚 Business Profiles edition hits the streets on Nov. 8. This is the first of four stories coming out this week from that special publication.
One canB次元官网网址檛 help but notice the significant amount of growth occurring on the Saanich Peninsula. A simple walk about in downtown Sidney alone reveals at least eight different places where new buildings have gone up within the last couple years B次元官网网址� or where older buildings have recently been torn down. And thatB次元官网网址檚 just a small sample within a small area.
Elsewhere, there are commercial properties along SidneyB次元官网网址檚 Beacon Avenue and its side streets where redevelopment work is already under way.
In Central Saanich as well, and commercial buildings have gone up this year and last B次元官网网址� with over the coming months. And in North Saanich, residential developments are in progress along McDonald Park Road and Canora Road B次元官网网址� projects that were approved prior to the last civic election, after which most new development proposals were put on hold as the municipality began a review of its priorities. Still, there is progress.
Even at a public or institutional level, there are new works in play. North Saanich recently finished a renovation and and opened in a park off of Wain Road. In Sidney, construction is under way on the TownB次元官网网址檚 estimated that will replace its existing fire hall. And when that is finally done, the for a trend of mixed-use B次元官网网址� commercial and residential B次元官网网址� building growth within the communityB次元官网网址檚 downtown core.
On the surface, you canB次元官网网址檛 help but get the impression thereB次元官网网址檚 a lot of change happening on the Saanich Peninsula.
ThatB次元官网网址檚 the theme of this yearB次元官网网址檚 Peninsula B次元官网网址 Review Business Profiles edition. ItB次元官网网址檚 not so much about individual business profiles this time around, but a profile of our community as it faces new challenges of growth B次元官网网址� with a nod to a pair of very large commercial developments on the near horizon.
The more things change B次元官网网址�
Having a theme of change opens the topic up to many different interpretations B次元官网网址� what is change? Is change good? Why do we need change?
But one thing is for certain, change is always happening, and the reasons for it are as varied as the people who question it.
One person who has been watching the community around him change B次元官网网址� and has been a big part of that change in Sidney specifically B次元官网网址� is Grant Rogers, owner of the Marker Group. His company has literally changed the face of Sidney over the years. Take the waterfront area alone B次元官网网址� the Sidney Pier Hotel, Beacon Park and most recently the addition of the B次元官网网址� Rogers has contributed to the revitalization of that space and is continuing to do so as the municipality moves ahead with its planning for further change along the shore.
Rogers, who has lived, worked and built in Sidney all of his life, says change is a constant. The only thing that really differs from time to time, is the pace at which it occurs. And the pace is set by a number of conditions B次元官网网址� from local government policy and regulations and demand, to federal tax laws as they relate to capital gains.
The latter, Rogers pointed out, has affected how communities grow B次元官网网址� or do not grow, as the case may be.
B次元官网网址淐anada has a lot of buildings that last to the end (of their useful lives),B次元官网网址� he explained.
The owners of those buildings often hold onto them for a long time, wary of selling them when faced with the capital gains tax. Only when they near retirement might their priorities change and until then, they repair and maintain until the buildings sometimes become unsafe.
B次元官网网址淚n Sidney, there are a lot of properties at the end of their useful lives and property values are up to a point where current uses of these buildings are not at their highest value.B次元官网网址�
Rogers said a lot of Sidney today hearkens back to when much of it was built in the 1950s and B次元官网网址�60s and there wasnB次元官网网址檛 a lot of value in overall properties.
B次元官网网址淭oday, we are surrounded by some places with the highest property values in Canada,B次元官网网址� he continued. B次元官网网址淭hat drives costs B次元官网网址� and need B次元官网网址� up.B次元官网网址�
Live-work and play
The need in Sidney, as in many other communities, requires an investment in homes and businesses that are not the traditional single family homes with picket fences B次元官网网址� the dream of home ownership help by people of a certain generation.
