A massive project proposed for the long-vacant former site of Mayfair Lanes has been moved ahead by Saanich council.
The $300-million project by Vancouver-based developer Townline, in partnership with site owner Loblaw, will feature three towers ranging from 21 to 24 storeys, 555 rental residential units, commercial space and a Real Canadian Superstore outlet.
“This is a very big deal. This is the largest project that Saanich has seen and is going to be a very significant piece in the transformation of the Uptown-Douglas corridor,” said Mayor Dean Murdock.
“I don’t think anybody’s going to miss the fenced-in gravel patch that has been on that corner for the last 16 or 17 years.”
The project will return to council for final approval and bylaw adoption after legal agreements have been satisfied.
The 3.38-acre lot on Tolmie Avenue and Douglas Street was home to Mayfair Lanes, a 10-pin bowling complex, for about 40 years before it closed in 2006 when the property was purchased by Loblaw.
Loblaw had the building torn down and there were subsequent plans to build a Real Canadian Superstore there, but the project did not go ahead.
The land has been vacant ever since.
Coun. Susan Brice noted there have been a few attempts to rezone the site over the years, and the latest proposal is better than any put forward in the past. “It’s the right company, the right project, and it’s kind of like the bookend for Uptown,” said Brice, adding she was impressed with Townline’s work in Victoria’s Hudson District.
In a statement Tuesday, Townline president Daryl Simpson said the intention is to start construction later in 2025 and build the entire project over 48 months.
Simpson called the project a “sign of our faith in the Greater Victoria market.”
Murdock said the redevelopment will be a catalyst to building out the Uptown-Douglas corridor.
This year, Saanich council endorsed terms of reference for staff to work on a pre-zoning and design project to establish a city centre in the Uptown-Douglas area.
Staff are expected to recommend bylaw changes for reshaping the area to match the vision of the Uptown-Douglas land-use plan. The plan, adopted in 2022, is designed to transform the area over the next 20 to 30 years into mixed-use, walkable neighbourhoods that will serve as the heart of Saanich.
The area is currently dominated by car dealerships, other businesses and light industrial use.
The hope is that new zoning designations will encourage the redevelopment of existing properties into mixed-use projects with dense residential components.
In the plan, Oak Street is re-imagined as a main street with businesses lining the road, residential development rising above them, bike lanes and a pedestrian promenade.
Coun. Zac de Vries said the Townline project is a step toward realizing the vision of the Uptown-Douglas plan.
“These are much-needed homes of a variety of different sizes that are going to bring a bunch of people to an area that has a lot of jobs and commerce and other activities, but doesn’t have a lot of people living in it just yet,” he said.
“It’s going to add to the housing stock. It’s going to add real vibrance for the people who will live there and the people who already do and the others who frequent it.”
Coun. Teale Phelps Bondaroff said the district is “looking at places to put our density,” and the Tolmie Avenue site makes sense.
“If we’re going to put tall buildings in Saanich, this is a place that I would start.”
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