Condo towers to transform the face of navy town

With Greater Victoria housing starts at a 40-year high, the building boom is expected to dramatically change the look of Esquimalt, just west of the provincial capital.

The township best known for its naval station, Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, and nautical-themed Buccaneer Days in May, will see corner stores and century-old homes along the main strip replaced with a number of 12-storey buildings.

Most — about 2,500 — of the 3,000 new housing starts region-wide in 2017 were condominiums, and Esquimalt will soon add more than 1,000 units to that number, Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins told On the Island's Khalil Akhtar.

"We have several large projects that are hundreds of units that are really going to change the landscape of Esquimalt considerably over the next four or five years," Desjardins said.

The latest proposal, for a 12-to-15 story tower along Esquimalt Road at Head Street, was announced last week.

Desjardins said the community of about 18,000 residents has been expecting an increase in housing density for some time.

The community plan allows for buildings of up to 12 stories in development zones that include sections of Esquimalt Road that have spectacular views across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

"For the most part, the community has already gone through that discussion a number of years ago, and really sort of wrestled with the fact that we need more density so that more services will come in to support the community," she said.

Desjardins said additional density will bring more tax revenues to share the costs of services. The increased population will support new restaurants, coffee shops and small stores, creating a vibrant main street that residents have told her they want to see.

Much of Esquimalt's older housing stock is post-war bungalows and low-rise apartments built in the 1970s.

The community, which originally grew up around the local shipyards and the naval base, retains much of its nautical character.

"It will change, but we're going to have to work hard to keep what we've got going, which is a warm, small-town feel, friendly community," Desjardins said.

Correction : An earlier version of this story identified Barb Desjardins as the mayor of Saanich. In fact, she is the mayor of Esquimalt.(Jan 16, 2018 3:42 PM)