Rogers said his company has taken a building at the end of its useful life B次元官网网址� on Fourth Street in Sidney B次元官网网址� and cleared it out to make way for the modern iteration of housing for the audience that Sidney as a community is trying to attract: young families. His new project is called The Quartet and Rogers said itB次元官网网址檚 an experiment for his company.
ItB次元官网网址檚 a 22-unit complex, with 19 one, two and three-bedroom residential units, with three live-work units on the ground floor.
B次元官网网址淲e think young people who are in business are looking for those options,B次元官网网址� he explained, B次元官网网址渢o be able to affor4d both a place to live and a place to work.B次元官网网址�
The concept is based loosely on European designs and even the old idea that the proprietor of a store or business of any kind, lives in close proximity to it.
B次元官网网址淪idney needs young families and professionals to thrive,B次元官网网址� Rogers said, B次元官网网址渁nd new ways of thinking will help make that happen.B次元官网网址�
Rogers said the goal is to try to make peopleB次元官网网址檚 lives more affordable. While he knows his buildings are often used by people who are downsizing from single family homes, many other buyers represent a world that has changed from 10 to 15 years ago.
B次元官网网址淧eople are living differently. This new generation is willing and wants to live in a way thatB次元官网网址檚 different from their parents.B次元官网网址�
The Quartet is expected to start construction early in 2018 and take 14 to 15 months to complete.
Rogers has been continuing to bring new ideas to the table for years and most recently his company completed The Meridian of Third Street B次元官网网址� a mixed-use and modern structure that took the place of an older building that had once been a furniture store and which had sat vacant for a while.
Today, there are a few other buildings sitting vacant in downtown Sidney. Some are being looked at for redevelopment B次元官网网址� such as the corner lot at Beacon and Fourth Street, just down the road from a building being built by the Greater Victoria Rental Housing Association. ThereB次元官网网址檚 no question that Sidney is looking to grow upwards.
Not far away, the intersection of Bevan Avenue and First Street is undergoing change. The site of the former Peninsula Co-op gas bar is being demolished and cleared for redevelopment. And right across the street, the same thing will happen to the former Boondocks Restaurant building property. Right up the road from there, a small lot at Bevan and Third Street has been cleared to make room for a new townhouse project. It seems almost every available square foot of space in downtown Sidney is eyed for change.
And Sidney isnB次元官网网址檛 the only place where change happens. New buildings have gone up recently in Saanichton and Brentwood Bay and more are coming. RogersB次元官网网址檚 company bought the site of the former United Church in Brentwood Bay and is in the process of redeveloping that into B次元官网网址� a building that will cater to downsizers, helping keep people in the community longer. He said itB次元官网网址檚 also a live-work concept B次元官网网址� a continuation of the experiment he is starting in Sidney.
B次元官网网址� the more they stay the same
B次元官网网址淐hange is always happening.B次元官网网址�
Rogers, who has lived in Sidney his entire life, has seen that year after year. In some form, there is change B次元官网网址� whether that be building a new recreation centre (Panorama) and large hotel on the waterfront (Pier), to whatB次元官网网址檚 possibly coming at the and developments.
B次元官网网址淭here are always people who say they donB次元官网网址檛 want it,B次元官网网址� Rogers said. B次元官网网址渂ut IB次元官网网址檝e lived here all my life and itB次元官网网址檚 been changing this whole time.B次元官网网址�
Most change B次元官网网址� or specifically development change B次元官网网址� is driven by the largest population to inhabit North America: the Baby Boomers. As their lives change, he said, so do their needs. ItB次元官网网址檚 this, thatB次元官网网址檚 driving new projects on the Saanich Peninsula, supplemented by what new generations are asking for in their own lives. And the latter are looking for new ways to be able to afford the lifestyle they want B次元官网网址� and that is getting away from detached homes and yards.
B次元官网网址淪implicity seems to be the new reality.B次元官网网址�
editor@peninsulanewsreview.com
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